Amy Johnson is a conservation biologist at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, where she leads the new Center for Working Lands and Seascapes. In this role, she works across the U.S. and internationally to connect science, land stewardship, and community action, advancing collaborative approaches to biodiversity conservation by translating ecological research into practical, scalable solutions that support resilient ecosystems and the people who depend on them.

Since 2017, Amy directed Virginia Working Landscapes, a Smithsonian program that partners with landowners, farmers, and conservation organizations to co-design applied research on private lands. Under her leadership, the program has demonstrated how conservation can be embedded within working farms to strengthen biodiversity, ecosystem services, and long-term land and water stewardship.