Kat is a marine ecologist with a strong applied focus in restoration ecology of coastal habitats (seagrass, salt marsh, kelp forest). After finishing her PhD at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2021, she worked at the California Ocean Protection Council within their Climate Change Program as a California Sea Grant State Fellow. In 2022, Kat joined the SONGS Mitigation Monitoring Program as an Assistant Researcher, where she is currently a Co-PI. 

Broadly, Kat’s research focuses on understanding loss and recovery dynamics of coastal foundation species and developing best practices for the management of wetland and kelp forest systems. Kat aims to produce science that is relevant to both management and policy through close collaboration with diverse stakeholder groups.