Alan Friedlander

Over the past 35 years Dr. Alan Friedlander has spent more than 10,000 hours underwater—from coral reefs to the Arctic and to depths of thousands of meters. He is currently Chief Scientist for National Geographic’s Pristine Seas Project where he leads research efforts to help understand and conserve the last wild places in the ocean. Dr. Friedlander’s work on marine conservation range from small-scale community-managed areas to some of the largest protected areas on the planet. Dr. Friedlander is also the Director of the Fisheries Ecology Research Lab at the University of Hawaii. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii and was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Associate with the Pacific Fisheries Environmental Lab in Monterey, California. Dr. Friedlander is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, 2006 Duke University Distinguished Conservation Scholar, and along with the Pristine Seas Team, was awarded the 2014 Environmental Hero Award by the Environmental Media Association.