Jaci Saunders, Seattle, WA

Jaci graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2007 with a BS in Biology and a BA in Political Science. While an undergraduate, she completed a course in Ecology and was immediately bit by the environmental bug. In 2008, Jaci received a Unilever-SCA Congressional National Parks Internship where she spent time working in Washington, DC working with US Congress and the Department of Interior; following her time in DC she interned at Padre Island National Seashore in Corpus Christi, TX. Her experience with the SCA in DC and in Texas solidified her desire to work at the intersection of science and public policy. At Padre Island, Jaci (a Pennsylvania native) was introduced to management issues of an unfamiliar Gulf Coast Ecosystem and marine issues in general. Her time along the coast inspired her to pursue a future in Oceanography. Following her time with the SCA, Jaci received two research internships with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in the Plant Ecology and Protistan Ecology Labs. Currently, Jaci is a graduate student studying Biological Oceanography at the University of Washington in Seattle and received a 2010 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. When she’s not in the lab or studying, Jaci loves to get outside and play in the dirt, hike, kayak, and do activities with the SCA Seattle Regional Office. Email Jaci