Florida Fish and Wildlife ConservationCommission
Dr. Leanne Flewelling is the Deputy Director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWC-FWRI) in St. Petersburg, Florida. She earned her M.S. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Massachusetts in 1997 and her Ph.D. in Marine Science from the University of South Florida in 2008. She began her career with FWC-FWRI in the Harmful Algal Bloom program more than 25 years ago. In her time at FWC-FWRI, she has developed the agency’s analytical capabilities for biotoxin detection and expanded the diversity of biotoxins that the state monitors. She also oversees regulatory shellfish sample analyses for algal biotoxins in support of shellfish management and conducts and collaborates on research projects focused on the production of algal toxins by multiple species of phytoplankton found in Florida waters, the fate and persistence of algal toxins in the environment, and their impacts on fish and wildlife.