Nicole Molinari

Director of Science
Terrestrial
[email protected]

Nicole leads the Land Program’s Science Team for The Nature Conservancy’s California Chapter. The team develops science-based tools and strategies that support the protection, connectivity, and rewilding of California’s most biodiverse ecosystems. Her work focuses on identifying the state’s most pressing conservation challenges and collaborating with partners to develop solutions that are both scientifically rigorous and actionable. Nicole’s research is guided by understanding the ecological processes that shape resilient landscapes and the management actions needed to sustain biodiversity in a changing world.

Prior to joining The Nature Conservancy in 2026, Nicole served as Province Ecologist for the USDA Forest Service in Southern California, where she led interdisciplinary teams in applying ecological principles and experimental approaches to complex land management challenges. Trained as a community ecologist, Nicole’s work centers on fire ecology, ecological restoration, and vegetation responses to climate change. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master’s degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

What Nicole is working on now:

Currently, Nicole is supporting the Land Team in advancing efforts to conserve and restore California’s most ecologically significant landscapes. She is also continuing collaborations with researchers and practitioners from UC Davis, San Diego State University, and the USDA Forest Service to develop all-lands conservation strategies that help prioritize conservation and restoration investments across montane forest and chaparral ecosystems. Through this work, she contributes to science-based approaches that strengthen ecosystem resilience, biodiversity conservation, and landscape-scale stewardship.