Dr. Larisa Ford is retired from the Department of Interior and in her last post served as the Project Leader for the Mariana Islands Refuges and Monument Complex, and Superintendent of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. Dr. Ford is a remote Board Member and resides in Texas. She has been passionate about ocean resources her whole life and even received an Oceanography Award during her senior year in high school. She pursued a B.S. in Marine Biology at Texas A&M University at Galveston and then completed a Masters in Microbiology focusing on diseases of cephalopods. She continued her education at at Lousiana State University and received a PhD in Veterinary Microbiology with a minor in fisheries. Later she also completed a Master’s in Public Administration – Environmental track – Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi. Dr. Ford has over 40 years of experience in marine biology, aquaculture, fisheries, aquatic animal health, wildlife conservation policy, national federal policy, and federal budget formulation and implementation. She has worked throughout the United States and collaborated with scientific projects in Germany and Russia. Her interests include travel, fishing, bird watching, and volunteering to help with environmental stewardship and outdoor education projects.