Dr. Chelsea Clyde-Brockway is a marine scientist focused on a central challenge integral to conservation: how endangered sea turtles survive in rapidly changing ocean conditions. She is Executive Director of The Leatherback Trust, a leading sea turtle conservation organization, and a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Purdue University. She earned her Ph.D. in Wildlife Science from Purdue University, following earlier degrees in biology and marine biology.

Her research follows sea turtles across life stages, from nesting beaches to offshore habitats, to understand how environmental change affects their physiology, behavior and survival. By connecting these stages, she pinpoints when and where turtles face the greatest risk and uses that insight to create more effective conservation strategies. Her research has directly contributed to the establishment of the Papagayo Marine Responsible Fishing Area, reducing threats to sea turtles and other marine species while supporting sustainable fishing practices and local livelihoods along the coast.

By using research tools that include stable isotope analysis, hormone testing and satellite tracking, her work maps where turtles have been feeding and how they are using energy and responding to stress. This research reveals how changing ocean conditions—such as shifting prey availability and rising temperatures—affect turtle health and survival, often before declines are visible on nesting beaches. By building long-term datasets across these systems, Dr. Clyde-Brockway helps pinpoint the drivers of decline and provides the evidence needed to guide policy and protect endangered sea turtle populations over time.