Dr. Brent Stoffle is a senior applied anthropologist with more than 25 years of federal service, including with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, 2003–present) and the National Park Service (1993–1995). His career began in 1989 studying fisheries issues in Buen Hombre, Dominican Republic, and has since spanned extensive fieldwork across the Caribbean and U.S. coastal communities—including the Atlantic coast, Gulf of Mexico, Hawai‘i, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Dr. Stoffle’s research focuses on cultural and natural resource rights, fisheries and coastal management, and community conservation practices. He is recognized for integrating Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK) and Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) into formal management and policy processes, advancing more equitable and inclusive decision-making. His work frequently aligns with mandates under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). He has led Social Impact Assessments addressing regulatory change, environmental disasters such as hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effects of climate-driven change on vulnerable communities.

Beyond his fisheries and coastal work, Dr. Stoffle has conducted ethnographic research in the American Southwest, collaborating with Pueblo, Paiute, and Navajo Nations to document and protect cultural and natural resource values.

He earned his B.A. in Sociology/Anthropology and Spanish from Ohio Wesleyan University, his M.A. in Sociology from East Carolina University, and his Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology from the University of South Florida. A prolific scholar, he has authored numerous publications and continues to mentor undergraduate and graduate students nationwide while actively contributing to the Society for Applied Anthropology.