Gabriella Carvajal (MA, 2015)

Gabriella Carvajal is currently enrolled in a PhD program in Integrative Biology at Florida Atlantic University. Working in Dr. Jeanette Wyneken’s lab, she studies temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) in sea turtles and their sex ratios in Southeast Florida by looking for the presence of a sex-specific protein in sea turtle hatchling blood.

Gabriella grew up in New Rochelle, NY and graduated from Stony Brook University with a Bachelor’s in the Ecosystems and Human Impact track of Sustainability Studies and a minor in Geospatial Sciences. While enrolled in the Marine Conservation and Policy (MCP) program Gabriella studied humpback whale song with The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which eventually led to her first scientific publication!

After graduating from the MCP program, Gabriella worked as a field technician at the St. Croix Sea Turtle Project at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge for two seasons, where she fell in love with the work and the leatherback turtle. She then spent two years studying lemur vocalizations in Madagascar before starting her PhD program. In her spare time, Gabriella enjoys beach combing and photographing wildlife.

Ana Penavic came into the MCP program wanting to tackle climate change issues through an interdisciplinary lens. Her undergraduate education focused on advocacy related to climate, conservation, and human displacement due to political/economic strife. She wanted to focus on maritime conservation in Southeast Asia and joined the MCP program to work towards that goal. While at SoMAS, Ana got her scientific diving certification and completed a capstone in Thailand using her new diving skills to survey giant clams and coral reefs. Ana shared that her favorite part of the MCP program was all the amazing people she met including students, professors, and professional connections.