Maureen Lynch

Maureen joined IAATO in 2024 and is responsible for developing and coordinating environmental monitoring programs to inform a strategic approach to site management.

Maureen’s first expedition to Antarctica was during the 2006-07 season at McMurdo Station. She was working at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science as a lab technician supporting research on diatom ecology. Years later, she returned to Antarctica through her PhD research on gentoo penguin behavioral ecology, collaborating on penguin population research with Oceanites. Her field work was supported by IAATO members for six seasons between 2013-2019, and this was her first exposure to responsible tourism in Antarctica.

Prior to joining IAATO, Maureen worked as a fisheries program manager at Vermont Fish & Wildlife for five years where she oversaw the management of inland fisheries and habitat programs. Earlier in her career she was a fisheries observer in the North Atlantic ground and midwater fisheries, and a lab technician. She enjoys working at the intersection of science and policy to make data-informed conservation and resource management decisions and is excited to be able to return to working in the Antarctic system.

Maureen received a PhD in Ecology and Evolution from Stony Brook University, NY, a MS in Conservation Ecology and Aquatic Science from the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment, and a BA in Marine and Freshwater Science from Colgate University, NY.