May 5, 2026
Dr. Heidi Weiskel is an American marine ecologist who spent her summers at the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New England, an experience she credits for her
lifelong dedication to marine ecology and coastal community protection. She has a BA from Harvard University; an MS from Tufts University; and a PhD from the
University of California, Davis, where she studied the effects of nutrient pollution on marine invertebrates. She did her postdoctoral work at the University of Georgia.
Heidi was the Director of Pollution Policy at the Pew Oceans Commission, a Research Fellow at the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, and a Staff Scientist with
the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide, where she built and directed the Marine Program. She has worked as an Environmental Research Fellow at the
Permanent Court of Arbitration and a science editor at UNESCO. Heidi is now the Science Lead for the Global Ocean Team within the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and a Marine Advisory Committee Member of the World Commission on Protected Areas. She leads the Union’s work on polar biodiversity protection and marine geoengineering. She is the President of the Board of the Mangrove Action Project, serves on the board of the Center for Marine Justice, and is a lead coach with the Mira Fellowship. She is based in Washington, DC.