Passion for marine life fuels a diverse career in attraction-based education
David Niebuhr’s Ph.D. ’99 entrepreneurial spirit and love for marine biology motivated a lifelong commitment to educational programming
Inspired by “National Geographic Specials” on television and Jacques Cousteau’s oceanographic expeditions on the R/V Calypso, David Niebuhr was captivated by marine ecosystems from a young age. Throughout a long career that has included a unique mix of eclectic jobs, sharing his love for marine life has been a consistent theme. Today, as chief operating officer (COO) at the Virginia Living Museum, Niebuhr continues to lean on lessons learned while earning an M.S. and Ph.D. at William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS.
An idiosyncratic start to marine science education
As an undergraduate at W&M, Niebuhr double majored in biology and psychology. However, once he began working in psychiatric hospitals, Niebuhr found the work less than satisfying. “Strangely enough,” he said, “because I was really good at talking to large groups, they moved me from the counseling side to the public relations side in hospital administration. I thought to myself, ‘This is ridiculous. You should go back to school for marine science, which is what you've always been passionate about.’”
Niebuhr left the world of psychology but wanted to take time to carefully select his graduate school. In the meantime, he taught public school biology and chemistry, waited tables and even started an entertainment business providing music and dance troops, including fife and drum corps, for Colonial Williamsburg and other historic sites in the area. Ultimately, Niebuhr determined that his best path forward was to return to W&M by enrolling in the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences.
After studying maritime law and policy under Bartlett Theberge Jr. for his M.S., Niebuhr worked with Mark Patterson and John Boon on an interdisciplinary Ph.D. that explored non-destructive ways to assess coral stress by measuring relative percentages of lipids.
At the Batten School & VIMS, Niebuhr found an unparalleled community of support. “It was authentic and organic,” he said. In addition to his advisors, Niebuhr relied on other mentors like Maurice Lynch and Fu-Lin Chu, as well as fellow Ph.D. students in the lab, for guidance and technical advice. “We spent hours and hours and hours in the field helping each other with research,” he said. “And VIMS was more integrated into the local area than most grad schools, so you were a member of the Gloucester Point community, too.”
Niebuhr remained active in the broader W&M community as well, serving as president of the Graduate Student Association and on the first-ever W&M strategic planning committee. While earning his Ph.D., Niebuhr was also employed by the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia (CBNERR-VA).
"What I learned from the entire experience is that I'm much better at taking really complicated things and explaining them to people in simple terms,” he said. With that realization, Niebuhr set his sights on becoming an educator.
Finding his place in the industry
“I wanted to work at a small liberal arts college and focus on teaching, so I found a job at a small school just outside Boston. Since undergrad, this is what I wanted and I got it... and I didn’t like it,” said Niebuhr, who then returned to W&M to instruct science teachers in the School of Education. Niebuhr finally found his marine science niche when he accepted the position of Vice President at Mote Marine Laboratory in Florida. “That started 25 years in the museum, aquarium and zoo worlds.”
During several years at Mote, Niebuhr leaned on both his Batten School & VIMS education and his enterprising past as a small businessperson. “Oddly enough, my work in Colonial Williamsburg creating programs that people were willing to pay for helped me create educational programs about marine science that people were willing to pay for,” he said. “That made me very popular with my bosses.”
During this time, Niebuhr also started his own environmental nonprofit that produced educational videos. This work eventually led Niebuhr back to Virginia as he coordinated with—and ultimately agreed to help run—the Watermen’s Museum in Yorktown. After five years as Executive Director, Niebuhr again went south to the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans. For several years as vice president and managing director, he oversaw the zoo, nature center and uptown facilities, as well as education programs at the aquarium. Then, ready for yet another adventure, Niebuhr returned once more to Virginia to start a consulting business focused on science fundraising and grant writing.
That whirlwind of a career came to an unexpected halt, however, with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. “My consulting work went away,” he said, “and at the same time, schools were desperate for science teachers. I submitted an online application one night and, when I woke up the next morning, I already had two job offers.” After a year, Niebuhr then saw the Virginia Living Museum needed a COO. “I thought, ‘this is where my kids learned about nature. I think they could use my type of help and diversity of experiences.’”
Leading, and looking back
At the Living Museum, Niebuhr now oversees all operations, including facilities and maintenance, exhibits and collections, guest experiences and educational programming, employees, volunteers and even gift shop sales. “I’m lucky to have solid directors over each of those areas,” he said, “so I get to take a thirty-thousand-foot view and work strategically on growing our admissions by turning this place into the regional attraction it should be. We’re working on the culture, we’re working on the experience, and we’ve made remarkable strides. It’s pretty exciting, and I really believe this place is going to soar.”
Niebuhr is equally passionate about sharing lessons from his fascinating career with the next generation, and those lessons can be unexpected.
“Content kills excitement,” he said, a surprising statement from an educator. “I love every one of our employees, but environmental educators are a special breed of nerd—and I count myself in this. Our interactions can resemble the world’s worst first date. You give so much detail that people's eyes start to glaze over. Content provides answers, but it doesn’t inspire wonder. Our job is to inspire the majority of people, who don’t really care that much, to ask a deeper question. That’s when you excite them and help them grow.”
Reflecting on how his time at the Batten School & VIMS influenced his career, Niebuhr values the intangible skills he developed more than any specific set of knowledge. “Personally, I didn't master a research technique,” he said. “I learned how to take care of myself. I learned from the classroom and from the field and from the extracurriculars. And that's what your Ph.D. says about you; it says you can do hard things. A degree is not a panacea, and it’s not an anchor, but it is proof that you can create pathways to solutions.”
This alumni profile was published in August, 2025.