Francesca was raised in Richmond, California. She recently graduated from Macalester College with a major in Environmental Studies, Community and Global Health and minors in chemistry and biology. Way out in the wild Midwest, she found a love for community-based watershed science, especially around tracing contaminants from extractive industries to understand impact on natural resource sovereignty in frontline communities. Prior to coming to SFEI, Francesca worked as a Research Assistant at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, where she researched wetland restoration in retired cranberry bogs, and developed upstream river sampling campaigns for Buzzards Bay. She is beyond excited to advance her analytical skills while at SFEI, and she’s especially jazzed about the opportunity to dive deeper into biogeochemistry, the science of emerging contaminants, and working with local community organizations such as All Positives Possible. Most of all, she is looking forward to reconnecting with the Bay from a whole new perspective.