Research Associate, Ensenada Scientific Research and Higher Education Center

Sula Vanderplank, PhD, is an expert in the flora and ecology of the Baja California peninsula, having studied the diverse ecosystems and offshore islands there for the last 20 years. She earned her PhD in plant ecology from the University of California, Riverside, under Exequiel Ezcurra, PhD. She is a research associate at the Ensenada Scientific Research and Higher Education Center (CICESE), and San Diego State University. She maintains an active research program on the peninsula and has published more than 50 academic articles and books. She is currently the director of Conserva Loreto, a program of The Ocean Foundation, which exists to strengthen protected areas in Loreto with science, education and equity.