Scott Phillips

Through a career spanning four decades, Scott Phillips accumulated an in-depth knowledge of environmental issues, and extensive experience interacting with stakeholders to apply science to advance restoration and conservation efforts.

Phillips served 25 years as the U.S. Geological Survey’s Chesapeake Science Coordinator. He provided leadership in planning and applying science to inform decisions of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership, which collectively invests over $1B annually toward restoration and conservation activities in the Bay and its watershed. Phillips translated and communicated complex technical information into key findings and implications for a wide range audiences and issues including fisheries management, habitat recovery, water-quality improvement, land conservation, and the effects of land and climate change on ecosystem conditions. He won the USGS Lifetime Achievement Award for Science Communication for his efforts.

In 2010, Phillips helped craft the president’s strategy for restoring the Chesapeake ecosystem. The strategy included goals to increase land protection and increase public access. He served on the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership Steering committee, which is working to carry out these goals across the Bay watershed.

Phillips lived his entire life in the Chesapeake watershed and currently resides near Annapolis where he enjoys hiking, kayaking and boating with his wife and daughter. He went to school at James Madison University and completed graduate studies at George Washington University.