Jennifer Howard

Jennifer is the Marine Climate Change Director at Conservation International. Her work focuses on establishing mechanisms to conserve coastal and marine ecosystems to protect vulnerable coastal communities from the threats of climate change. In this role, she represents Conservation International in the Global Mangrove Alliance, which she played a leading role in founding, she sits on the scientific advisory board for the International Partnership for Blue Carbon, and manages the Blue Carbon Initiative. Jennifer also leads Conservation International’s work on marine debris. Prior to her current position, she was a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow where she served two years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service’s Science and Technology Division. While at NOAA, Jennifer co-lead and coordinated the development of the Ocean and Marine Resources in a Changing Climate Technical Input Report to the National Climate Assessment and coordinated the Interagency Working Group for Ocean Acidification. Before starting her fellowship at NOAA, Jennifer was conducting her postdoctoral research at the University of Maryland.  Her research focused on environmental contaminants found in wastewater and agricultural runoff, specifically endocrine disrupting chemicals, and their effect on aquatic wildlife reproduction and development.  Jennifer received her PhD from Texas A&M in reproductive physiology and completed the Heller Research Fellowship in Endocrinology at the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research