Lauren Linsmayer is an ocean science and policy expert, bringing experience from Capitol Hill, a coastal policy think tank, and academia. With a record of arriving at more thoughtful policy solutions as a result of working inclusively with a diverse range of stakeholders, she believes in taking an empathetic and human-centered approach to science-policy work. She is currently working on projects exploring science-based pathways for seaweed aquaculture and ocean-based carbon dioxide removal in California, as well as the socio-economic resilience of the red urchin fishery.
Prior to joining the OST team in 2023, Lauren was the Policy Lead at Urban Ocean Lab. Lauren also served as a Professional Staff Member on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, where she shepherded the passage of bipartisan legislation to support research and solutions on ocean acidification and harmful algal blooms, as well as ocean research priorities in the Inflation Reduction Act. She was a 2018 Knauss Fellow with the Senate Commerce Committee and has experience as an independent ocean policy consultant. She has published peer-reviewed research on coral physiology.
Lauren received her Ph.D. in marine biology and M.S. in oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and an M.S. and B.S. in earth systems from Stanford University.
