Kat Millage is a researcher working at the interface of marine ecology, natural resource economics, and data science. Her work leverages principles from each of these fields to inform marine protected area design and implementation, promote sustainable fisheries management, and develop conservation finance solutions. Prior to joining the Pristine Seas team, she was a researcher with the Environmental Markets Lab at the University of California, Santa Barbara where she was involved in a variety of global and regional marine research projects. She has also worked as a research diver, surveying kelp forests along the California coast and coral reefs in the Turks and Caicos Islands. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of San Diego and a Master’s degree in Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School at UC Santa Barbara.