Laura Bankey Named Vice President of Conservation Programs at National Aquarium

The National Aquarium is pleased to announce the promotion of Laura Bankey to vice president of conservation programs. Laura joined the Aquarium in 2002, serving in roles from conservation fellow to project manager to manager of conservation and most recently to director of conservation before being promoted to her current role.

In her new position, Laura is tasked with leading the Aquarium's field conservation, conservation community engagement and conservation education teams, comprised of full and part-time staff, a rotating body of interns and dozens of volunteers. Laura will focus on shaping the Aquarium's strategic vision towards making a meaningful and lasting impact on ecosystems and communications in the conservation space. In addition, she is responsible for building the Aquarium's conservation programming to best address the needs of our ocean planet as we work toward solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change.

"At the National Aquarium, we are dedicated to inspiring the next generation of hopeful conservationists, and for more than 18 years, Laura has served with optimism, echoing our mission while doing conservation work in our communities," said Senior Vice President of External Affairs Jennifer Driban. "We look forward to supporting the development of new conservation initiatives that will leave a lasting impact on Baltimore and beyond."

In addition to her Aquarium duties, Laura provides leadership to a number of boards and committees including the Aquarium Conservation Partnership, Maryland Marine Debris Advisory Team, Stevenson University Center for Environmental Stewardship and Maryland Commission on Climate Change. Laura is also the recipient of two Coastal America Awards including the Spirit Award for Wetland Restoration Project at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.