LAUREN WALSH - Your Host & Naturalist

Lauren was raised in New York and eventually moved to the Pocono Mountains, PA with her family after graduating high school. She studied marine, wildlife and environmental science at East Stroudsburd University and graduated in the spring of 1997.

Determined to see the Pacific Northwest and meet the biologists doing killer whale research, she drove across country just after graduation. She began living on the island part-time in 1998 and settled there full-time in the summer of 2001.

She has worked with the Center for Whale Research as a full-time staff research assistant and has volunteered with various non-profit organizations such as Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, The Whale Museum, The Marine Mammal Stranding Network and the Westcott Bay Sculpture Park.

She has also been involved with the San Juan Island Farmers Market Association since 2002.

"I have lived and worked in the San Juans over the last ten years. This has allowed me to get to know and choose only the best companies, instructors, accommodations, restaurants and activities in the area to participate in these trips."