Heather Leslie is the Peggy and Henry D. Sharpe Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology at Brown University. She received her Ph.D. in 2004 from the Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, where she worked with Jane Lubchenco and Bruce Menge. She received an A.B. in Biology from Harvard University in 1996 and has worked on marine science and policy issues in the U.S. (Massachusetts, Maine, Oregon, and New Jersey), Mexico, and New Zealand. An international leader in marine conservation science, she conducts research on the ecology, policy, and management of coastal marine ecosystems. She is interested in understanding the drivers of ecological and social processes in marine systems, and how to more effectively integrate science into marine policy and management. Specific research areas include coastal marine ecology, design and evaluation of marine conservation strategies, and human-environment linkages in coastal areas.