Dr. Crooks started working in the coastal wetlands of San Diego in the late 1980’s, and has been the Research Coordinator of the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve since 2002. Jeff runs the Reserve’s research and monitoring program, which focuses on using sound science to adaptively manage urban marine ecosystems such as salt marshes and lagoons. The Reserve is currently focusing on using restoration to increase resilience of coastal wetlands in the face of climate change, as well as the ecology and management of invasive species. Jeff has a B.S. from Colorado State University, a M.S. from San Diego State University, and a Ph.D. from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego. He also was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and is currently adjunct faculty at the University of San Diego and Scripps.
Justin McCullough