Patrick Christie -Expert in marine protected areas and learning networks

PhD in environmental sociology and policy from the University of Michigan. He has a Bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master’s degree in conservation biology. Patrick is a professor at the University of Washington's School of Marine and Environmental Affairs and Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. His scholarship focuses on the human dimensions of marine conservation. In particular, he studies why citizens, fishers, and policy makers either accept or reject conservation policies. He frequently advises governments, conservation NGOs, donors, and coastal communities. He believes, like many, that ‘We don’t manage the fish, we manage the people.’ And, yet, we know very little about how people perceive the ocean and what they desire from ocean conservation efforts. That should change to improve our scientific understandings of society and the ocean, but also because this perspective improves the likelihood that conservation will be successful in the long run. He draws from his three years of experience living in a Philippine fishing community implementing a community-based marine protected area as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He is a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, the Editor-In-Chief for the peer reviewed journal Coastal Management, and board member of the Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation in the Philippines.