Andy earned his doctorate in the Emmett Intedisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at Stanford University, where he used aquaculture, and in particular the Chilean salmon farming industry, as a lens through which to focus on the human relationship with the marine environment.
Before coming to Stanford, Andy researched aquaculture policy with Dr. Becky Goldburg at The Environmental Defense Fund, instructed in and administered a marine science education program at the Catalina Island Marine Institute, worked for the National Marine Fisheries Service as an observer in the Alaskan pollock and California drift-gillnet swordfish fisheries, and traveled some of the world's coastlines (at one point tracing Shackleton's wake from Antarctica to South Georgia).
Born in Austin, Texas, Andy and his family fled the state from the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, to which his mother had a lethal allergy. After relocating to Colorado, he attended the Colorado College as a Boettcher scholar to study environmental science, history and literature, receiving CC's Outstanding Senior Award in the Environmental Sciences. Andy's interest in environmental issues derives largely from a year spent teaching at the Uthongathi School and working at the Albert Luthuli Community Development and Education Trust in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa.