Sydney Luitgaarden

operations lead

Hometown: Seattle, WA 

Current Residence: Kailua, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi

Sydney knew she wanted to be a marine biologist from the early age of 8 when she saw shark week on the discovery channel for the first time. Following her childhood dream, she attended UH Mānoa, completing a marine biology degree. During her undergraduate years, she fell into a very niche and smelly study field of fish guts in cooperation with Cornell University, Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, and Paepae o He’eia. She went on to complete M.Sc. in Marine Science on skipjack tuna diet. Currently Sydney works at NOAA in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Program as a marine research technician. You can commonly find Sydney fishing, making elaborate marine plastic ecopoxy art, or somewhere outside looking at limu. Fueled by energy drinks and peanut butter chocolate chip sandwiches, she is very excited to return to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument to help clean up the mess humans have made in an ecosystem that can't help itself!