Natasha De La Cruz

Woman with long brown hair in a black jacket in front of trees

State Science Policy Fellowship

Fellowship Institution:

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Start Year

2024

Natasha De La Cruz is working with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources as the Maryland Sea Grant State Science Policy Fellow. In 2020, she graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor of science in environmental science and an inspiration to pursue environmental law and policy. In May 2024, Natasha graduated from Vermont Law and Graduate School with a juris doctor in environmental law. During her time in law school, Natasha was a legal clinician in the Environmental Justice Clinic where she worked on numerous environmental justice cases across the country and took classes related to water quality, environmental justice, natural resources law, and land use.

At the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Natasha assists the Chesapeake and Coastal Service unit with a plethora of environmental policy projects promoting coastal resilience and climate mitigation efforts across the state. Natasha is excited to make positive environmental impacts in the DMV area and plans on practicing environmental law in the Mid-Atlantic region. In her spare time, Natasha loves hiking, playing video games, and reading.

Program Announcements

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News and Blogs

September 1, 2026

Science Illustration and Its Role in Science Communication

August 17, 2026

The Chesapeake Bay Legacy Act’s Impacts on Aquaculture and Commercial Fisheries

August 17, 2026

Baltimore City Teens Dive into Aquaculture, Science, and Sustainable Food Systems

Video Gallery

Sea Grant Film Explores a Diminishing Smithville

Smithville is a community on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, on the edge of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. A century ago, Smithville had more than 100 residents. Today, it has four, in two homes: an elderly couple, and one elderly woman and her son, who cares for her.

Featured Fellow

Nina Santos

Nina Santos is a Ph.D. student at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. For her dissertation, she is focused on small shrimp-like crustaceans called mysids – an understudied yet important part of many estuarine and coastal food webs.

Featured Research Project

Geochronology Study of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Deposition and Ecosystem Response in the Chesapeake & Maryland Coastal Bays

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are environmentally persistent contaminants linked to adverse health outcomes in humans and wildlife. In Maryland's Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Bays, PFAS accumulation in sediments and biota, as well as their ecological impacts, remain poorly understood. This project will reconstruct multidecadal PFAS deposition histories using sediment cores, apply microbial community profiling to assess benthic ecosystem responses, and translate findings into practical guidance for aquaculture and environmental management.

View Project

The Blue Crab: Callinectes Sapidus

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