Hailey attended Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario where she received an HBSc, Biology in 2018. She is currently a Master’s student working with Dr. Susana Carvalho and Dr. Eva Aylagas Martinez surveying nonindigenous cryptofauna in natural and artificial habitats in the Red Sea. Her research uses DNA metabarcoding to evaluate the colonization of invasive species in coral reefs and commercial shipping ports to assist the development of biosecurity management strategies. 

Before joining KAUST as a Visiting Student in 2020, Hailey completed an internship in Fisheries Resource Management at the University of Belize in partnership with the Memorial University of Newfoundland. In Belize, she worked closely with conservation officers, scientists, and the Fisheries Department to monitor small-scale fisheries within Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve. In 2018, she was a Research Assistant at Cape Breton University studying the mitigation of an invasive oyster parasite and sustainable aquaculture. 

During her time at KAUST, Hailey hopes to engage the broader community in citizen science programs, by reaching out to local recreational divers, fishers, and tourism stakeholders to raise awareness about the sustainable use of marine resources and the impact of our daily actions on the health of the marine environment.