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NEXT EVENT
September 22, 2025 • 7 PM
Los Angeles Ale Works – Culver City
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Event Speakers
Danielle Kalani Heinz
Ph.D. Candidate, UCLA
We Didn’t Start the Fire…But Did We Really Try to Fight it?
The recent fires across California and Hawaiʻi are often thought to result from a series of unfortunate events. However, history tells us a different story. In my talk, we will be time traveling to the past so that I can spill the tea on the shady characters who are behind the modern fire-prone landscapes. Yet, the story is not really as much about fire as it is about water. We will dive right into the seedy underbelly of water and land mismanagement before discussing how the past is not only a cautionary tale but just might be the key to our present and future. By the end of this talk, I hope you will be asking yourself, “what does water got to do with it?” Because it really and truly has to do with everything.
About Danielle
Danielle Kalani Heinz is an Assistant Professor in American Indian Studies (AIS) at CSUN where they focus on Indigenous and Social Emotional Education. She is currently building out the Native Sciences program there to prepare for the launch of their AIS major. She also serves as the president of the National Pacific Islander Education Network and is a member of the Hawaiʻi’s Daughters Guild of California.
Elijah Catalan
Ph.D. Candidate, UCLA
Reimagining Conservation Ecology and Studying Human Impacts Using Environmental DNA
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a tool researchers can use to survey which organisms may exist in an ecosystem based on the DNA that they've left behind in their environment such as shed skin or hair, spit, etc. Elijah's research uses this cutting edge tool, eDNA, to study the effects of coastal restoration efforts on biodiversity while supporting the environmental stewardship of local communities with science.
About Elijah
Elijah Catalan (he/him) is a Ph.D. candidate at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. A 2020 Howard University graduate in biology and environmental studies, he researches how restoration and conservation shape coastal biodiversity using genomic-based monitoring. Through UCLA’s Center for Diverse Leadership in Science, Elijah works to decolonize research and advance environmental justice, aiming for a research career that empowers communities disproportionately affected by environmental challenges.
science & suds
small bubbles,
small bubbles,
big ideas.
big ideas.
We build relationships through shared discovery, making science social, accessible, and enjoyable.
We build relationships through shared discovery, making science social, accessible, and enjoyable.
Join us bi-weekly as local scientists share their work in energetic 20-minute talks. Proceeds from RSVPs are donated to science outreach and education right here in the community.
Join us bi-weekly as local scientists share their work in energetic 20-minute talks. Proceeds from RSVPs are donated to science outreach and education right here in the community.
RSVP
RSVP
EMAIL SIGN UP
EMAIL SIGN UP
science & suds
small bubbles,
big ideas.
We build community through shared discovery, making science social, accessible, and enjoyable.
RSVP
EMAIL SIGN UP
Danielle Kalani Heinz
Assistant Professor, CSU Northridge
We Didn’t Start the Fire…But Did We Really Try to Fight it?
The recent fires across California and Hawaiʻi are often thought to result from a series of unfortunate events. However, history tells us a different story. In my talk, we will be time traveling to the past so that I can spill the tea on the shady characters who are behind the modern fire-prone landscapes. Yet, the story is not really as much about fire as it is about water. We will dive right into the seedy underbelly of water and land mismanagement before discussing how the past is not only a cautionary tale but just might be the key to our present and future. By the end of this talk, I hope you will be asking yourself, “what does water got to do with it?” Because it really and truly has to do with everything.
About Danielle
Danielle Kalani Heinz is an Assistant Professor in American Indian Studies (AIS) at CSUN where they focus on Indigenous and Social Emotional Education. She is currently building out the Native Sciences program there to prepare for the launch of their AIS major. She also serves as the president of the National Pacific Islander Education Network and is a member of the Hawaiʻi’s Daughters Guild of California.
Elijah Catalan
Ph.D. Candidate, UCLA
Reimagining Conservation Ecology and Studying Human Impacts Using Environmental DNA
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a tool researchers can use to survey which organisms may exist in an ecosystem based on the DNA that they've left behind in their environment such as shed skin or hair, spit, etc. Elijah's research uses this cutting edge tool, eDNA, to study the effects of coastal restoration efforts on biodiversity while supporting the environmental stewardship of local communities with science.
About Elijah
Elijah Catalan (he/him) is a Ph.D. candidate at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. A 2020 Howard University graduate in biology and environmental studies, he researches how restoration and conservation shape coastal biodiversity using genomic-based monitoring. Through UCLA’s Center for Diverse Leadership in Science, Elijah works to decolonize research and advance environmental justice, aiming for a research career that empowers communities disproportionately affected by environmental challenges.