Stepheni graduated from UC Santa Cruz in spring of 2004, and began working in the

Benthic Ecology Lab at MLML learning invertebrate taxonomy, specifically polychaete taxonomy, in summer of 2004. She worked there until January of 2008, when she joined the Geological Oceanography Lab as a full time graduate student. She is interested in wetland biological and geological interactions, specifically in the salt marsh habitats of Elkhorn Slough, CA, and the interactions and effects of erosion and accretion of sediments on the salt marsh community. She is currently beginning her thesis research on this subject.