Dorothy L. Leonard

Dorothy L. Leonard (B.S., Political Science, Maxwell School at Syracuse University) is an internationally recognized expert in shellfish aquaculture, oyster restoration, and coastal resource management. She joined NOAA Fisheries as an environmental analyst, where she managed the National Shellfish Register of Classified Estuarine Waters, co-chaired a USDA–NOAA Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture study on aquaculture effluents, and co-authored the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Nutrient Criteria for Coastal and Marine Waters. As Director of Fisheries for the State of Maryland, she developed a Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration Program and launched an oyster aquaculture initiative for Smith Island watermen. For more than three decades, Ms. Leonard has co-chaired the International Conference on Shellfish Restoration and currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the International Shellfish Restoration Society.