MESM 2026
Pronouns: he/him
Bio
Originally from South Los Angeles, Samuel earned his B.S. from UCSB in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology. During his undergraduate studies, in the summer of 2022, he completed a UCSB-Mantell Summer Internship at the Audubon Center at Ernest E. Debs Regional Park in Los Angeles. Samuel focused primarily on public outreach to diverse low-income neighborhoods and educating the community members on the importance of green spaces and access in urban areas. In the summer of 2023, he returned to the Mantell Program and partnered with a Bren School of Environmental Science & Management graduate student on The Nature Conservancy's FishKit team. Together, they developed training and educational tools for data collection and analysis of fishery health in community fisheries worldwide.
During these internships, Samuel's commitment to community involvement in establishing long-term solutions became evident. This understanding has led him to pursue a Master of Environmental Science and Management (MESM) at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. His goal is to work in coastal resources management and explore how local communities can be involved in establishing sustainable fisheries/aquaculture.