Philip Conkling

For the past 25 years, Philip Conkling's life has been grounded by experiences among the 5,000 or so islands in the archipelago of Gulf of Maine. There he has visited more than 1,000 islands, initially for purposes of collecting and analyzing ecological information. As founder and President of the Island Institute, his focus has been to provide strategic, creative and developmental leadership for the organization. He oversees a staff of approximately 40 in the Institute's publications, marine, education and community development programs and 12-14 Island Fellows who live and work in isolated and rural coastal communities.

As part of his work, he has traveled extensively on voyages to Arctic and sub Arctic regions of both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and written extensively on the effects of global warming on coastal villages, fishing fleets and ecosystems of northern regions. In particular, he has been interested in how the changes in the northern North Atlantic will affect marine and coastal life on the islands and coast of Maine. He is the author of Islands in Time, A Natural and Cultural History of the Islands of the Gulf of Maine (1999) and Lobsters Great and Small-How Fishermen and Scientists are Changing Our Understanding of a Maine Icon (2001) He also is the editor of From Cape Cod to the Bay of Fundy-An Environmental Atlas of the Gulf of Maine (1995).

Currently Conkling is leading and coordinating a $20 million capital campaign at the Island Institute to endow the core programs of the organization.

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