Dr. Rachel Smith

Dr. Rachel Smith is a marine scientist who applies principles of community ecology to better understand how to restore and manage coastal ecosystems. Rachel earned a B.A. in Biological Sciences from Northwestern University in 2010 and a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Georgia in 2019. Her doctoral research examined the effects and mechanisms of mangrove expansion into salt marshes. Next, she worked as a NatureNet Science Fellow with the University of Virginia and the Nature Conservancy to optimize oyster restoration efforts in coastal Virginia. Currently, she is an Assistant Researcher in the Marine Science Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She works as a Co-Principal Investigator with the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) Mitigation Monitoring Program. This long-term monitoring program evaluates two mitigation projects designed to compensate for kelp and fish resources lost due to power plant operations. She helps assess the performance of both an artificial reef and a restored coastal wetland and determine how similar these constructed habitats are to natural systems.