Christina Swanson

At NRDC’s Science Center, Christina Swanson works to expand the organization’s scientific capabilities and support its legal and policy work across a range of environmental, public-health, and sustainable-management issues. An expert in fish biology, aquatic-ecosystem restoration, ecological indicators, and water-resource management, she has conducted much of her work in the San Francisco Bay Delta but has also done research in Hawaii and, as a Fulbright scholar, in the Philippines. She also served on the Governing Board of the American Fisheries Society from 2011 to 2013. Prior to joining NRDC in 2011, Swanson worked for the Bay Institute, where she rose to the position of executive director. She has authored or coauthored more than 20 peer-reviewed articles as well as numerous reports and technical and policy memoranda. She received her bachelor’s from Cornell University, her PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Davis. She is based in San Francisco.