Stephanie earned her Bachelor’s degree at UC Davis and worked in the post-harvest industry before moving to Santa Barbara in pursuit of her love of plants and restoration. Upon arrival, she was introduced to the chaparral shrublands of southern California and was quickly smitten by the intricacies of its relationship with wildfire, drought, and the people that live within it. Stephanie is currently a PhD student at UCSB studying chaparral succession following wildfire and the constraints of chaparral restoration in degraded landscapes. She is a member of the Vegetation Ecology Group (VEG Lab) at UCSB led by Dr. Carla D’Antonio, where the group studies restoration in California grassland, coastal sage scrub, and vernal pool ecosystems.
The Fire Safe Council was lucky to have Stephanie present the current research occurring at the VEG Lab on Restoring Native Plant Communities in southern California at the April 21, 2021 general membership meeting.