Dr. Stan Hales brought a diverse background and wealth of experience in education, research, and management when he was hired as the BBP Director on July 1, 2007. Before joining the BBP, Dr. Hales was a Senior Fish and Wildlife Biologist in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s New Jersey Field Office, where he coordinated planning and other activities and authored The Hackensack Meadowlands Initiative: Preliminary Conservation Planning. Previously, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of the Coastal Conservation Research Program (CCRP) at Richard Stockton College. The CCRP was a collaborative student-based research program supported by many organizations, including the Wetlands Institute, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, and the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Hales has overseen the tremendous increase in the capacity and expertise of the BBP staff.  From 2014 through 2018, he also served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Association of National Estuary Programs, which coordinates and communicates outreach and other efforts by all 28 National Estuary Programs.

Dr. Hales’ research activities have focused on growth, mortality, and movements of estuarine fishes, but also include published studies on ecotoxicology, population genetics, reproductive ecology, zooarchaeology, and other topics.  He received his B.S. from Davidson College, his M.S. from the College of Charleston, and his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.