Miguel Onate was born and raised in Los Angeles, his story with the outdoors began in high school where he helped found the first outdoor club in a school comprised mainly of 1st generation Americans and with limited resources to access the outdoors.
His passion for wilderness exploration and environmental stewardship was fostered even more while attending school at the University of California, Santa Cruz where he had the privilege to visit a number of national parks and monuments throughout the US.
Miguel majored in both Molecular Biology and Anthropology which enabled him to work with the UCSC Paleogenomics research group. With this group he was able to participate in research to investigate evolutionary and ecological questions to better understand how species and populations evolve through time, especially in the face of climate change.
Nowadays, Miguel spends his time working for a clinical genetics’ lab building partnerships that increase the accessibility of genetic health. In his free time, Miguel will likely be hiking, backpacking, or planning his next adventure.