Gina Shultz is the deputy assistant director of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ecological Service’s Program. The Ecological Services Program provides national leadership for the conservation of species and the habitats on which they depend, including species protected by the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, Coastal Barrier Resources Protection Act, Oil Pollution Act, Federal Powers Act and Clean Water Act. Through leadership in environmental contaminants, environmental reviews of federal projects, listing and recovery of candidate, threatened, and endangered species, and management of decision support and mapping tools, the Program works closely with our partners to meet the conservation challenges of today and tomorrow.

Gina has been a biologist and manager with the Fish and Wildlife Service for over 27 years in California, the Pacific Islands and Headquarters. Prior to joining the Service, she worked for five years as an environmental consultant in Southern California. She has a Bachelor of Science in biology from San Diego State University, where she also worked on her master’s degree, and a Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego.

Over the past 32 years, Gina has worked on a variety of environmental issues, including large, complex section 7 consultations with Federal agencies and regional habitat conservation plans with local governments; coral reef conservation; a transparent approach to endangered species listings and critical habitat designations; voluntary conservation agreements with private landowners; and regulations, policies, and guidance to streamline implementation of the Endangered Species Act.