Gerald began working for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in 1997. His experience has ranged from conducting biological studies to evaluate salmon survival, habitat conditions, fish passage to stream resource evaluations, species and habitat protection, and public use of natural resources. He has been involved with salmon restoration projects on the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced rivers and, most recently, the San Joaquin River. He has been the CDFW lead on the San Joaquin River Restoration Program since 2007 and manages the CDFW effort to assist with implementation of the SJRRP Settlement Agreement. Gerald also oversees five state fish hatcheries and the CDFW fisheries program in twelve counties from the Central Coast to the Sierra.