# The Future of Ocean Conservation with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

![](/sites/default/files/styles/article_image/public/Educating4Sustainability_Ayana-02_0.png?itok=W0fTA-AC)  Tuesday, April 3, 2018 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM  Kimmel Center for University Life, Room 802 [ https://events.nyu.edu/#!view/event/date/20180403/event\_id/203601 ](https://events.nyu.edu/#!view/event/date/20180403/event_id/203601)**Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson** is a marine biologist, policy expert, conservation strategist, and Brooklyn native. She is founder and president of [Ocean Collectiv](https://www.oceancollectiv.co/), 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. In addition to client projects, she teaches at New York University as an adjunct professor, and volunteered as co-director of partnerships for the [March for Science](https://www.marchforscience.com/). As executive director of the [Waitt Institute](http://waittinstitute.org/), Ayana co-founded the [Blue Halo Initiative](http://waittinstitute.org/bluehaloinitiative/) and led the Caribbean’s first successful island-wide ocean zoning effort. Previously, she worked on ocean policy at the EPA and NOAA, and was recently a TED resident and Aspen Institute fellow. Ayana earned a BA from Harvard University in Environmental Science and Public Policy, and a Ph.D. from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in marine biology, with a dissertation on the ecology, socio-economics, and policy of sustainably managing coral reefs. She writes about how we can use the ocean without using it up on [Scientific American](https://www.scientificamerican.com/author/ayana-elizabeth-johnson/) and [National Geographic](https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/author/ajohnson/) and [@ayanaeliza](https://twitter.com/ayanaeliza).

CLICK [H](https://events.nyu.edu/#!view/event/date/20180403/event_id/203601)[ERE](http://events.nyu.edu/#!view/event/date/20180403/event_id/203601) TO RSVP. Free and Open to the Public. Refreshments will be served.