“With the update of the Delta science plan done, we can now can sink our teeth into some topical issues our scientists can be passionate about, such as aquatic invasive vegetation, microcystis and climate change, for example,” says the former Department of Water Resources (DWR) fish biologist. Conrad grew up in Philadelphia and developed an interest in conservation on summer road trips to western national parks in their family’s Dodge Ram. “My mom sewed us individual seat covers with pockets for entertainment items,” she says.  She is pleased to be part of an agency with so many women in leadership positions and with such a broad mandate. At DWR, she says, legal mandates required them to focus on water project operations and specific endangered fish. But at the council, she sees opportunities to examine whole communities of species or delve into social sciences. “We’re a young agency that has been defining itself for 10 years, and our scope gives us a chance to take on bigger topics or issues with longer timescales,” she says, excitement in her voice. Asked how she might tackle the need for more coordinated monitoring up and down the San Francisco Estuary, she acknowledged the challenge. “The monitoring communities are different in Red Bluff from those for Liberty Island or the South Bay. Creating a more congealed monitoring system for the [entire estuary watershed] is going to require people working at the landscape scale, and as bridges between scientific communities. I’m only two or three months into this job, but I know there is a role for the council’s science program to play in all this.”