Stephanie Gad received a master’s degree in environmental science and management with a focus on conservation planning from the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2017. Her group thesis work assessed the ecological connectivity of Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary by modeling larval dispersal in order to inform areas of priority conservation.
Gad worked with the Port of San Diego's planning team and the California State Lands Commission to identify current ocean uses and their relationships to plan for present and future uses of the ocean space offshore of San Diego County. She also helped with other environmental projects in and around San Diego Bay.