Lishka Arata

Communications Manager

As Communications Manager, I support, facilitate, and lead science communications at Point Blue to engage more people in conservation action. This means getting the word out about the climate-smart conservation science work we do through various outlets, like web and social media, and fostering a strong team of outstanding science communicators. I also lead our art and science partnerships with support from our board and leadership team. In my role at Point Blue I am thrilled to work toward my personal commitment to conserve and restore the natural world and cultivate a sustainable future where people, wildlife, ecology, and economy are working together in one big, mutually beneficial system.

I graduated from Humboldt State University in 2003 with a B.S. in Biology and joined the Point Blue team in 2004 as a bird banding intern at the Palomarin Field Station in Bolinas, CA. I have worked as a field biologist in Point Blue’s San Francisco Bay Tidal Marsh, Central Valley Riparian, and Northern Sierra Forest projects. Outside of my work with Point Blue, I have conducted Marbled Murrelet surveys in Southwest Oregon, Yellow-billed Cuckoo monitoring in Southeast Arizona, and plant (tropical liverwort) research on the Island of Trinidad. In 2007 I migrated from field biology to conservation education to disseminate Point Blue’s science to various audiences and help inspire the current and next generation of conservation scientists and environmental stewards. And in 2017 I took a natural step towards the communications aspect of conservation in hopes to evolve and increase my positive impact towards achieving Point Blue’s mission.

I am a native of San Francisco and grew up mostly in Northern California, enjoying and learning to value its outdoor wonders and proactive culture at a young age. I currently live in Petaluma, California and am based out of our North Bay Headquarters there. If I’m not in the office figuring out creative ways to engage people in caring about and supporting science and nature, I might be riding my motorcycle, getting up close and personal with lichens, or swimming in my mermaid tail.

Click here to view my LinkedIn page.

*earrings in profile pic by Carolyn Crump.