I am currently Research Faculty in the Jambeck Research Group in the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia. I also hold a role as the Director of the Circularity Assessment Protocol at the Circularity Informatics Lab, where I have helped to quantify circular economy and inform solutions in over 56 cities across 16 countries. My research focuses on the impacts of plastic pollution on ecosystem health, identifying metrics and solutions to foster circular systems, and tying human behavior and waste management infrastructure on land with that we find in the ocean. You can learn more about our team’s work and collaborations with waste champions around the world through the Aquathread podcast.
In Spring 2024, I am also honored to be serving as a part-time Advisor on Plastic Pollution for the Council on Environmental Quality at the White House working on national plastic pollution policy. In previous years, I have consulted with organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund on their plastic pollution prevention initiatives, working with stakeholders across the value chain and around the world to address these issues head-on.
Before starting my PhD, I was the Director of the Plastics Initiative at the National Geographic Society, where I oversaw the science, education, grant-giving, innovation prize, and outreach work associated with Planet or Plastic? campaign. In this role, I organized National Geographic’s largest female-led expedition on the Ganges River to study plastic pollution.
I have also spent time working on small-scale fisheries conservation and social marketing with the Fish Forever campaign at Rare, contributed to the Coral Reef Management Capacity Assessments for all U.S. States & Territories for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration while working at SustainaMetrix LLC, and taught a range of audiences as an educator at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.
I received my Bachelors in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia, my Masters in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, and my PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Georgia.
In my spare time, I am an avid scuba diver, sailor, paddle-boarder, and overall adventurer. The ocean is my happy place and has been for as long as I can remember. It has shaped the person I have become and I have dedicated my life to protecting it.
Taylor Maddalene Myers 