Anne Kapuscinski served as the inaugural Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of Sustainability Science and Professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth College from 2009 to 2018. She chaired the Environmental Studies Program from 2011 to 2014 and led the establishment of an undergraduate minor in sustainability while serving on the Sustainability Steering Committee. Kapuscinski earned her B.A. in Biology from Swarthmore College in 1976, M.S. in Fisheries from Oregon State University in 1980, and Ph.D. in Fisheries with a minor in Water Resources from the same institution in 1984. Prior to Dartmouth, she held faculty positions at the University of Minnesota from 1984 to 2009, advancing from Assistant Professor to Professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology. She also served as Minnesota Sea Grant Extension Specialist in biotechnology and aquaculture, Founding Director of the Institute for Social, Economic, and Ecological Sustainability from 1996 to 2009, and Founding Fellow of the Institute on the Environment from 2007 to 2009. Earlier, she worked as an Aquaculture Research Technician at Weyerhaeuser Company from 1976 to 1977.

Her research focuses on the impacts of technologies including dams, hatcheries, aquaculture, and genetic engineering on aquatic biodiversity, with emphasis on fish genetic diversity; ecological and social criteria for organic aquaculture; participatory scenario learning for regional sustainability goals; and integrated food-energy systems such as linkages between tilapia aquaculture and microalgae production. Kapuscinski has received the Honor Award from the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture in 1997, Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation in 2001, Star Faculty Award from the University of Minnesota's College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences in 2007, Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Conservation Biology in 2008, Rachel Carson Environmental Award in 2014, and Ocean Award in the Innovation Category in 2019. Key publications include chairing the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee report Strengthening Sustainability Programs and Curricula at the Undergraduate and Graduate Levels (2020); Sarker et al., Microalgae-blend tilapia feed eliminates fishmeal and fish oil, improves fish growth and is cost viable, Scientific Reports (2020); and multiple papers in PLoS ONE and Elementa on sustainable aquafeeds and parrotfish fisheries management. She chaired the Board of Directors of the Union of Concerned Scientists, served as Editor in Chief of the Sustainability Transitions domain of Elementa journal, and advised the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, FDA, WHO, FAO, and others on biotechnology and aquaculture safety.