Rita Gardner (geographer)

Rita Ann Moden Gardner, (born 10 November 1955) is a British geographer and academic, specialising in geomorphology. Since January 2019, she has been Chief Executive of the Academy of Social Sciences. She taught at St Catherine's College, Oxford (1978–1979), King's College, London (1979–1994), and finally at Queen Mary and Westfield College (1994–1996) where she was Reader in Environmental Science. From 1996 to 2018, she was Director of the Royal Geographical Society: she was the learned society's first female director.

Honours
In the 2003 New Year Honours, Gardner was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "for services to geography". She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS), and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS).

In 2016, she was awarded the Scottish Geographical Medal, the highest honour of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, in recognition "of her outstandingly successful work in promoting Geography – in academic research, in schools, and in public life". She was also made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (FRSGS) in 2016.