Meet the Scientists

“I'm originally from Iowa, born and raised. I guess I’ve been out in nature since I was a little kid. My dad was a hunter and fisherman. In the winter times he would take me out along the Mississippi River, and we'd be eagle watching—watching them catch fish in the ice. And [we’d go] canoeing and were always going to science museums. I was a pretty high energy kid and so I think part of it was probably trying to get me outdoors, going crazy with me inside."

Meet Lisa Schomaker, botanist for the San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network. Discover how Lisa cultivated an early love of the outdoors into a career studying plant communities in national parks. Plus, get Lisa's perspective on what it's like to monitor the diverse ecosystems of the San Francisco Bay Area!

“Being a wildlife biologist is pretty awesome, I have to say. To me, it's the dream job. It's definitely very hard work, labor-wise. I mean I'm walking long distances on the beach almost every day between March until September, during the plover season. It's like type-2 fun where it's difficult in the moment but afterwards, it's very rewarding. Especially after, say, attending a nest hatch and devoting several days to monitoring the chicks and seeing them grow up and fledge."

Meet Sarah Codde, a Marine Ecologist with the San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network. She specializes in marine mammals, and leads the elephant seal and harbor seal monitoring programs at Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area. What’s it like to study 6,000 pound mammals that spend half their time in the ocean and half their time on land? Read Sarah’s story to find out!

"While I was in college, I didn't want to go back home for the summer to work at the local grocery. I applied for a bunch of environmental internships and got a fisheries internship in Colorado. I had no prior experience or any interest in fish, but I thought 'why not?' I went out there, learned a lot, and had an amazing time. After the fisheries internship, I knew I wanted to continue to work in natural sciences."

A California native, Jena joined the San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network with over 20 years of professional experience. She has studied population trends and species distributions with the US Forest Service, the US Bureau of Reclamation, and USGS. Most recently, she served as the conservation scientist for the International Gorilla Conservation Programme, leading mountain gorilla population surveys in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda.

Meet Michael Reichmuth, fisheries biologist for the San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network. Find out more about why he’s so excited about fish, and how he got to be where he is today.

Meet Darren Fong, aquatic ecologist for Golden Gate National Recreation Area and lead scientist for the SFAN streamflow monitoring program. Discover how Darren's fascination with aquatic life and freshwater ecosystems began and learn how he got to be where he is today.

What’s it like to make a living by monitoring birds of prey as they nest, raise their young, and live their lives among the cliffs of Pinnacles National Park? Read Gavin’s story to find out!

How do biologists survey endangered northern spotted owls in the forests of Marin county? Wildlife technician Taylor Ellis has some tricks up his sleeve for finding these charismatic birds. Read about his adventures as a field wildlife biologist and how he got to be where he is today.