Nichola Clark

PROFILE

Nichola Clark leads Pew's work related to the United Nations treaty on marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) as part of the Trusts’ campaign to address gaps in ocean governance through meaningful international cooperation. Working with partner organizations and coalitions, Clark serves as a strategic and technical expert on the BBNJ treaty and specializes in high seas marine protected areas and the treaty's interaction with other management bodies. She also serves as the co-lead for the International Union for Conservation of Nature World Commission on Protected Areas High Seas Specialist Group.

Before joining Pew, Clark worked on international fisheries issues at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and on deep-sea and high-seas research at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam, Germany. She is a member of the sixth cohort of Homeward Bound, a global leadership program for women in STEMM fields.

Clark holds bachelor’s degrees in English and in environmental public policy and law, both from Trinity College, and a master’s degree in environmental management from Duke University. She is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wollongong’s Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, where her research focuses on area-based management tools and institutional arrangements for the BBNJ agreement.