Ellen K. Pikitch, Ph.D.

Dr. Ellen K. Pikitch is Executive Director of the Pew Institute for Ocean Science and Professor in Marine Biology and Fisheries at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. She is an international expert in ocean conservation science and management whose research has focused on the assessment of fish stocks, the management of bycatch, and ecosystem-based fishery management. While at the Wildlife Conservation Society, she founded and directed both the Marine Conservation Program, which has active field-based programs in 19 countries spanning four oceans, and the Ocean Strategy Program, with a focus on ecosystem-based fisheries management. Prior to joining WCS, Dr. Pikitch was on the faculty of the University of Washington for nine years and directed its Fisheries Research Institute from 1992 to 1996. A recipient of the Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation (2000-2003), Dr. Pikitch has authored and edited over 100 articles and books on fisheries science and management.

For the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Pikitch has been a member of committees on Dolphin Mortality from Tuna Fishing, Ecosystem Management for Sustainable Marine Fisheries, and Cooperative Research Between Industry and the National Marine Fisheries Service. In 2000, Dr. Pikitch served on President Clinton’s Panel on Ocean Exploration. Currently she is the Vice Chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Sturgeon Specialist Group. Dr. Pikitch received a Ph.D. in Zoology from Indiana University in 1983 and M.A. and B.S. degrees in Mathematics from the City College of New York.