Malia Hale

As director of National Aquarium Animal Rescue, Malia Hale leads a team of employees and volunteers who care for sick and injured sea turtles and marine mammals with the goal of returning them to the ocean. National Aquarium Animal Rescue is federally permitted to respond to sea turtles and marine mammals in distress along Maryland's 3,190 miles of coastline.

Malia and her team are responsible for animal care, rehabilitation, stranding and incident response, research, and outreach and education. Malia also assists with the development and implementation of science-based conservation initiatives for marine mammals and sea turtles, and she represents the National Aquarium to state and federal government agencies, the public, and partner conservation programs.

When Malia first joined the Aquarium as an Animal Rescue volunteer in 2017, she was working as the clinic director and master wildlife rehabilitator at the Owl Moon Raptor Center in Boyds, Maryland. She also previously worked for the National Wildlife Federation in Washington, D.C. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; a juris doctorate from the University of Puget Sound School of Law in Tacoma, Washington; and certification through the Maryland Master Naturalist Program.