Mamie Parker (born October 14, 1957) is an American biologist, conservationist, executive coach, facilitator, and inspirational speaker from Wilmot, Arkansas. She holds a PhD in limnology from the University of Wisconsin and spent 30 years with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in a variety of positions in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Georgia, and Washington, D.C. Highly regarded as a pioneer in the field, she was the first Black woman to serve as the Assistant Director of Fisheries and Habitat Conservation and the first African American to lead a USFWS regional office when she served as the Northeast Service Regional Director, covering 13 northeastern states. She also served as USFWS Chief of Staff and Chief of Fisheries. She received the US government's highest honor for career service employees for her accomplishments, the Presidential Rank Meritorious Service Award, and in 2005 was the first African American inducted into the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame. Since retiring from USFWS, she has worked as an executive leadership coach, inspirational speaker, and environmental consultant with Ma Parker and Associates and EcoLogix Group, Inc. She is on the board of directors of the National Wildlife Federation, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment, The Nature Conservancy-Virginia Chapter, American University School of Public Affairs, Ducks Unlimited, and the Student Conservation Association. Throughout her career she has worked to advance diversity and opportunities for minority students in conservation and fisheries careers; in 2016 she was awarded the Emmeline Moore Prize from the American Fisheries Society for these efforts. Early life and education Parker was born and raised in Wilmot, Arkansas, the youngest of 11 children. Her mother was a single parent and supported the family by working as a sharecropper. Her interest in the outdoors started in childhood, inspired by her mother who was an avid angler and outdoorswoman, and her interest in biology began in high school when a biology teacher introduced her to issues of environmental degradation. Parker holds a BS in biology from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), and an MS in fish and wildlife management and PhD in limnology, both from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (UW). Her work at UW included researching ways to clean contaminants and pollutants from the Great Lakes and its tributaries. She has also completed executive leadership training at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. Career United States