Teresa Romero

Teresa Romero is an enrolled member of the Coastal Band of Chumash, is a member Syuxtun Plant Collective, a traditional plant collective focusing on tending, gathering and preparation of traditional plants.  Teresa has served on the MPA Statewide Leadership Team as a Tribal Representative since 2019.  Teresa has worked for over 20 years assisting Tribal Communities on projects, such as acquiring lands for the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians, protecting Treaty Rights (Little River Band of Ottawa Indians) and preserving traditional cultural knowledge for her Chumash community. Teresa has deep ties to her traditional homelands and the ocean.

Shannon Switzer Swanson

Shannon Switzer Swanson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environment and Geography at California State University San Marcos and a National Geographic Explorer. She is a marine social ecologist who blends theory and methods from cultural anthropology and conservation biology. Drawing from her experience as a photojournalist, Shannon utilizes visual participatory methods like community film and photography to better understand what motivates how people engage with their seascapes and how those seascapes, in turn, support human well-being. She has worked extensively in Oceania, with a focus on Indonesia, living and working with artisanal fishing families. Shannon was born and raised in San Diego and is excited to expand her research to include southern California coastal communities through this current project.

Manuela Diaz

Manuela completed her undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Design in Chile and is currently pursuing a Master of Environmental Science and Management (MESM) at the Bren School at UCSB, specializing in Coastal Resources Management and Business & Sustainability with a focus on innovation.

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Manuela is a certified scuba diver with a deep passion for the ocean and a strong commitment to helping coastal ecosystems and local communities thrive. She focuses on applying interdisciplinary approaches to advance marine conservation and promote access to, and benefits from, coastal spaces.

Emma Gee

Emma Gee is a PhD student in Environmental Studies at UC Santa Cruz.  She has a broad range of research interests, including discourses around Asian cultures in conservation, Indigenous fisheries sovereignty, and the ecological effects of fishing on the high seas.  She is passionate about knowledge co-creation and how scientists can create conditions that catalyze transformative change.  Prior to coming to UCSC, she completed a BS in Environmental Systems Engineering and an MS in Earth Systems from Stanford University

Taylor Triviño

My name is Taylor Triviño and I am a first year masters student in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS) at the University of Washington (UW). I was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA where my interests lie in bridging the gap between science and policy/management. I pursued my passion for marine science by completing my undergraduate degree in Marine Science at CSU, Monterey Bay, and now on my next journey in graduate school. ​​

Carlie Domingues M.A.

I am a relative, scholar and facilitator. I earned my Masters in American Indian Studies at UCLA and I am currently a doctoral candidate in the Native American Studies program at UC Davis. I collaborate with various people, orgs and programs to support our collective health in abalone and oak ecosystems, emphasizing Indigenous California presence and food systems.

Dr. Katherine Seto

Katherine Seto is an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research lies at the intersection of political ecology, governance theory, and sustainability science. Her research investigates the equity, sustainability, and governance of marine and coastal systems, and the reciprocal relationship they have with human wellbeing and conflict. Her current research explores the social and ecological consequences of fishing, distribution of coastal and marine resource benefits, and the role of seafood in local and global food systems.

Dr. Larry Crowder

Larry Crowder is the Edward F. Ricketts Provostial Professor of Marine Ecology and Conservation at Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.  He is also Affiliated Faculty at Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions and Professor by Courtesy, Department of Biology. is recent research has focused on marine conservation, including research on bycatch, spatial ecological analysis, nutrients and low oxygen, sustainable seafood, ecosystem-based management, marine spatial planning, and governance.

Dr. Rachel Seary 

Rachel Seary is a postdoctoral researcher at UC Santa Cruz and the NOAA Environmental Research Division. She received a PhD in Geography from the University of Cambridge in 2019 before moving to the USA to study the California Current Ecosystem. Rachel is interested in the links between humans and the marine environment, and finding the balance between biodiversity conservation and sustaining ocean resources that people need for food, economy and well-being under changing environmental and regulatory landscapes. Her research investigates social-ecological challenges for fishing communities through participatory approaches. 

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Duncan

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Duncan is a research ecologist with the NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Her work addresses the human dimensions of sanctuary management, deep sea coral ecosystems, spatial ecology, and climate change. Lizzie was formerly a Sea Grant Fellow, and completed her Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in marine biology and biology from California State University, Long Beach.