Our Team
Jesse Goldstein graduated magna cum laude from Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon in 2004 with a BS in Environmental Biology. Following graduation he was hired as a Wildlife Biology Technician to survey water bodies in Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California. He spent the next eight summer field seasons and several fall seasons conducting high mountain lake, pond, stream and meadow surveys and habitat restoration projects focused on fish, herptiles and invertebrates throughout California for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Park Service. Jesse also spent ten winter seasons as an alpine ski instructor for Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in Mammoth Lakes, California. Off season he has explored tens of thousands of miles of wilderness in the Americas from the Arctic Circle to Patagonia via foot, ski, crampon, and paddle.
Jesse is interested in biological resource conservation, specifically in the impacts of human disturbances on biodiversity and community and population dynamics. At the Bren School Jesse specializes in Conservation Planning. Additionally, Jesse’s travel experiences have sparked a growing interest in the development and application of a more holistic conservation ethic in Latin America. Jesse’s ultimate career goal is to influence, inspire, and shape environmental policy as a leader in wildlife and land management. |
Smadar Levy graduated summa cum laude from Wellesley College in 2009 with a BA degree in Biological Sciences. After college, her diverse interests led her to facilitate experiential science learning at the Cincinnati Nature Center, conduct evolutionary biology research with the Rausher lab at Duke University, study harp performance and composition at the Berklee College of Music, serve as an operations manager for a financial advisory, and volunteer as an elementary school teacher on Namdrik Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Her year on Namdrik opened her eyes to environmental challenges faced by island communities and gave rise to the realization that she could unite her varied interests and strengths with a desire to solve environmental problems through a career in environmental resource management. She is currently a first-year master's student at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, where she is specializing in Economics and Politics of the Environment and interns with SaltyGirl Seafood, a sustainable seafood company founded by Bren graduates. Smadar hopes to dedicate her career to working with island communities to address their unique environmental challenges.
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Juan Sebastian Mayorga, a first-year Bren School master’s
student and Latin American Fisheries Fellow, graduated from the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota, Colombia
in 2013. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering
and minors in management and biology. For his
final project, he interned with the Oceanography and Coastal Engineering Research Group at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, where he
worked on projects in renewable ocean energy and remote sensing. After completing his undergraduate degree, Juan received the
Sea Education Association's presidential scholarship to attend their Oceans and Climate program. During his semester at SEA, he worked on identifying suitable tuna habitat in the Central Pacific Ocean, collecting samples and analyzing data while living aboard a sailing vessel.
Juan is passionate about protecting the ocean, its biodiversity, and the vital services it provides for humankind and has a keen interest in assessing the vulnerability of marine ecosystems under climate change and anthropogenic stressors. He is also interested in contributing to the protection of migratory species of high economic and ecologic value through the design, implementation, and assessment of networks of marine protected areas. |
Vanessa Perkins is a first-year master's student at the Bren School in UC Santa Barbara. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Vanessa graduated with highest honors from the University of California Davis where she completed her B.S. in Environmental Science with a minor in music. She studied at the Bodega Marine Laboratory during her senior year, which spurred her interest in marine ecology and ecosystem services. After graduating, Vanessa had the opportunity to intern with the Natural Capital Project to learn more about the socioeconomic benefits of biodiversity conservation. This experience prompted her to apply to Bren's MESM program, where she is thrilled to be exploring how to align ecosystem integrity and conservation with human well-being.
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Originally from Wilmington, North Carolina, Alexandra Vasquez graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a BS in Marine Biology. Upon graduation, she spent the following three years working in both mainland Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands. While on the mainland, Alexandra worked in a small fishing village engaged in research projects focused on fisheries and coral reef ecosystems. She then relocated to the Galápagos to work with the Charles Darwin Research Station in Galápagos as an intern for their shark research project. Alexandra later became the international programs coordinator at the University of San Francisco de Quito’s Galápagos Campus on San Cristobal Island. Alexandra is the co-founder of an organization called Experiencia Galápagos!, which facilitates international volunteers to work on social and environmental projects in the Galápagos Islands. While in Galápagos, Alexandra also worked for the MitiGal Foundation, which focused on bringing environmental education to Galápagos communities through art and culture expositions.
Alexandra’s experience in the Galápagos Islands cultivated professional interests in ecosystem management, fisheries science, and marine reserve design. After her tenure at the Bren School as a LAFF Fellow specializing in coastal marine resources management, Alexandra looks forward to returning to Galápagos with the goal of improving the current state of small scale fisheries and livelihoods of Galápagueños, while working to maintain the ecological integrity of the islands. |
Dr. Christopher Costello is advisor to GeoMar and is a professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at UC Santa Barbara. His research concerns natural resource management and property rights under uncertainty, with a particular emphasis on information, its value, and its effect on management decisions. Dr. Costello's work combines theoretical work from economics with empirical analysis, often to inform policy. His topical interests include fisheries management, biological diversity, introduced species, regulation of polluting industries, and marine policy, and he frequently collaborates with researchers outside of economics such as statistics, ecology, biogeography, and mathematics.
Dr. Enric Sala is an Explorer-In-Residence with National Geographic. Founder and leader of Pristine Seas, he combines scientific research, exploration, economics, policy and media outreach in order to preserve the last wild places in the ocean. Dr. Sala taught at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography before joining National Geographic and has been very influential in the field of conservation through his numerous scientific publications, popular articles, and documentary films. Collaborating with other conservation organizations, Dr. Sala was key to the creation of several large marine protected areas including the Seamounts Marine Managed Area in Costa Rica and the Pacific Remote Atolls National Monument in the United States.