Debborah Luke, Ph.D.

Dr. Debi Luke serves as Senior Vice President of Conservation at The Florida Aquarium and is an internationally recognized conservation leader with more than 30 years of experience advancing marine and environmental conservation. With a science-based, impact-driven approach, she leads the Aquarium’s conservation strategy, ensuring that conservation is integrated throughout its Tampa and Apollo Beach campuses—from science, education, and public engagement to conservation action and sustainable business practices.

Debi oversees the Aquarium’s local, regional, and international conservation portfolio, strategically aligning initiatives to capitalize on staff expertise, strengthen partnerships, and maximize measurable conservation impact. Her leadership supports the Aquarium’s continued role as Florida’s leading conservation-based aquarium and an influential partner in addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing wildlife and aquatic ecosystems.

Her portfolio includes oversight of the Aquarium’s IUCN Center for Species Survival: Corals and its internationally recognized coral and sea turtle conservation programs. She also leads the Aquarium’s Blue Team, advancing four organizational conservation priorities: safeguarding imperiled wildlife, restoring and protecting healthy habitats, reducing single-use plastic consumption and pollution, and advancing sustainable business operations.

Throughout her career, Debi has worked to strengthen the science, partnerships, and institutional capacity needed to achieve meaningful conservation outcomes. Before joining The Florida Aquarium, she served as Executive Director of the Society for Conservation Biology and spent nearly a decade as Senior Vice President of Conservation and Science for the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). At AZA, she successfully launched Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE), the association’s flagship conservation program designed to harness the collective expertise and reach of accredited zoos and aquariums to help save species from extinction.

Earlier in her career, she served as Director of Education and Research at Sea Life Park Hawaiʻi and held several leadership roles during 13 years at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, including Director of Manatee Care and Research.

Debi earned her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of South Florida, where her research integrated cognitive neuroscience and marine biology to investigate manatee sensory biology. Her groundbreaking, peer-reviewed research advanced scientific understanding of how manatees perceive and interact with their environment.

Across her career, Debi has focused on translating science into action—building partnerships, developing conservation programs, and mobilizing organizations and communities to create lasting benefits for wildlife, habitats, and people.