Congratulations California Sea Grant Fellows!

CoSE and the EOS Center are proud to announce three 2022 Fellows. California Sea Grant's State Fellows Program provides a unique educational opportunity for graduate students who are interested both in marine resources and in the policy decisions affecting those resources. This highly competitive program matches highly motivated and qualified graduate students with hosts in municipal, state and federal agencies in California for a 12-month paid fellowship.

Alex Bevan
Host Agency: California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
Alex is originally from Rough and Ready, CA. She graduated with a Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Marine and Estuarine Sciences from San Francisco State University's Estuary and Ocean Science Center. Her thesis research focused on using new innovative drone technology to survey and model species distribution and spatial overlap of Antillean manatees off the coast of Belize City. During her graduate studies she coordinated undergraduate field courses for the University of California Santa Cruz in various locations across California and Baja California, MX. She also worked as an intern for Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary where she organized the Beyond the Golden Gate Research Symposium. As a fellow, Alex will be directly contributing to the future development of environmentally sustainable infrastructure in California by working with CalTrans Office of Environmental Analysis and Coastal Stewardship in the Bay Area. Her work will include biological surveys for salmonids, Northern Spotted Owls, and other ecologically vulnerable species, as well as incorporating climate change stressors into project development. 

Catie Thow de Garcia
Host Agency: California State Coastal Conservancy
Catie earned her master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Marine and Estuarine Sciences from San Francisco State University’s Estuary and Ocean Science Center. For her thesis project she collaborated with the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (SFBNERR) to study phytoplankton productivity and nutrient uptake in the tidal wetlands of Suisun Marsh. During her graduate studies she also helped to organize and lead trainings related to coastal resilience with the SFBNERR which bolstered her interest coastal restoration. Catie is hosted by the State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) as their Bay Restoration fellow working on the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority and the shoreline restoration work of the SCC’s Bay Area Program. During her fellowship she will work with scientists, restoration practitioners, resource managers, and community leaders on topics related to coastal habitat restoration along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay.

Lindsey Metz
Host Agency: California State Water Resources Control Board - Office of Information Management and Analysis
Lindsey is a recent master’s student from the third cohort of the Interdisciplinary Marine and Estuarine Sciences Program at San Francisco State’s Estuary and Ocean Sciences Center. During her graduate education, she completed a master’s thesis study investigating the effect of temperature and pH on the bacteria community associated with a toxin producing diatom species, Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries. Her research interests mainly center around the smallest members of the marine community, bacteria, and how they interact with eukaryotic organisms to influence coastal ecology. She is excited at the prospect of applying her research background to issues related to resource policy and management. Lindsey will spend her fellowship working with the State Water Resources Control Board Office of Information Management and Analysis in their System Wide Ambient Monitoring Program division (SWAMP). While working with the SWAMP team, she will address questions surrounding various aspects of water quality and ecosystem health within freshwater resources across California, by applying her knowledge of statistical computing and aquatic ecology to real world regulatory concerns. She is looking forward to gaining knew knowledge and skills related to water resource regulation that she can hopefully apply to a career in policy following the completion of the fellowship.

Reposted from California Sea Grant, learn about CA Sea Grant and all the 2022 Fellows HERE.