Meet Our Scientists

Get to know some of the scientists and researchers who study and conserve this amazing place we call home. They’re the boots on the ground who discover (or rediscover) species, study how our natural world is changing, interpret earth’s history and evolution, and care for the 8 million specimens in our collection.

Jon Rebman

Jon Rebman specializes in cacti and the floras of the southern California and the Baja California regions. More.

Pam Horsley

Pamela Horsley oversees the day-to-day activities in the entomology collection and provides collection registration services across the Museum. More.

Michelle E. Thompson

Ecologist Michelle E. Thompson translates science into action to help address the region’s most pressing conservation issues. More.

Layla Aerne Hains

Layla Aerne Hains cares for the nearly 300,000 specimens in our herbarium and manages departmental digitization efforts. More.

Phil Unitt

Philip Unitt wrote the book on birds—literally. He studies the distribution, ecology, history, identification, and conservation of California birds. More.

Tom Deméré

Paleontologist Tom Deméré studies the origin and evolution of marine mammals and heads up the Museum’s paleontological mitigation services program. More.

Kesler Randall

Kesler Randall specializes in the identification of fossil vertebrates and oversees the digitization and accessibility of the paleontology collections. More.

Brad Hollingsworth

Bradford Hollingsworth specializes in the amphibians and reptiles of our region, focusing on their taxonomic diversity, historical biogeography, and conservation. More.

Adam G. Clause

Adam Clause manages our collection of more than 76,000 herpetology specimens and focuses on the conservation, ecology, and systematics of reptiles in our region. More.

Ariel Hammond

Ariel Hammond specializes in data and information sciences. She oversees the Research Library and serves as curator of the library exhibition. More.

Kevin Clark

Kevin Clark coordinates contracting and research opportunities for museum scientists and works to monitor, conserve, and recover endangered species and habitats in the region. More.

Scott Tremor

Scott Tremor specializes in the taxonomy, distribution, ecology, and conservation of the mammals of southern California and Baja California. More.

Lori Hargrove

Lori Hargrove studies species’ distributions and habitat relationships, including the effects of fire and climate change on birds. More.

Drew Stokes

One of the area’s leading bat biologists, Drew researches and helps protect this misunderstood but ecologically invaluable mammal. More.

Brenna Ogg

Brenna Ogg partners with organizations in the public and private sectors to study and conserve rare and endangered species. More.

Kimberly Ferree

Kimberly Ferree studies the ecology of local rare and endangered birds and supports Museum staff with data analysis. More.

Shahan Derkarabetian

Shahan Derkarabetian studies the taxonomy and systemtics of arachnids, speciaizing in genetic analyses of museum specimens. More.

Johno Niles

Johno Niles fuses The Nat’s biodiversity research with international conservation work, climate resilience, and non-profit management. More.