Brendan Wiltse
Executive Director
2014 Ph.D. Limnology, Queen’s University
Brendan joined AWI in 2020, serving as Water Quality Director with a cross-appointment as Visiting Assistant Professor in the Masters of Natural Resource Conservation program at Paul Smith's College. In 2024, he became AWI’s Executive Director. At AWI, he develops AWI's strategic partnerships and fosters opportunities to further its mission. His leadership ensures that the AWI team has the necessary resources to implement effective programs that align with regional needs. For many years, Brendan oversaw our water quality monitoring and inventory program and supervised research that informed the conservation of freshwater ecosystems. He has a broad range of interests in the field of limnology, including the use of paleolimnological approaches to reconstruct ecosystem responses to recent climate change and using environmental DNA to map the distribution of brook trout in the Adirondacks. Brendan previously served as the Science & Stewardship Director at the Ausable River Association. He led work to understand and address road salt pollution in the Ausable River watershed, specifically Mirror Lake, in the Village of Lake Placid. Brendan currently serves on the Northern Forest Atlas Foundation board and as a scientific advisor to the Adirondack Lakes Alliance. He is also a Certified Lake Manager through the North American Lake Management Society and serves on the Professional Certification Program committee. Brendan is also a member of the Global Lakes Ecological Observation Network (GLEON). He earned his B.Sc. in Field Biology from Paul Smith's College and has served as an adjunct faculty at the college since 2014. Brendan lives in Saranac Lake with his partner, Shelly, and their dog, Nico. When not at work, Brendan is often out photographing nature to build connections between people and the natural world.
Brendan’s Publications at AWI
