Vikki N. Spruill

President & CEO, New England Aquarium

Throughout her career, Vikki N. Spruill has worked to strengthen ocean conservation. As president and CEO of the New England Aquarium and its research and conservation institute, the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, Ms. Spruill seeks to combine the convening power of the Aquarium’s 1.4 million annual visitors with cutting- edge scientific research and education to advocate for vital and vibrant oceans. She previously served as  president and CEO of the Council on Foundations, the largest association of philanthropic grant-making organizations, and Ocean Conservancy, one of the nation’s foremost science-based advocacy organizations dedicated to the oceans. Ms. Spruill founded the Trash Free Seas Alliance, an industry collaborative that has produced seminal research on the impacts of plastic in the ocean, and helped found and currently serves on the board of COMPASS, which works to empower scientists to better engage in the public discourse on environmental issues. She was also the founding director of SeaWeb, an innovative initiative that worked at the intersection of policy, science, and communications in support of ocean conservation. Her research and leadership helped catalyze the sustainable seafood movement.