Shivaun Leonard

Shivaun is the Senior Aquaculture and Fisheries Advisor for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Shivaun oversees USAID’s investment in aquaculture and fisheries called the Feed the Future (FTF) Innovation Lab for Fish (FIL).  FTF is the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative. FIL focuses on creating innovations for aquaculture and fisheries to improve nutrition, livelihoods, food security and income generation of vulnerable groups in USAID FTF countries in Asia and Africa.  FIL’s mission is to alleviate poverty and improve nutrition in vulnerable populations through the reliable and inclusive provision of fish; a nutrient rich animal source food, and aquatic foods.  Shivaun is interested in finding interconnectivities between and within the aquaculture and fisheries sectors.

Shivaun’s spent most of her career in Africa. Shivaun was a US Peace Corps Volunteer in DRC. In Zimbabwe she was the Production Director of Lake Harvest Aquaculture (LHA), where she developed and managed LHA’s production. In Uganda she was the General Manager of Source of the Nile (SON) Fish Farm.

Shivaun has undertaken assignments in Africa (DRC, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe), Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia and Timor Leste), Central America (Belize, Columbia and Costa Rica and Guatemala), and South America (Brazil and Peru).

Shivaun holds a PhD and MSc in aquaculture and fisheries from Auburn University, focusing on Water Quality, and a BSc in Zoology from the University of New Hampshire. Shivaun’s a member of the World Aquaculture Society.