Geana is an associate ecologist with over 8 years of research and professional experience in estuarine wetland ecology and restoration in the San Francisco Bay. She became an expert in invertebrate identification for critters living on eelgrass (Zostera marina) and created standard operating procedures for the lab. Geana has also worked as a researcher on the Living Shorelines Project investigating oyster restoration of the native Olympia oyster, Ostrea lurida, for UC Davis and NOAA.
These jobs gave Geana the opportunity to become an expert ‘mudwalker’, pulling boogie boards piled with field gear through the mudflats of the SF Bay. This work usually involved fitting several complex projects into short tide windows and she learned how to prioritize and efficiently juggle many tasks at once while being an adaptive problem solver. Managing and supporting complex surveys and experiments in the field and at the lab expanded her logistical and technical expertise to gain an understanding and restoration of ecological communities in the bay. Several projects Geana worked on were in collaboration with many partners, including local and national government agencies, consultants, and regional programs. She holds a Master of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Marine and Estuarine Science from San Francisco State University.