Brenna’s experience with the underwater world began with frequent visits to science museums and aquariums. She earned her open water certificate in Hawaii and became an AAUS certified scientific diver at Cornell University where she worked on coral diseases in Mexico. Brenna was named the 2007 North American Rolex Scholar of the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society, and has worked as a scientific diver from tropical to polar waters. Currently a Ph.D. Candidate at UC Santa Cruz, Brenna studies how algal communities provide habitat to prey items of fish within marine protected areas. After graduation, Brenna plans to embark on a career in marine conservation science, combining research and outreach at an NGO, government or multi-lateral agency.