Jesse Traller Ojeda

Board Chair

Dr. Jesse Traller Ojeda is the Climate Resilience Grant Manager for the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation. In her position, she oversees a $71 million dollar NOAA funded project which implements work directed toward flood and wildfire risk reduction, workforce development, and community engagement in the Monterey Bay region. Prior to this role, Dr. Traller Ojeda was a Senior Phycologist at Global Algae Innovations, an outdoor microalgae production company with operations in California and Hawaii. With a background in algae biology, oceanography, biotechnology, and federal grant management, she brings a wealth of both scientific and project management expertise to the foundation. Dr. Traller Ojeda holds a BS in Molecular Biology, an MS in Oceanography, and a PhD in Marine Biology from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. A longtime algae enthusiast, she has contributed to numerous outreach initiatives, including co-creating the Algae Academy K-12 STEM curriculum. Don’t get her started talking about how amazing algae are… She won’t be able to stop!