Ilan MacAdam-Somer is a professional cellist who was inspired by his time teaching in West Africa to pursue a career that would further the environmental movement. He is passionate about solving many environmental issues and as such is driven to develop a portfolio career. Since graduating with his master's in Environmental Science and Management from the UCSB Bren School in June, 2017 he has worked on numerous projects, including: the UC Carbon Neutrality Initiative; several life cycle assessments for various industry and academic groups; a material flows analysis of the synthetic fiber emissions from washing textiles for UCSB; program and project development of research initiatives targeting marine plastic pollution issues for Algalita Marine Research and Education; and most recently, to assess the feasibility and practicality of utilizing seaweed mariculture for carbon sequestration with the Sustainable Fisheries Group at UCSB. Currently, Ilan is most interested in better understanding how to turn theoretical research into pragmatic environmental solutions, namely through facilitating communication between scientists and other important stakeholders. When not conducting research you can find Ilan surfing, climbing, backpacking, dancing, or making sweet music on his cello.