Jessie Macaluso

Born and raised in Illinois, Jessie was always excited about marine and coastal wildlife, but never imagined she’d be able to experience it firsthand. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 2019 with bachelor’s degrees in biology and anthropology, lived in California for a few years, and moved to Florida in 2022. Most recently, Jessie worked at the Shell Museum on Sanibel, where she helped educate visitors about mollusks. It was there that she first became familiar and enamored with the island and the animals that call it home.

Prior to Sanibel, Jessie’s career mostly consisted of various laboratory jobs in forensic, environmental, and other settings. Her experiences include calibrating breath alcohol instruments for law enforcement, analyzing air samples for pollutants, and assisting in the production of viral vectors for research. However, she is excited to be starting a new adventure out of the lab and into the outdoors!