Cool Tucson Program Manager
Natasha is an environmental scientist, educator and writer. Growing up in Los Angeles, Natasha developed a passion for sustainability and conservation through urban farming, bicycle advocacy and marine education. In school she earned a B.Sc. in Earth Sciences and Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of California, Santa Cruz. From there, she did her Postdoctoral work at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. where she combined her expertise in marine ecology to investigate coastal archaeological questions. Natasha has over 16 peer-reviewed publications and has been teaching climate science, geology and sustainability at the college level for nearly 5 years. Since moving to Tucson in 2025, Natasha has been teaching at Pima College and volunteering with the Neighborhood Foresters and ADEQ learning about local climate action initiatives and watershed management. She discovered WMG while teaching rainwater harvesting techniques at Pima College and instantly felt her love for water reignited. Natasha is thrilled to be working under Cool Tucson 5 to build educational programs on urban forestry as a solution for the urban heat island effect. Natasha loves to watercolor, read books about the American West and play ultimate frisbee. Although, these days you will find Natasha working in her front yard transforming it from a barren gravel scape into a verdant native rain garden while also wrangling her two young kiddos.