The Organizers

 

Amanda Heidt, MLML MARINE liaison,

Education Programs Assistant, Center for Ocean Solutions

 

Amanda is currently a third-year Master's student in the Invertebrate Molecular Ecology lab at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and the Education Program Assistant at Stanford's Center for Ocean Solutions. Broadly, she is interested in questions regarding community ecology, invertebrate zoology, invasive species, and scientific communication. Her thesis research focuses on patterns in diversity among meiofauna, small infaunal marine organisms, and how these patterns may be shaped by the physical environment. In an attempt to identify key players in the meiofaunal community, she uses high-throughput sequencing approaches to link molecular DNA "barcodes" to individual species. Amanda graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz, with a BS in Marine Biology and a minor in chemistry in 2013. Outside of the lab, she enjoys travel, rock climbing, diving, camping, and cooking. 

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Anna Lowe, UCSC MARINE liaison 

 

Anna Lowe is PhD candidate starting her fourth year in the Ocean Science department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her research focuses on nearshore dynamics that transport larvae along the central California coast. This interdisciplinary research on dispersal patterns provides insight into population connectivity, which can be used to inform conservation efforts (e.g. design of interconnected network of marine protected areas). Additionally, she is interested in scientific communication and inquiry-based teaching methods. Prior to UCSC, Anna studied marine science with minors in applied-mathematics and physics from Coastal Carolina University. Then, she was a summer intern in the Water Power Technology Department at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She enjoys scuba diving and swimming in the ocean!

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Meredith McPherson, UCSC MARINE liaison 

 

Meredith began as a PhD student in the Kudela lab at UCSC in the fall of 2015.  She completed her BS and MS research under Richard Zimmerman at Old Dominion University studying in situ optical properties of coastal waters as an undergrad student, and developed a mechanistic model to predict the impact of environmental conditions on carbon uptake and isotope discrimination in Eelgrass (Zostera marina) as a graduate student.  While in the Kudela lab, Meredith plans to build on her previous experiences by broadly focusing on remote sensing as a tool for understand the biogeochemistry of coastal eelgrass and kelp systems.  Prior to starting her PhD at UCSC, Meredith worked for 2 years at California Maritime Academy as the Science Coordinator for Golden Bear Facility, a ballast water management system testing facility to the USCG and IMO.

 

Francisca Santana, Stanford MARINE liaison

 

Francisca is a PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources. She studies social-ecological dynamics of coastal regions, with a focus on current and historical trends in conservation, governance, and resource use in the Gulf of Mexico. She is interested in examining how resource-dependent human communities interact with various environmental stressors, including energy extraction, nutrient pollution, land loss, and climate change. Before coming to Stanford, Francisca worked on energy and marine policy issues in the nonprofit and government sectors. She received a master's degree in environmental science and management from UC Santa Barbara and a BA in history from Yale University.

 

Josh Smith, UCSC MARINE liaison 

Josh is a third year PhD student at UC Santa Cruz. His research focuses on species interactions that shape the structure and processes of marine communities. Specifically, he is interested in the separate and combined effects of predation, disease, and disturbance as control mechanisms on populations of sea urchins in the wake of an ongoing sea star disease epidemic and El Niño event. Josh received his B.Sc. in Marine Science from CSU Monterey Bay. Along with his research interests, he is also interested in undergraduate research and mentorship, and helping students access resources to broaden their professional networks.

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Jessica Bray, CSUMB MARINE liaison 

Jessica is a second year Master's student in the Applied Marine and Watershed Science program at CSUMB. After studying literary journalism at UC Irvine, she relocated to the central coast where she worked for the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Marine  Advanced Technology and Education Center. As a CSU COAST intern in 2017 for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Invertebrate Team, she investigated red abalone health conditions and contributed to ongoing monitoring projects studying the effects of multi-year stressors on the Northern California recreational red abalone fishery. She is currently a Seafood Watch Research Partner working on the meta analysis of best gear modifications to reduce bycatch of highly vulnerable taxa across multiple fisheries. 

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Laura Good, CSUMB

Laura Good is the Science Education and Outreach Coordinator at California State University, Monterey Bay. Originally from the UK, Laura’s background is in Marine Resource Management and Informal Science Education. Laura earned her BS in ocean science from the University of Plymouth (UK), and both her MS in marine resource management and PhD in science education from Oregon State University. She spent 5 years as the education manager for the Center for Ocean Solutions, where she managed their leadership development and ocean education activities, including the MARINE program. Her research interests center on marine education, scientist engagement in education and outreach, and professional development for informal educators, where her doctoral work focused on the interpretive practice of science center docents as they communicate science to the public. Laura specializes in free choice learning, a term used to describe learning that takes place in our everyday lives, where we have choice and control over the learning opportunities at hand.