Conservation Science

Michael B. Mascia, Ph.D.

Director, Social Science

Areas of Expertise: Environmental politics and policy; social dimensions of biodiversity conservation; program evaluation; marine conservation

Michael Mascia
© WWF

Mike Mascia leads WWF's social science team and the WWF Conservation Impact Initiative.  His research focuses on natural resource governance and the social impacts of conservation interventions, particularly marine protected areas (MPAs). A former AAAS Fellow and NSF grant recipient, Mike has research and policy experience in the United States, Caribbean, Central America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Islands. He has published widely on the social dimensions of biodiversity conservation and provided technical support to numerous government agencies, conservation organizations, and donors. Mike is co-Editor in Chief of the scientific journal Conservation Letters, and previously served as founding President of the Society for Conservation Biology’s Social Science Working Group (SCB SSWG) and as Social Science Representative to the SCB Board of Governors. He holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Politics and Policy from Duke University and a bachelor's degree in Biology and Government from Bowdoin College.

Email: michael.mascia@wwfus.org

WWF Experts

Dr. Eric Dinerstein
Chief Scientist and Vice President
Conservation Science

"We must decide how many of Earth's 15,000,000 species receive a ticket on the ark to the next century. By protecting forests, deserts, grasslands, coral reefs, lakes, rivers and streams, WWF commits to guaranteeing their safe passage."

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