Maddalena Bearzi

Maddalena Bearzi is President and Co-Founder of the Ocean Conservation Society, and has been studying the ecology of marine mammals with a strong conservation bias since 1990. Her research work on dolphins, whales and pinnipeds off Southern California represents one of the longest-running marine mammal studies conducted along the west coast of the United States.

She is co-author of the book Beautiful Minds: The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins and author of Dolphin Confidential: Confessions of a Field Biologist, in both of which she writes about dolphin cognition and social complexity, and discusses killer whale societies and some of the issues that captivity raises.

She has also authored numerous scientific papers, writes for National Geographic’s Ideas and Insight from Explorers, and lectures extensively to students of various ages and backgrounds on marine mammals, marine ecology, conservation and environmental education.