 | | 
Career Profiles
Sheila McKenna directs CI's Marine Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) in the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science at Conservation International. Her specialty is studying threats to biodiversity on coral reefs -- specifically, studying reef community structures to see if the patterns on the reef result from natural or human-related causes. Marine RAPs are short, intensive biological inventories of marine areas around the world. Sheila is responsible for coordinating the marine RAPs, producing RAP technical reports, supervising their report distribution, disseminating the information for non-technical audiences, and promoting marine conservation work in targeted areas across the globe. Sheila received a bachelor's degree in Biology from Villanova University. After graduating, she was originally on a path towards a medical career, however she took a year off before graduate school to do medical research and discovered that this was not the right field for her. Instead, she joined the doctoral program at the University of Maryland where she received a Ph.D. in Zoology, with an emphasis on Marine Ecology. Before coming to CI, she completed her postdoctoral work in both the Bahamas and Guam: first, in the Bahamas with the Bermuda Biological Station for Research, where she lectured and monitored coral reefs, mangroves, and other marine ecosystems, and then in Guam with the University of Guam's marine laboratory on coral bioassays and environmental impact statements.Sheila has always been interested in the ocean and marine life. She grew up surfing and has been an avid scuba diver since the age of 15. She entered the field of marine conservation because of her love for the oceans, and to make a personal contribution toward conservation efforts on marine resources. Although there is a significant amount of research already done on marine regions, she believes the conservation element lags far behind that of terrestrial resources. Therefore, Sheila wants to help the marine realm catch up with the environmental protection efforts being conducted on land. Her advice to those wanting to get started in conservation is to respect the people and different cultures with which you work. She believes without respect, trust between communities will not be present for conservation initiatives - and trust is vital in order to succeed. She also advises budding conservationists to follow their inner goals so that they will be truly happy with the work they do.
 | | | | | |
| |
|
