St. Petersburg nonprofit names new director

ST. PETERSBURG — Leah Biery has joined Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center, a pro-environment nonprofit based at the St. Pete Pier in downtown St. Petersburg, as its new director. She succeeds Dwayne Virgint, who will retain his other role as CEO of Tampa Bay Watch.

Biery, according to a news release, comes to Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center from Sanibel Sea School, where she served as director of operations. With degrees in zoology, fisheries management and nonprofit management, she has worked on conservation projects around the world, including in Tanzania and Belize. She has also worked at the Queen Conch Lab at Florida Atlantic University.

“We are extremely proud and excited to welcome Leah. She comes to our organization with years of valuable leadership experience that we know will help to advance the growth and expansion of Tampa Bay Watch,” Virgint states in the release. “In its first two years, the Discovery Center has welcomed thousands of guests, both locals and visitors. Under Leah's guidance, we know that we will continue to provide accessible and creative opportunities to learn our story of the Tampa Bay Estuary and its recovery — hopefully inspiring them to do the same in their own communities.” 

Biery, the release states, is also a founding member of Mind Your Line, a collaborative initiative among Sanibel-Captiva conservation organizations to reduce the harmful impacts of discarded fishing gear on wildlife. 

“I am very excited to combine my leadership experience in the nonprofit sector with my knowledge of Florida conservation topics to tell the world about the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center’s work,” Biery states in the release. “Caring for our planet, its creatures and our fellow humans is a responsibility we should all take seriously and integrate into everything we do.”