Our Board Chair, George Leonard, is stepping down after five years of exceptional service. His leadership has been instrumental in shaping the trajectory of our organization, and our staff is deeply grateful for his contributions. Leonard’s tenure has left an indelible mark on FishWise.
In his time with the organization, Leonard has helped hold FishWise steady during turbulent times. On the heels of the COVID pandemic, FishWise’s longtime CEO stepped down- launching the organization into what was by far the greatest change FishWise had faced yet. Leonard saw the organization through this leadership transition, overseeing the hiring of both an interim director and a permanent executive director, Jenny Barker.
“George has been so generous with the time he lends to FishWise, and his passion for conservation and sustainable seafood has, no doubt, made an impact for good for our organization and, much more importantly, on the world’s oceans,” said Ashley Greenley.
When Leonard joined FishWise, he brought with him a valuable perspective. Leonard is the longtime Chief Scientist at Ocean Conservancy, primarily leading programs around fisheries and aquaculture, climate change, and marine protected areas. His insights into broader conservation movements and the science of seafood sustainability have guided FishWise’s development in recent years.
While Leonard has served on the board for five years, he has been a friend of the organization for much longer. Reflecting on his earliest impression of FishWise nearly two decades ago, Leonard says the data spoke for itself.
“I remember when FishWise was born. The model at that time was to label seafood as red, yellow, or green, where red means consumers should avoid those products. I hadn’t considered how this might work for retailers who are in the business of selling all the products in the seafood counter. But I’m a scientist by training. So show me the data! Fishwise collected the sales data and it turns out their theory of change worked. Retailers sold less red seafood and more green and yellow seafood, which was the conservation objective. But importantly, they made more money overall, which is the business objective. The data clearly showed that this new nonprofit was really onto something – a win-win for the ocean and seafood businesses,” said Leonard, reflecting on the earliest days of FishWise.
When Leonard was first introduced to FishWise, he worked as Senior Science Manager at Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch. Much of his work at that time focused on advising the public on how to purchase seafood from sustainable sources. But Leonard recognized that a strategy for working with retailers that buy millions of pounds of seafood annually was missing from the broader seafood sustainability movement.
“At Monterey Bay Aquarium, we were providing advice primarily to consumers, not to retailers, and we recognized that there needed to be engagement in that space. FishWise saw that as well and jumped on it,” Leonard reflects, “We can help industry make better choices for both the bottom line and for the planet.”
The FishWise staff would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to George Leonard for his unwavering dedication and service. As he transitions from the board of directors, we wish him every success in his future endeavors. His contributions to our organization and the sustainable seafood movement at large will not be forgotten.
Learn more about our leadership and Board of Directors, here.