Celida Moran

Celida is crouched and smiling at the ground in a rocky area with tidepools. She is wearing a bright blue baseball cap, sunglasses, a black raincoat, tan pants, and black rubber boots. Her long curly black hair is tied back in a ponytail.

Award/Details

2018 Doris Duke Conservation Scholar; 2020 WWU Presidential Scholar

All throughout her childhood, Celida enjoyed being in nature: going to the beach, spending a day out in Golden Gate Park, enjoying some urban hiking on one of San Francisco's many hills. She decided to become a marine conservation scientist, but noticed and felt the impacts of the lack of diversity in the field. Her freshman year, Celida participated in the 2016 Marine Science Scholars Program. She then spent 4 years working with Dr. Marco Hatch's Coastal Communities and Ecology Lab studying intertidal clam beds and indigenous food production. She also participated in the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars program at the University of Washington, which promotes community-based research in preserving biodiversity and increasing BIPOC representation missing in the conservation field.

Major

BS, Environmental Science (Toxicology Emphasis), 2020

Minor

Geographic Information Science (GIS)

What are they up to now

After graduating, she became a RAY Conservation Diversity Fellow in the San Francisco Bay Area, encouraging K-12 students to plant native plants in wetlands and streams. She continues using her knowledge in GIS, restoration science, and community engagement to support marginalized communities in “gaining access to environmental resources, public health services, and recreation opportunities within the San Francisco-Bay Area.”