Deborah Brosnan
President

SEI Oregon
Marine Ecology, Science and Policy

B.S. National University of Galway
M.S. National University of Galway
Ph.D. Oregon State University

email: brosnan@sei.org

Founder and President of SEI, Dr. Brosnan is passionate about science and the oceans. She is a scientist on the front lines, as a strong advocate for the use of science in ecological decisions, and as a catalyst for scientists to participate in the global forum. She founded SEI as the conduit for scientists to outreach to all stakeholders and to help find science-based solutions to ecological problems. She believes strongly that scientists must fulfill a new social contract , and assume a greater leadership role in conservation and natural resource issues.

Born in Ireland, she grew up on the shores of the wild Atlantic coast where the tidepools and kelp forests were her playground and where she learned to dive. Always a trailblazer, as a young undergraduate she became the first woman ever to qualify as a scuba diver at the University. She graduated with an honors degree from the National University of Galway Ireland, and went on to her Ph.D. with Jane Lubchenco and Bruce Menge at OSU. She holds professorships at Lewis and Clark College and Portland State. Author of scientific and popular articles, she is known for her work on the ecology and conservation of marine life.

Dr. Brosnan's own research and conservation range from tropical Caribbean where she directs a major SEI marine science program, to the Pacific shores of North America where she is involved in whale and coastal conservation. Her ground breaking research into human impacts on rocky shores was the backbone of the Oregon Territorial Sea Plan, and has been used to protect coasts worldwide. Her adventurous spirit and love of science has taken her diving under active volcanoes to study how eruptions affect coral reefs and fisheries, and onto hostile seas in pursuit of greater understanding of the ocean. But she is equally at home brining her message into the boardroom or the school room.

She received the New England Biolabs Award for her work on Caribbean marine science. She sits on many boards including OSU, College of Forestry, co-chairs the National Science and Policy Forum, and the Santa Barbara Group. She recently highlighted the importance of ocean health by launching an ocean voyage with actor Patrick Stewart and whale biologist Dr. Roger Payne. In November she celebrated the inauguration of the new St. Barthelemy Marine Reserve. Currently, she is in residence at Friday Harbor Marine Labs as a Whitely Scholar, completing a book on marine conservation.

In her spare time, Dr. Brosnan loves sailing her 24 San Juan "Loligo," something she "doesn't do often enough." She also plays African marimba music, runs, hikes, and Scuba dives.