Jessica is currently a research assistant at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, marine science instructor for the San Diego Floating Lab and instructor for SRS Summer Academy.
After graduating from UCSD Sixth College in 2012 with a B.S. degree in Biology with a focus in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, Jessica began teaching for the San Diego Floating Lab and re-found her love of for the ocean and all its mysteries. Around this time, she assisted in developing curriculum and courses for SRS to continue educating a large range of students (3rd grade through junior college) in basic marine biology/oceanography methods including animal taxonomy and identification, navigating through plankton and mud samples, as well as several physical oceanography modules. In 2018, she was accepted into the Master of Marine and Environmental Science program at the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas, USVI, and moved to the Caribbean. While completing her thesis on Hawksbill sea turtle genetics she worked with NOAA’s Marine Mammal and Turtle Genetics Lab with a goal of publishing her thesis (in prep). Jessica also assisted with many other essential projects including treating and assessing coral disease and restoration throughout the region, fisheries surveys, community outreach/education, spent time working with South American sea lions to assess their hearing and sensitivity to ambient noises, became an AAUS scientific diver and managed the Sea Turtle Club at the university. After graduating, she returned to San Diego with a continually growing passion and curiosity for the ocean. Jessica recently accepted a job at SIO in a coral research lab where she investigates and analyzes coral reefs in the South Pacific with the goal of accurately assessing overall reef health.