Alyssa Bjorkquist
Education Coordinator

Alyssa is proud to serve as the Education Coordinator for Ocean Youth Academy. Sustainability and equity are common themes throughout her curriculum. From kayaks to laboratories, and zoos to playgrounds, Alyssa believes that everyone is connected to their world and communities through innate scientific inquiry and curiosity.
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She is a lifelong Angeleno, born and raised in Whittier, CA. Alyssa developed her love of science and the outdoors primarily outside of the classroom. Years of running around mountain trails at Girl Scout camps and volunteering at her local aquarium helped her realize that she can combine her two passions into one career: science education!

​Alyssa is proud to call herself a Duck, graduating from the University of Oregon in 2016 with her B.S. in Marine Biology and Psychology. After falling in love with the Pacific Northwest, Alyssa continued developing her teaching and research expertise by taking on positions in Panama, Alaska, eventually back home in sunny Southern California (including a zoo, aquarium, and a year on Catalina Island!).

Alyssa is currently working towards her M.S. in Science Education at California State University Long Beach, with a focus on informal science education spaces (camps, aquariums, zoos, etc.). When Alyssa’s not in a classroom, you can find her SCUBA diving, stand-up paddle boarding, running, cooking, reading in her hammock, watching TV and movies, and trying to pet every dog she comes across."