Dr. Lida Teneva is an environmental conservation leader with 15+ years of work in ocean policy, climate science and oceanography, marine protection, and developing philanthropic programs. She has worked in conservation across Pacific Islands, Latin America, Caribbean, East Africa, Antarctica, Greenland, Norway/Svalbard, and Indonesia. She has worked on the science and effective management of marine protected areas (MPAs) for 15 years with international organizations, policy-makers, and local Indigenous communities.
She has worked with nonprofits and philanthropy both. As a Trustee to the Mary G. Jameson Foundation, Dr. Lida Teneva advises on grant-making programs for marine protection globally. As former VP of WWF, she developed a new global Area-Based Conservation (MPA) program, to strategically strengthen marine protection in Southeast Asia, South Pacific, Latin America, and East Africa. Prior to this, she supported the translation of science into policy in California and created a new Legislative Services program as Director of California Ocean Science Trust, to influence public policy and regulations on a number of ocean protection and climate topics in California. At the Dalio Foundation, she created ship-based ocean expeditions that led to strengthened MPA protection and new discoveries for sharks and deep-sea species. In prior positions with Conservation International, Wildlife Conservation Society, Dr. Lida Teneva worked with local Indigenous communities in Hawai‘i and Fiji on community-based stewardship of their coral reefs. Previously, as a coral reef ecologist, she studied climate change resilience of coral reefs across Pacific atolls, Caribbean islands, and the Great Barrier Reef.
Dr. Lida Teneva has helped found environmental education organizations and holds several NGO Board positions. Originally from Bulgaria, she earned her PhD at Stanford University and a Master’s degree at Columbia University. Living in California, she enjoys SCUBA diving, fly fishing, cooking, and flying light aircraft.