Assistant Dean of Partnerships & Development
As the Bren School’s Assistant Dean for Partnerships & Development, Lotus works closely with the dean, faculty and staff to forge strategic partnerships and raise funds to support Bren School research, students, faculty, teaching operations and initiatives. A marine biologist and primatologist by training, Dr. Vermeer was the Marine Director of the Global Sustainable Fisheries Program at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and oversaw the science and research for their Pacific tuna fisheries work. Prior to that, she served as the Director of the Conservancy’s Channel Islands Program for 10 years, and lead successful island restoration and endangered species recovery efforts which were featured in a popular novel, When The Killing’s Done, by T.C. Boyle. Before migrating to California, she spent three years at Earthwatch Institute in Boston, where she was both Director of Research and Director of the Earth and Marine Sciences Program.
Dr. Vermeer has a PhD in Marine Ecology from Dalhousie University, a MSc in Marine Resource and Environmental Management from the University of the West Indies, and a MSc in Behavioural Ecology and Primatology from McGill University.