Today, the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions, a global community of sustainable seafood NGOs, is thrilled to welcome Mariah Boyle to the team as its new Executive Director. Mariah will be bringing with her not only an impressive track record in fundraising, team building, and program design and implementation, but also ten years of partnering and problem-solving in the Alliance community itself. Her combined subject matter, operational, and contextual experience will enable her to hit the ground running as the Alliance launches into its 2020-2024 strategy this year.
The Conservation Alliance is a community of organizations from North America, Europe, South America, and Japan that believes seafood production is a powerful driver of change for the health and biodiversity of our oceans and the economic and social well-being of individuals and communities around the world. After ten years of working together to mobilize change, the Alliance recognized that it needed to do more to drive toward its vision, and so began a strategic planning process in 2018. The Alliance 2020-2024 Strategy, released January 2020, presents a plan of action toward an ambitious goal: by 2030, 75% of global seafood production will be environmentally sustainable or making verifiable improvement, and adequate safeguards will be in place to ensure social responsibility. To realize this goal, the Alliance must learn faster, partner more broadly, behave more efficiently, and focus more strategically than ever before. It was clear that a special kind of leader would be critical to the success of this aspirational goal.
“Over the past decade, Mariah’s tireless work in this community has demonstrated her talent for building communities and forecasting sector-wide trends,” shared Alliance Board member, Jack Kittinger, Senior Director of Global Fisheries and Aquaculture at Conservation International. “Her specialized set of skills uniquely position her to be the bold and savvy leader the Alliance needs right now as we look to do more, faster.”
Returning from sabbatical where she thru-hiked 4,500 miles of the Pacific Crest and Appalachian Trails, Mariah feels energized and ready for the task at hand. “On these hikes I became more self-sufficient and made tough decisions in challenging conditions. I am a better leader now because of this journey. I have renewed focus and energy, and I’m eager for the opportunity to use my deep technical knowledge and experience to build effective collaborations to accelerate impact in this community.”
Prior to her sabbatical, Mariah spent ten years protecting our ocean and those reliant on it through her work leading the traceability division at FishWise, a CA-based nonprofit sustainable seafood consultancy that provides market-based tools to support a more responsible seafood industry. During her tenure at FishWise, she proved herself a visionary as she designed, staffed, and implemented novel programs with retail market leaders such as Albertsons Companies, Hy-Vee, and Target.
On how these experiences will play into her new role at the Alliance and her vision for the future of this NGO community, Mariah says, “I am looking forward to building upon my experience working on sustainable seafood, traceability, and social responsibility in this new role. After 10 years of work, the Alliance has reflected on its past efforts and many successes and is reaffirming its vision for sustainable seafood. This vision includes socially responsible practices and long-term financial viability for seafood that is also environmentally sustainable. I am excited about the opportunity to innovate and find ways to achieve this vision quickly, partnering with those that have been working on sustainable seafood for many years, and those new to the community.”
Welcome to the team, Mariah!
