Areas of Expertise

• Conservation in northern land- and seascapes
• Fisheries management
• Arctic natural resources policies
• Building conservation outcomes with indigenous communities

Scott Highleyman leads Ocean Conservancy’s Arctic program in Alaska, Canada, Greenland and internationally. Before coming to Ocean Conservancy, Scott designed and ran the international Arctic program of the Pew Charitable Trusts from 2009 to 2016. For three decades before joining Pew, Scott was a grassroots conservation leader in Alaska for rainforest and marine protection and founder of Wildhavens, a strategic consulting business in Bellingham, Washington, that led dozens of projects for foundations and NGOs.

Scott holds a B.A. from Williams College and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School at Madison.  He is a member of the Alaska Bar Association, a board member of Oceans North, and a “knight” of science and letters of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.

Education

• J.D. – University of Wisconsin Law School at Madison Bullet
• B.A. – Williams College

Favorite Thing About the Ocean

The pull of the moon on the tides, the sound of surf, the scent of salt on the breeze, the glint of sun on the waves

Media Mentions

• Sea Ice Retreat Could Lead to Rapid Overfishing in the Arctic | The Atlantic
• 9 Countries and the EU Are Protecting the Arctic Ocean Before the Ice Melts | National Geographic
• Russia, U.S. and Other Nations Restrict Fishing in Thawing Arctic | New York Times
• Ten governments reach deal on sustainable Arctic fishing | Globe and Mail
• Nations agree to ban fishing in Arctic Ocean for at least 16 years | Science