I grew up in Palo Alto, California and attended Henry M. Gunn Senior High School with my siblings Anton Horwath and Kathryn Horwath.  In 2009, I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Aquatic Biology from the University of California Santa Barbara.  While in school, I received scientific diver certification (AAUS) and I have since participated on subtidal monitoring and research projects, mostly at California's stunning Channel Islands.  UCSB has a top-notch geography department, which I took advantage of with a year of GIS (geographic information systems) classes.  The skills came of use when I worked as a GIS intern with Island Conservation, Don Croll , Ph.D and Bernie Tershy, Ph.D of UC Santa Cruz.  

     As a UCLEADS scholar (http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/diversityoutreach/ucleads) I was funded for my own undergraduate  projects and two summers of intensive research sessions at UCSB and UCSC.  These experiences stimulated my appetite for the processes of scientific research and solidified my goal of eventually pursuing a Ph.D in aquatic ecology.  I am thrilled to investigate the life beneath the surface that intrigued at me at a young age when I spent afternoons peering into tide pools and yearned to be submerged amongst the marine life.

     Working for the Cachuma Operation & Maintenance Board, trapping and sampling Steelhead in the Santa Ynez River, sparked more of my interests for informed fisheries management and conservation/restoration ecology.  I worked as a Marine Technician for Bio Architecture Lab's Ellwood Kelp Growing Project and became fascinated with aquaculture.  As a Staff Scientist with CardnoENTRIX, my interests in applied marine and freshwater fisheries ecology, conservation, and geographic information systems are applied.