MEET THE TEAM
Sidney Gerst
Sidney Gerst, a second year master’s student, graduated from Oregon State University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and minor in Oceanography. At OSU she worked in the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) laboratory where she collected and analyzed mussel samples from intertidal habitats to be a part of a long term data collection bank about intertidal health. Upon graduating, she interned at MOTE Marine Laboratory assisting in the benthic ecology department about scallop research and restoration. Before Bren, she worked for Catalina Island Marine Institute for two years as a Marine Science Instructor. She led school groups from fifth to twelfth grade in outdoor science and adventures including snorkeling and kayaking, as well as indoor laboratories. Her educational focus at Bren is analyzing marine environmental concerns and informing the public about them in a clear and comprehensible way. Through the Marine Resource Management and Conservation Planning specializations, she hopes to find a career in environmental public outreach and science.
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Laura Ingulsrud
Laura Ingulsrud, a second year master’s student, graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and a minor in Professional Writing for Business Communication. Before going back to graduate school, she interned at the Environmental Defense Center, taught sailing in the Santa Barbara Channel and guided on Mt. Fuji, and worked as an Environmental Analyst at Wood, an environmental consulting firm in Santa Barbara. At the Bren School, Laura is specializing in Coastal Marine Resources Management and Conservation Planning with a focus in Environmental Data Science. Laura’s post graduate career goal is to contribute to sustainable and equitable marine conservation through open data science practices and marine spatial planning.
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Shellby Johnson
Shellby Johnson, a second year master’s student and Atlanta native, graduated in 2016 from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami with a Bachelor
of Arts in Marine Affairs and Policy. During Shellby’s undergraduate career, her interests soon lured her out of the classroom and into the community. Through volunteer work, she created an interactive game and presentation that informed minority and underserved members of the community about sustainable fisheries. Soon after, she was selected as the undergraduate speaker at her commencement ceremony where she addressed the racial disparities in the marine science discipline. Upon graduation, Shellby interned with the National Park Service working on sea turtle species and habitat management in coastal North Carolina. Having experienced the importance of natural resource management first hand, she shadowed the superintendent of Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary and worked for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources helping with environmental legislation in 2017. Equipped with a specialization in Coastal Marine Resource Management from the Bren School, Shellby aspires to work with national marine sanctuaries and similar entities to protect and promote our natural heritage and inspire the next generation of minority environmentalists. |
Callie Steffen
Callie Steffen, a second year master’s student, graduated magna cum laude from Florida Atlantic University in 2013 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. Before going back to graduate school, she was an active marine mammal stranding and research volunteer and a bottlenose dolphin research intern. At the Bren School, she is specializing in Conservation Planning with a focus in Environmental Data Science. Callie’s post Bren goals are to research environmental and human impacts and their respective risk factors affecting marine mammal populations that leads to implementing new policies and guidelines concerning specific populations and their conservation based needs.
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OUR ADVISORS
James Frew
is an Associate Professor at UCSB’s Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. His research interests lie in the emerging field of environmental informatics, a synthesis of computer, information, and Earth sciences. He is interested in information architectures that improve the discoverability, usability, and reliability of distributed environmental information. Trained as a geographer, he has worked in remote sensing, image processing, software architecture, massive distributed data systems, and digital libraries. His current research is focused on geospatial information provenance, discovery, and curation, using remote sensing data products generated by his Environmental Information Laboratory as operational test beds. He has affiliate appointments in UCSB's Geography and Computer Science departments.
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Niklas Greissbaum
is a PHD student at UCSB’s Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. Niklas is interested in using environmental informatics to develop and improve data methodologies and infrastructures to make data more accessible. Niklas’s previous experience includes studies in energy and environmental engineering and geospatial and data-driven analysis of domestic energy demand, co-generation, and market intelligence for the national energy provider of France.
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