Ocean Solutions: a NOISE Lab podcast

In this episode, we have an inspiring conversation with Karina Johnston, Executive Director of Heal the Ocean, a nonprofit based in Santa Barbara. She shares insights from her PhD research, working with Tidal Influence and her over 20 years of experience managing nature-based solutions that support coastal resilience across California’s diverse seascapes.

Find out more about Karina's work in the ocean resilience space at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karina-johnston-b5a778231/

https://www.healtheocean.org/

http://www.tidalinfluence.com/our-team.html.

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Melissa Ward who is the Chief Scientist of Windward Sciences which is a company that develops and guides ocean-based solutions to environmental change. Specifically, we talk to Dr. Ward about her path to finding her passion for science and blue carbon, as well as the challenges and opportunities of having your own company.

Find out more about Dr. Wards company and her work in the blue carbon space at windwardsciences.com and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaward-sci/.

In this episode we talk to Dr. Alexandra Atlee Phillips who is an Assistant Teaching Professor in Environmental Communication at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at UC Santa Barbara. Dr. Phillips talks about the role of science communication and politics in ocean climate solutions, her experience as an American Association for the Advancement of Science fellow for the U.S. Senator Alex Padilla in Washington DC, and her hope for climate solutions.

To find out more about Dr. Phillips' lab and the science communication resources she's created at www.alexandraatleephillips.com or follow her on X @alexploring.

In this episode we talk to Dr. Veronica Padilla Vriesman who is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at Scripps and Pitzer Colleges in California. She shares how a lifelong curiosity about the natural world—especially in California—inspired the ShArE Lab (Shells as Archives of the Environment). Through studying mollusks, Dr. Padilla Vriesman uncovers what shells can reveal about climate and ocean change, with a focus on California and the West Coast of North America.

To learn more about the ShArE Lab you can go to the Lab website https://veronicapadillavriesman.com/ or follow on Instagram @sharelabatclaremont.

In this episode we talk to Chris Ragland who is the Founder and Executive Director of the Sea League, a non-profit organization based in Santa Barbara that offers ocean-based after school programs and summer camps for the next generation of ocean stewards. Here, we have an inspiring conversation about his connection to the ocean and his path to finding the Sea League.

You can learn more about the Sea League here thesealeague.org and you can give them a follow @thesealeague on Instagram.

In this episode we talk to Dr. Kim Selkoe, who is the Co-Founder and CEO at Get Hooked Seafood, a community supported fishery based in Santa Barbara. Join us in learning about the history of fisheries in California, sustainability and community supported fisheries.

To learn more about Get Hooked or join the community click here: https://gethookedseafood.com/.

In this episode we talk to Eliza Harrison (MBA Candidate, Fuqua School of Business) about her path to Ocean Rainforest, an international seaweed agricultural company with operations based in Santa Barbara California. At Ocean Rainforest she was the Director of California Operations for 7 years and while there she managed the first offshore permit exclusively for seaweed cultivation in the United States. Join us in learning about what’s involved in starting an offshore seaweed farm and how actively pursuing opportunities aligned with your passions can lead to the job of your dreams.

Learn more about Ocean Rainforest here: https://www.oceanrainforest.com/.

Dr. Raquel Bryant invites us into the world of foraminifera, tiny shells that record how oxygen in the ocean has changed over Earth history and how it is likely to change in the future.

Anthony Shiao and James Ray, both with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, talk with us about urchin barrens and how we might rebuild healthy kelp forests off of our coast.

We learn about one of the major threats to whales – ship strikes – and how regulators are trying to reduce them from marine mammal policy expert Laura Ingulsrud.