Lauren Smith

Lauren grew up in Southern California and a high school marine ecology class sparked her interest in seaweed. Since that time, she has earned her B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. While an undergraduate she worked in the Coastal Conservation Action Lab and with Island Conservation to prioritize islands for invasive species removal. After taking time to be a tidepool educator and naturalist, Lauren returned to school. She earned her PhD at the University of California, Los Angeles where her research focused on developing tools for understanding ecological strategies and promoting resilience across marine algal communities. This research was especially focused on developing a trait-based framework for exploring marine macroalagae.

Lauren is now excited to be at the intersection of climate change, industry, and seaweed, working to climate train giant kelp in a hatchery setting.