RECENT ALUMNI

MOLLY HAYES

Bee City USA coordinator, Xerces Society

Molly was most interested in the intersection between wild bees, forests, and wildfire. She studied the impacts of the fall 2017 wildfires in Napa and Sonoma counties on plant-pollinator networks in oak woodland ecosystems. Molly has also been involved in pollinator research in Marin county with the Marin Municipal Water District, California State Parks, and Marin County Parks. When not studying bees Molly enjoys trail running, drawing, and baking cakes. Learn more about Molly at her website or email her at molly.f.hayes@gmail.com

ELSA VALENZUELA

M.S. Biology

Elsa graduated from Santa Clara University in 2016 with a B.S. in Biology with an emphasis in Ecology and Evolution. She joined the lab in the fall of 2017. She studied whether the thermo-tolerance of different bee species could be used to predict their distributions in urban environments.  As cities heat up due to urbanization and climate change, this has the potential to change where species are found.  She also led the field work for our research on the trends in pollinators in the Presidio National Park. In her spare time, she volunteered at CuriOdyssesy educating the public of the environment and local wildlife. She loves to go for hikes and runs.