Michaela was born and raised in Orange County, CA. She received her B.S. in Environmental Studies with a concentration in marine environments from UC Santa Barbara in 2018 and her M.S. in Conservation and Restoration Science from UC Irvine in 2021. Her master’s research was in partnership with NOAA in conducting intertidal habitat assessment surveys for the recovery of the endangered black abalone.

Prior to working at Coastkeeper, she worked at several nonprofits providing education programs to local youth. She is excited to give back to her home community by fostering the next generation of environmental stewards through developing, managing, and instructing Coastkeeper’s education programs.

In her free time, you can find her exploring tide pools, bird watching in our local wetlands, or enjoying a movie at home.