Bella grew up in Southern California going to the LA County Natural History Museum and California Science Center with her parents who immigrated from Ecuador as teenagers. With a deep love for conserving our shared environment stemming from practices like her mom blending up eggshells to amend backyard soils with calcium and recycling sour cream containers to store salsa, she decided to study environmental science in college, even going on to earn her master’s degree in the topic. She started going on outdoor excursions later in life and has finally learned how to layer appropriately thanks to programs like this one and the ever-present windchill factor in the Bay Area. She lives in Japantown with her pet bearded dragon Pearl and spends her free time climbing, reading, designing new sewing projects, and nerding out about anything science-related.