Ana K. Spalding

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Ana K. Spalding is an Afro-Panamanian environmental researcher who studies how humans affect marine life and coastal communities. She works at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama and at Oregon State University, focusing on environmental policy and the social impacts of the ocean on people.

Early life and education
Spalding grew up in Panama. Her father’s work as an engineer and her mother’s conservation career inspired her to pursue environmental work. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in International Economics from the University of Richmond in 1999, a Master’s in Marine Affairs and Policy from the University of Miami in 2004, and a PhD in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2011.

Career
After her PhD, Spalding did a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at STRI in Panama. In 2015 she became a Research Associate at STRI and an assistant professor at Oregon State University’s School of Public Policy. She is involved with the Pacific Marine Energy Center, a collaboration to study wave and tidal energy.

In 2021, she led a NOAA-funded project examining how climate change and ocean acidification regulations could affect coastal economies on the West Coast, especially communities that rely on shellfish. In 2024, her National Geographic project “The Many Faces of Conservation” took her to Popa Island in Panama, where she met with the Ngäbe Indigenous community to learn how policies impact their livelihoods. In 2020 she received a $150,000 Ocean Nexus grant to support leadership and science communication training for colleagues.

Legacy and impact
Spalding founded the Adrienne Arsht Community-Based Resilience Solutions Initiative, which studies how to make both environments and local communities more resilient to climate change. She is the first marine scientist to join STRI’s staff of 40 researchers, and STRI’s work includes outreach and helping shape policies on climate change.

In 2021, Spalding and 23 other women scientists published a PLOS Biology article calling for a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive academic culture. They argued for a broader, multidimensional view of scientific impact beyond traditional metrics like citation counts.

Publications
Her work covers topics such as equitable ocean governance, marine spatial planning, and social justice in science. Notable themes include making marine policy fairer and improving how scientists measure success and influence.