Background
Sativa Cruz (Chicana/Genízaro/Tewa) is an Applied Scientist in the Earth Science Division at NASA Ames Research Center. Following an internship with NASA Headquarters, where she supported Environmental Justice efforts within the Applied Sciences Program, she joined NASA’s Indigenous Peoples Initiative (IPI).
Sativa supports IPI’s capacity building efforts through the co-creation of place-based remote sensing trainings for Tribal natural resource professionals and Native communities. She has recently joined the Applied Remote Sensing and Training (ARSET) Ecological Conservation team as an instructor to further enable use of Earth of Observations at the global scale.
Sativa received a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science with a minor in Sustainability from New Mexico State University. She also received a master’s degree in Forest Ecosystems and Society from Oregon State University. She is currently studying hydrology at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Sativa is a member of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo located in Northern New Mexico.