Julia Baum holds the Faculty of Science President’s Chair at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada where she is a Professor of Ocean Ecology and Global Change in the Department of Biology. Her research group works to advance understanding of the ecological impacts of climate change in the ocean, especially tropical coral reefs and kelp forests, and to inform and catalyze climate solutions. At UVic, Baum also serves as Director of Coastal Climate Solutions Leaders, a transdisciplinary graduate training program, and Special Advisor Climate, advising the university on strategic climate initiatives.

Baum earned her B.Sc. from McGill University, and her M.Sc. and PhD from Dalhousie University. She was awarded a David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship in 2007, which she took up at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and a Schmidt Ocean Institute Fellowship in 2010, which she took up at University of California Santa Barbara before joining UVic as faculty in 2011. Baum was named an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in Ocean Sciences in 2011, a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation in 2017, and an NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellow in 2018. She is an expert in coral reef ecology, fisheries and climate change impacts in the ocean, and ocean climate change solutions. Baum is a strong advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusivity in academia. She is committed to communicating science and the need for climate solutions to policy-makers and the public, and devotes considerable time to engagement through meetings, media appearances and public speaking engagements.