Anne Kapuscinski, Director

Core Faculty
Sustainability Science
Professor, Environmental Studies

Anne R. Kapuscinski is an interdisciplinary scholar committed to finding scientifically and socially robust solutions to a major challenge: how to perpetuate healthy aquatic ecosystems while sustaining resource uses that support human wellbeing. Her past research examined impacts of dams, fish hatcheries, aquaculture and genetic engineering on fish conservation. Her current research aims to shift aquaculture, the world’s fastest growing food sector, towards sustainability. Her team uses marine microalgae to achieve fish-free feeds, thus decouple aquaculture from ocean-caught forage fish, reduce nutrient and carbon emissions and improve food security. She also pursues ecological aquaculture strategies to close water and nutrient loops and conserve biodiversity. Anne participates actively in the science-policy interface, presently as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Union of Concerned Scientists and member of the Ocean Protection Council Science Advisory Team, and has been a scientific advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (under three administrations), U.S. Food and Drug Administration, World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, Global Environment Facility, European Union Food Safety Agency, state of Minnesota, and on four U.S. National Academy of Science committees. She is Editor-in-Chief of the Sustainability Transitions domain of the open-access journal, Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. Her awards include a 2019 Ocean Award in Innovation, Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, and Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Conservation Biology, among others. As Director of the Coastal Science and Policy Program, Anne guides and builds a diverse, inclusive community of students, faculty and partners to pursue scalable solutions to pressing coastal and ocean challenges.

Watch Anne describe her research here or read more about Anne and her research team at: https://casfs.ucsc.edu/research/agroecological-science/aquaculture.html and https://kapsar.sites.ucsc.edu/.

Sarah Eminhizer

Graduate Program Administrator and Advisor

Sarah Eminhizer is a California native. She is passionate about working with key actors to find solutions to today’s biggest social and environmental problems and improve organizational effectiveness. Sarah brings a breadth of experience in a range of sectors from her time working as an Associate Program Director for a nonprofit addressing coral reef adaptation potential and Fiji and Indonesia conservation programming, a Director for Blue Earth Consultants (a management consulting firm focused on white water to blue water issues), and as an Environmental Planner in American Samoa. Sarah holds a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University and a Bachelor of Science in Aquatic Biology from UC Santa Barbara.

Judy Straub

Internship and Fields Programs Coordinator

Judy Straub is the Internship and Fields Programs Coordinator in UCSC’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She supports the Coastal Science and Policy graduate program, the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program and the Center to Advance Mentored, Inquiry-Based Opportunities (CAMINO). She is an active mentor in STEM fields and has a keen interest in recruiting and supporting women and underrepresented populations in science careers. Judy worked in the biotech industry on HIV and cancer treatments previous to her academic appointment. She holds a BS from Duke University, MS from Northwestern and PhD from Emory University. She recently relocated to Santa Cruz from Philadelphia where she was an assistant professor in organic chemistry and biochemistry at LaSalle University.

Melissa Cronin

Graduate Student Assistant

Melissa Cronin is a PhD student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of California, Santa Cruz. Melissa came to the graduate program with a background in ecology and journalism and helps to develop recruitment and outreach materials for the CS&P program.