The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project and San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) are delighted and proud to introduce Donna Ball as the Restoration Project’s new lead scientist!
Donna has been a salt marsh ecologist on a variety of tidal restoration projects throughout San Francisco Bay and on the West Coast. Donna has spent the last 7 ½ years at Save The Bay as the Habitat Restoration Director, where she led projects to respond to sea level rise and climate change and restore salt marsh. She also oversaw Save The Bay’s community-based restoration and education program. Prior to that, while at H.T. Harvey & Associates, Donna worked on a wide range of habitat restoration projects throughout California – including helping to develop the initial restoration plans and science program for the Restoration Project!
Donna holds a M.S. in Environmental Science from Western Washington University, Huxley College of the Environment, with a focus on marine and estuarine ecosystems. As a strong conservation leader, scientist, collaborator, and mentor with 15 years of experience in San Francisco Bay’s marshes and estuaries, Donna has been an important contributor to many important Bay Area projects including the Baylands Ecosystem Habitat Goals Update, the Wetland Regional Monitoring Program, the Oro Loma Horizontal Levee Project, and others.
Through a partnership between the Restoration Project and SFEI, Donna will work half-time as Restoration Project lead scientist, running our Project’s science program, and half-time on SFEI projects.
SFEI and the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project congratulate Donna and welcome her to our teams.