José H. Leal, Ph.D., was hired as director of The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum in February 1996. His area of specialization is systematics of marine mollusks. Dr. Leal received his B.S. in Marine Biology and M.S. in Invertebrate Zoology both from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He holds a Ph.D. in Marine Biology and Fisheries from the University of Miami. Dr. Leal was a Visiting Professor at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, in Paris, and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. Dr. Leal holds honorary faculty positions at the University of Miami and Florida Gulf Coast University, where is also an Affiliate Member of the Coastal Watershed Institute. He is also a past president (2003–2004) of the American Malacological Society, current president of Conchologists of America, board member of the Florida Association of Museums, accreditation peer-reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums, and editor of The Nautilus.