Dr Melanie MCFIELD

Director, Healthy Reefs Initiative, Smithsonian Institution

Melanie Mcfield is the founder and Director of the Healthy Reefs for Healthy People Initiative (HRI), a multi-institutional effort that has 73 partner organizations. They have produced 6  Report Cards that track the health of the reef and 4 Eco-Audits that evaluate management effort. The collaborative, evidence based adaptive management cycle includes communications and science-based solutions or restoration interventions. Melanie began in Belize in 1990 as a Peace Corps volunteer with the Hol Chan marine reserve. She then earned a PhD from the University of South Florida, and returned to Belize. She has over 40 peer reviewed research papers, numerous book chapters, articles and graduate students. She has received several awards, including the 2021 Conservation Award from the International Coral Reef Society.