THE GREEN: PEOPLE & PROFILES

Director of the NRDC, Elizabeth Speer

BIO

Lisa Speer is Director of the Water and Oceans Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a national environmental organization dedicated to protecting natural resources and public health. She co-directs NRDC's Ocean Protection Initiative, which promotes the conservation of ocean and coastal resources at the regional, national and international levels.

Ms. Speer's work currently focuses on domestic and international marine fisheries conservation. In that capacity, she conducts advocacy and public education activities aimed at securing more effective management of marine fisheries and wildlife. She has served on the U.S. delegation to a variety of international fisheries negotiations, and is active in domestic fisheries management issues at the regional and national level. She has also been involved in a variety of advocacy activities related to the conservation of America's Arctic.

Ms. Speer currently serves on the National Academy of Sciences' Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, and is a member of the Academy's Committee on the Cumulative Impacts of Oil Development on Alaska's North Slope. She received her Master's degree from Yale University and her bachelor's degree from Mount Holyoke College.