Jan Freiwald serves as the Executive Director and Director of Reef Check California at Reef Check Foundation since March 2010. Additionally, Jan Freiwald has been affiliated with UC Santa Cruz as a researcher and visiting assistant professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology since March 2011. Prior experience includes a role as an ecological consultant for the U.S. Geological Survey in 2010. Jan Freiwald holds a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a B.Sc. in Marine Biology from the same institution. Early education includes a Vordiplom in Biology from Kiel University.