Dr. Rebecca Sutton is a Senior Scientist for the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP). She leads the RMP's Emerging Contaminants Workgroup and a team of scientists investigating contaminants of emerging concern in the San Francisco Bay and other regions of California. She studies a broad range of contaminants, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), flame retardants, rubber and plastic additives, ethoxylated and quaternary ammonium surfactants, current-use pesticides, and microplastics, among others. Dr. Sutton has served on California’s Green Ribbon Science Panel (2014-2022) to aid the state’s Safer Consumer Products Program, as well as the 2022 panel to review the drinking water Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 5) for the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Dr. Sutton received her B.S. in Environmental Resource Science from the University of California, Davis and her Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. Her dissertation explored molecular-scale interactions affecting contaminant fate and transport as well as soil carbon storage to mitigate climate change. Prior to joining SFEI, Dr. Sutton was a senior scientist with research and advocacy non-profit Environmental Working Group, where she conducted investigations on chemicals of concern in air, water, soil, consumer goods, and people.