Jennifer O'Leary

I am currently with the Wildlife Conservation Society and leading a program across three nations in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean to support communities in fisheries management and development of locally managed marine areas and to help improve government MPAs.

I am the co-director of the SMART Seas Program in East Africa (see our website). Through this program, I am working nationally with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Tanzania Parks Authority, and Seychelles National Parks Authority to help managers and fishing communities use data to make proactive management decisions and ensure that MPAs and fished reefs are socially and ecologically resilient. In the next year, with United Nations Funding, we will be holding a certification of trainers to facilitate growth of this successful approach to marine governance across other Western Indian Ocean nations.

Follow the program on Twitter @WIO_SAM or visit our webpage at http:sam4wio.weebly.com