Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Biography

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist policy expert conservation strategist and Brooklyn native. She is founder and CEO of Ocean Collectiv a strategy consulting firm for conservation solutions grounded in social justice. Ayana envisions and works toward a healthy ocean that supports food security economies and cultures. Her clients include World Wildlife Fund Bezos Family Foundation XPRIZE Pioneer Works and Lonely Whale. She teaches at New York University as an adjunct professor and mentors next generation ocean leaders.
Previously as executive director of the Waitt Institute Ayana co-founded the Blue Halo Initiative and led the Caribbean’s first successful island-wide ocean zoning effort resulting in the protection of one-third of Barbuda’s coastal waters. She then led the growth of this initiative launching it on Curaçao and Montserrat in partnership with the governments and stakeholders. Prior Ayana was Director of Science and Solutions at the Waitt Foundation managing a diverse portfolio of ocean grants. She has held policy positions in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Her volunteer work focuses on building communities. Ayana was co-director of partnerships for the March for Science creating a coalition of over 300 organizations that inspired over 1 million people around the world to take to the streets to support the role of science in policy-making. She serves on the boards of the Billion Oyster Project and World Surf League's PURE and is an advisor to Environmental Voter Project Azul Green 2.0 and Oceanic Global. To develop a local network of ocean professionals she founded Team Ocean NYC.

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