While pursuing her undergraduate career at Humboldt State University, Leslie helped survey the rocky intertidal regions within California’s newest suite of Marine Protected Areas. During this time, climate change and other factors led to a trophic cascade event now known as “the perfect storm” swept through the Northern California coastal ecosystem, wiping out sea stars, abalone, and kelp forests. Anthropogenic disturbance to rocky intertidal and other nearshore ecosystems is of particular interest to Leslie for this reason, and her current research focuses on bioremediation of polluted waterways through use of marine macroalgae. Leslie and her partner, Torre, also founded a seaweed farming startup in 2017 called Sunken Seaweed, with the purpose of creating a regenerative food product (seaweed can be delicious!) while restoring coastal habitats and improving biodiversity. If she’s not staring at algae, Leslie enjoys baking, running on trails at a leisurely pace, caring for her plants and animals, and finding weird stuff at thrift stores. ​