When I was five, my parents brought home a Jacques Cousteau encyclopedia set. I was immediately drawn to these books and spent a good part of my early childhood reading through them and looking at the amazing pictures of the plants and animals that inhabit our ocean. My parents were also SCUBA divers, so I was able to indulge my curiosities during those many hours while on shore, poking at sea anemones and searching for shark eggs. My dream was to become a marine biologist, even before I truly understood what that was. My father’s running joke was that if I became a marine biologist, he would have an excuse to buy a boat.
Fortunately, that dream followed me into my adult life. In 1999, I relocated to extreme northern California to attend Humboldt State University. In 2002, I received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marine Biology and Zoology. It was during the five years I spent in Humboldt County that I discovered my true passion, marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation. I became an active volunteer with the Northcoast Marine Mammal Center and the Stranding Coordinator for Humboldt County. My evenings, weekends, and lunch hours were spent on the beach evaluating, capturing, transporting and providing emergency medical treatment for sick or injured marine mammals. It was hard work and a lot of personal sacrifice, but at the end of the day, I knew that I was making a difference.
In July 2004, I returned to Southern California to work with the California Wildlife Center as a Marine Mammal Coordinator. Here I am able to continue the important work of protecting wildlife and promoting the health of our world’s oceans through education, conservation and environmental awareness. And yes, my father did finally get his boat.
