Dr. William R Casola
AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow
Directorate for Geosciences
Office of Polar Programs
Arctic Sciences
Class of 2023-2024

Dr. William Casola is a conservation social scientist with research and policy interests related to the social, cultural, and economic aspects of natural resource management. Originally from North Carolina, he completed his Ph.D. and B.S. in Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Biology at North Carolina State University where his research centered around the use and economic value of wildlife management areas. Casola is passionate about natural resource conservation and science communication. He has led research on broad conservation topics including marine resource policy, human dimensions of wildlife management, marine protected areas, environmental communication strategies, and natural resource economics. Most recently, he completed his postdoctoral training in the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences at the University of Florida. As a postdoc, Casola studied the social and economic components of fisheries management and governance, with a focus on wild oysters along Florida’s Gulf Coast. He joins the NSF as a 2023–2024 AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the Office of Polar Programs, Arctic Sciences Division. Casola is passionate about applying his interdisciplinary expertise to improve research and decision making and to inform environmental policy.