Natalie Freeman is a research scientist at NOAA’s Physical Sciences Laboratory (PSL), part of the Earth System Research Laboratories (ESRL) in Boulder, Colorado. Her research explores how physical and biogeochemical processes interact in the ocean, shaping marine ecosystems and carrying the imprint of large-scale climate variability. Much of her work focuses on the California Current System, a dynamic region along the U.S. west coast that is no stranger to multiple, and sometimes compounding, stressors such as marine heatwaves and hypoxia. She currently leads a collaborative effort to provide targeted, science-based insights to National Marine Sanctuaries in support of ecosystem-based management and planning on seasonal to decadal timescales.