Nerida H. De Jesus Villanueva has a degree in drafting from the Liceo de Arte y Tecnología, completed a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering with Honors (Cum Laude), obtained a certificate in Environmental Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico- Mayaguez Campus (UPRM) and a Master’s in Science in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Bio/Micro-Scale Engineering. As an undergraduate student, she participated in ASCE National engineering competitions and was selected as a 3M scholar to participate in the Georgia Institute of Technology internship in Aquatic, Chemical, and Ecology REU. Her research experience includes working at the Environmental Engineering Laboratory-UPRM determining the concentrations of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Phthalates in water as an undergraduate trainee for PROTECT; plus leading a research project as a recipient of the Greater Research Opportunity Fellowship from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2014, “Identifying Sanitation System Ramifications on water quality for Rural Non-PRASA Communities in Puerto Rico”. She worked with CARICOOS on the project “Combined Effect of Ocean Acidification and Fluid Turbulence on Puerto Rico Coastal Barriers”. During her master’s she worked on developing a sensitive, autonomous, and efficient gas sensor microdevice to determine pollutant levels at the ppm scales by using LIFT methods to assemble the sensor and test nanowires in collaboration with the CREST Center at UPRRP-CIREN. Currently, she works at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a Branch Chief of the Environmental and Historic Preservation (EHP) Division.