Laura Craig

Dr. Craig is an aquatic ecologist, river conservationist, strategic thinker, and creative problem-solver. She has worked at the boundary of science and conservation practice for more than 12 years, including nearly ten years as the chief scientist and Director of River Restoration at the national environmental non-profit American Rivers and, more recently, two years as the Director of Ecological Services at the regional science and water resources engineering firm Princeton Hydro. Laura is a recognized expert in aquatic ecology and currently serves as the Chair of American Rivers’ Science and Technical Advisory Committee, a member of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary’s Science and Technical Advisory Committee, and a member of the Philadelphia-based Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership’s Board of Advisors. Her specific areas of expertise include restoration theory and practice, water quality, climate adaptation, and science communication, among others.

Dr. Craig is a skilled project manager and technical expert with experience working on river, freshwater wetland, and tidal marsh restoration in the mid-Atlantic. Dr. Craig is committed to science-based water resource management. She has advised projects on a diversity of topics including environmental flows, riparian buffers, and fish habitat restoration and was a member of the USGS Powell Center Dam Removal Science working group and co-chair of the William Penn Foundation-sponsored Land-Water Stewardship working group, among other efforts working at the science/practice interface. Laura has extensive experience engaging water resource professionals and the public on the topics of dam removal and river restoration through invited talks and trainings.

Dr. Craig is a senior fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program and has been recognized for her work in conservation as an Emerging Leader in a New Jersey Non-Profit and a Next Generation Environmental Leader. She is also an elected Councilperson and Land Use Board member in Palmyra, New Jersey.