Kirsten Grorud-Colvert, Ph.D.
Katy Bear Nalven
Outreach Specialist
The MPA Project
Katy enjoys working in spaces that bridge gaps between marine science, conservation, and actionable communication. As a member of the MPA Guide team, she dedicates her efforts to engaging with stakeholders and promoting the outreach initiatives of The MPA Guide. Katy also works as a Project Coordinator at Sea & Shore Solutions.
Bani Maini
Research Specialist
Marine Area-based Conservation
Bani is interested in working at the science-policy-management interface for marine area-based conservation. More specifically, her research efforts focus on advancing inclusive and effective biodiversity conservation for marine other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs).
Cameron Royer
PhD Graduate Student
Fisheries Ecology, SMURF Lead
Cameron is studying the relationship between oceanographic conditions and the early life history traits of rockfish species in the Northern California Current. He is also pursuing a certificate in college and university teaching (GCCUT) with the hopes of becoming a college instructor after graduate school.
Jason Seiple
Data Lead
Ocean Commitments Project
Jason is passionate about using data and technology to drive actionable change for marine conservation. As Data Lead on the Ocean Commitments Project, he tracks and analyzes Our Ocean Conference commitments within the Marine Protected Area (MPA) and other Area-Based Management (ABM) theme. Jason is the founder of An Ocean Advocate, which partners with groups focused on environmental policy, advocacy and oversight on all things data and technology.
Layla Sara Gordon
PhD Graduate Student
Seascape Genomics, SMURF Project
Layla is interested in the evolutionary and ecological responses of marine life to human activity and is currently exploring how changes in the seascape shape rockfish evolution. Layla hopes to work in the intersection between science communication, education, and research.
Ana Sofia Barrera
MRM Graduate Student
Marine Area-based Management in Mexico
Ana Sofia is studying the intersections between human activities and environmental conservation on the coast of Mexico, specifically through the lens of area-based tools, such as other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs). After graduating, she aims to pursue a career that explores the connections between science, policy, and management in Mexico to help ensure a more sustainable future.
Laura Sterup
PhD Graduate Student
Laura is interested in studying the ways that habitat quality and oceanographic variation interact to determine reproductive success in rockfishes. She aims to combine laboratory and field study to parse the relationships between environmental variation and reproductive output in a nearshore fish, how these things may be impacted by ocean warming, and whether Marine Protected Areas can provide population-level resiliency to change. She hopes to pursue a career in academia and run her own lab one day, continuing work that promotes sustainable fisheries in a changing ocean.
Mathea Kurtz-Shaw
PhD Graduate Student
Mathea is interested in the various facets of nearshore ecosystem connectivity including trophic ecology within settlement habitat, landscape ecology impacts on juvenile fish recruitment, and human connectivity to local marine environments. Mathea plans to pursue a scientific career that allows her to integrate research, teaching, and outreach allowing people to better understand and fall in love with their own local ecosystems.
Our Team
Recent Team Alumni
Laurel Field, Masters in Marine Resource Management
Dr. Megan Wilson, PhD
Dr. Vanessa Constant, Adjunct Lead Scientist - Ocean Commitments Project
Dr. Sara Hamilton, PhD
Amanda Olmos, Undergraduate Researcher
Hayden Chew-Silva, Undergraduate Researcher
Dr. Katie Dziedzic, Ocean Commitments Project Lead
Dr. Will Fennie, PhD
Dani Ottmann Riera, Masters
Maddi McArthur, Undergraduate Honors Student
Jessie Reimer, Science of Marine Reserves Project
Tully Rohrer, Founding SMURF Tech
Jerod Sapp, SMURF Captain