Lance Morgan

President

Dr. Lance Morgan is a marine biologist and the President of Marine Conservation Institute. His commitment to ocean conservation began while growing up in a Navy family across California, Hawaii, and Washington. Since joining the Institute as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2000, he has ascended through the organization, becoming President in 2012.

He has explored the ocean as a SCUBA diver, submersible pilot, and aquanaut, participating in missions at the Aquarius underwater habitat in the Florida Keys. His doctoral research centered on California's kelp forest ecosystem and explored factors influencing marine invertebrates, for which he received his PhD in Ecology from the University of California-Davis. Research positions with the Marine Mammal Center, Bodega Marine Laboratory and NOAA Fisheries, prepared his career path and led him to Marine Conservation Institute. His broad research interests range from marine ecology to applied conservation, and he has studied taxa as diverse as sea urchins, deep-sea corals, rockfishes, seabirds, and marine mammals. He led the identification of Marine Priority Conservation Areas from Baja California to the Bering Sea for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (2005). He has co-authored scientific reports on the impacts of fishing and marine protected areas, including The MPA Guide in 2021.

In recent years, his strategic leadership at Marine Conservation Institute has focused the team on the global push to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 and ensuring protected areas meet rigorous science-based standards for effective biodiversity conservation. Lance worked to secure the High Seas Treaty and following its entry into force he is actively leading efforts to establish the governance framework needed for the first marine protected areas in international waters. In 2025, he introduced a new organizational focus on protecting the "Ocean Twilight Zone" (mesopelagic zone) from unregulated exploitation.

He currently serves as Board Chairman for the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition and holds an adjunct faculty appointment at Bodega Marine Laboratory. He is a member of the High Seas Alliance steering committee, serves on The MPA Guide executive team and is a member of Mission Blue’s Hope Spot Science Council.

Lance enjoys spending time in nature with his family and hiking with his dogs.