Lizzi is a first-year Master’s student in the Hughes Lab studying kelp forest resilience and community ecology. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2022 with a B.S. in Aquatic Biology and a B.A. in Environmental Studies. As an undergraduate, she worked as a laboratory assistant and scientific diver for SBC LTER and the Miller Lab, where she conducted long-term monitoring of Southern California coastal ecosystems. She also completed a Research Experience for Undergraduates internship with Moorea Coral Reef LTER in Moorea, French Polynesia, where she deployed and programmed oceanographic instruments and conducted long-term monitoring of coral reefs.

Since graduating, she has worked as a field technician across coastal California and the Channel Islands, collecting data for UC Santa Barbara’s SONGS team in Carlsbad and the Kelp Forest Monitoring Program at Channel Islands National Park. As a field technician, she specialized in the long-term monitoring of marine ecosystems by analyzing oceanographic instrument data, conducting species diversity and abundance surveys, and assessing ecosystem composition and health. As a graduate student, she hopes to make key contributions to kelp forest resilience and conservation efforts throughout Northern California. Originally from the Bay Area, she is thrilled to contribute towards researching and protecting the coastal environments that inspired her love for biology and science.