My research focuses on using social science to improve coral reef management. My interest in this field began in 1996 while working as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in the Montego Bay Marine Park in Jamaica. There, I witnessed first hand how conventional conservation strategies were failing because they did not understand or reflect the social, economic, and cultural needs of resource users. Since then, I have worked with various coastal peoples in the Pacific Islands, South East Asia, East Africa, and the Caribbean to better understand how socioeconomic factors influence the ways in which people use, perceive, and govern coral reefs. My work draws together a wide range of social science disciplines (including human geography, common property, anthropology, and conservation policy) and I often work closely with ecologists on interdisciplinary research topics.