Education Day BiographiesLori Arguelles is the Executive Director of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. A long-time supporter of the National Marine Sanctuary System, Arguelles first worked with the system in her capacity as Director of Public Affairs for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from 1994-1999. Prior to working with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, she served as Director of Communications for Girls Scouts of the U.S.A. Arguelles started her professional career in broadcast news, working for several local and regional outlets, as well as the NBC/Mutual Radio Network. She has also worked as a press secretary for two members of Congress.
John Berry joined the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation as its Executive Director on November 1, 2000. Prior to joining the Foundation, he served as the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget for the U.S. Department of Interior and was the architect of the President’s Lands Legacy Initiative. Berry has also served as Director of Government Relations and Senior Policy Advisor for the Smithsonian Institution, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement at the Department of Treasury, and Legislative Director and Associate Staff to the House Appropriations Committee for Representative Steny Hoyer.
Barbara Boxer has championed various environmental causes, particularly ocean and coastal concerns, since she was first elected to Congress in 1982. The Senator’s leadership helped create the Monterey Bay and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries, and she has fought for years to stop offshore drilling along California’s coastlines. Senator Boxer was a co-sponsor of the 2000 Oceans Act, which established the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and is regarded as one of the most important pieces of legislation ever created with regard to marine stewardship in the United States.
Billy Causey has been Superintendent of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the second largest marine protected area in the U.S., since 1990. Prior to that, Causey developed the education and outreach, and research and enforcement programs for the Looe Key and Key Largo National Marine Sanctuaries. He has led efforts to establish the first large-scale marine zoning network in the U.S., including the recent establishment of the Tortugas Ecological Reserve. Causey’s science background is in coral reef ecology and coral reef fishes.
Francesca Cava is the Education Program Manager for Sustainable Seas Expeditions, a five-year, multi-agency program to promote ocean conservation and increase public recognition of the importance of marine protected areas worldwide. She completed a 21-year career with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including two years as Director of the National Marine Sanctuary and National Estuarine Research Reserve Programs. Cava was also the first manager of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary in Santa Barbara and served four years as an Alternate Commissioner on the California Coastal Commission.
Valerie Chase recently retired as Director of Conservation Education at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. She worked as a teacher, photographer, and exhibit and program developer during her 21 years at the aquarium. She has also served as project director/principal investigator on five National Science Foundation grants and two Howard Hughes Medical Institute grants totaling $1.25 million. Chase is best known in the science education community for her work with teachers and as a developer of curriculum. She has served as president, board member, and treasurer of the National Marine Educators Association.
Paula Keener-Chavis is the National Education Coordinator for NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration. She is immediate past-President of the National Marine Educators Association and served on The President's Panel on Ocean Exploration, the National Academies Committee on
Exploration of the Seas, and was invited to serve on the Science Advisory Panel for the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. Keener-Chavis has conducted extensive marine fisheries research off the Southeastern coast of the U.S. and research off Belize, Central America, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution. She has published scientific articles on her research and writes articles for a variety of publications.Kevin Chu joined the Sea Education Association in January 2001. He is the Academic Dean, in charge of overseeing all of SEA’s academic programs and lectures in marine policy for SEA’s maritime studies program. After completing his Ph.D. in Marine Biology from Boston University in 1988, Chu spent more than a decade working in resource management and conservation policy as a Foreign Affairs Officer for the U.S. State Department, a staff member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and then as a Policy Advisor for the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Jean-Michel Cousteau is President of the Ocean Futures Society, a nonprofit marine conservation and education organization he created to carry on the family vision started by his father, Jacques Cousteau. He made history in February by becoming the first person ever to represent the environment during opening ceremonies for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Cousteau has been an explorer, environmentalist, educator and film producer for more than four decades, using his singular experiences to educate people around the world about the oceans. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.
Elizabeth Day is Education Program Leader for the National Sea Grant Program and holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Marine Science. Her doctoral research at the University of South Carolina culminated in one of the few studies to look specifically at the effects of instruction on marine science student learning and attitudes, and on their instructors’ confidence. Day was a Knauss Fellow at the National Science Foundation and after completing her Ph.D. became the primary NSF point person for the Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence Workshop. She has been Education Program Leader for the National Sea Grant College Program for the past 2 years.
Richard DeVoe is Executive Director of the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, President of the Sea Grant Association, and associate faculty member of the Graduate Marine Biology Program and the Marine Environmental Studies Program at the College of Charleston. He has focused his career on aquaculture policy and management and the role of science in understanding and managing coastal lands and ecosystems. DeVoe is Principal Investigator for the South Atlantic Bight Land Use - Coastal Ecosystem Study, a South Carolina Sea Grant College Program funded in part by NOAA, and a Research Associate of the Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine Biology and Coastal Research at the University of South Carolina.
Sylvia Earle is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society and was named Time Magazine’s first “Hero for the Planet” in 1998. She is also Project Director for the Sustainable Seas Expeditions and serves on the Board of Trustees for the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. Earle holds numerous diving records and has pioneered research on marine ecosystems, leading more than 50 expeditions that totaled more than 6,000 hours underwater. She has authored several books, including Sea Change, and holds 12 honorary doctorate degrees, in addition to her PhD from Duke University. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.
Keith Good serves as an Information Management and GIS Specialist for the Minerals Management Service, supervising geological and marine mining issues. Prior to joining the Environmental Sciences Program in 1993, Good headed the Minerals Management Service's Atlantic Region Environmental Assessment Section where he managed the Region's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) activities.
Jim Greenwood is Founder and Co-chair of the House Oceans Caucus and also serves on the Congressional Coastal Caucus. Greenwood has been a longtime advocate of the environment. He currently serves as the President of Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment International, which promotes balanced and informed policy decisions to solve the world’s pressing environmental concerns.
Ernest Hollings has long served as a guardian for our nation’s coasts and oceans. In 1972, he wrote and steered through Congress the National Coastal Zone Management Act, the nation’s first land use law designed to protect coastal wetlands. In the early and mid 1970’s, Senator Hollings pushed to establish the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), authored the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and fought for passage of the Ocean Dumping Act and the Fishery Conservation and Management Act. He also introduced the 2000 Oceans Act, which established the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy.
Sharon Hussey is Senior Vice President of Program, Membership and Research for Girl Scouts U.S.A. and a former science and math teacher. She joined G.S.U.S.A. as a program developer specializing in science, math and technology and has progressed through a number of positions within the organization. Hussey has been a key leader in organizational efforts to transform the G.S.U.S.A. programs, a process that has resulted in the current membership of more than 3.75 million girls and adults – a 21-year high. Hussey holds a B.S. in Biology and an M.S. Ed. in Administration and Public Policy from Fordham University.
Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr. (USN-Ret.) is Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. Before joining NOAA, Lautenbacher was President and CEO of the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE), a not-for-profit organization with a membership of 65 institutions of higher learning and a mission to increase basic knowledge and public support across the spectrum of ocean sciences. Lautenbacher is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and earned his M.S. and Ph. D. degrees in Applied Mathematics at Harvard University. He was also a Federal Executive Fellow and served at the Brookings Institution.
Eric Lindstrom is Oceanography Program Scientist in the Office of Earth Science at NASA Headquarters and has been awarded the agency’s Exceptional Service Medal for developing a unified oceanography program that is well integrated with those of other Federal agencies. Under his leadership, the NASA Oceanography program has become a substantial contributor to the National Oceanographic Partnership Program. Before coming to NASA, Lindstrom served as Director of the Global Ocean Observing System Project Office in NOAA and he is a passionate advocate for a global ocean observing system.
Kris Ludwig joined the JASON IV Research Team as a student Argonaut on the Baja California Sur expedition in the Guaymas Basin of the Sea of Cortez in 1993. She was inspired to pursue a career in earth sciences and graduated from Stanford University in 1999 with a B.S. degree in Earth Systems. Upon graduation, Ludwig worked for the U.S. Antarctic Program as a Marine Science Technician on board a research vessel ice breaker. She has continued to work with the JASON Project as a co-host for the live broadcasts for Jason XIII and XIV Expeditions. Currently, she is pursuing her Ph.D. in Marine Geology at the University of Washington.
Sally McGee is Legislative Assistant for Natural Resources and Environment for the Honorable Wayne Gilchrest (MD-01), Chairman of the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans. Prior to joining Chairman Gilchrest’s staff in January 2000, McGee studied at the University of Rhode Island where she was awarded a John Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship and received her Masters degree in Marine Policy. She has worked for several conservation and environmental education organizations, including Conservation International and the Sea Education Association.
Patty Miller has been teaching at the elementary school level for the past 23 years. She presently works for the Hawaii Department of Education as a State Resource Teleschool Teacher. Miller produces interactive standards-based science programs that are delivered live via television to classrooms in both Hawaii and across the nation.
Richard C. Murphy is Director of Science and Education for the Ocean Futures Society. He began working with Jean-Michel Cousteau and his father, Jacques Cousteau, in 1968 and has since been involved in a wide variety of projects and expeditions around the globe. Murphy’s role in these expeditions has included serving as chief scientist, photographer, writer, and educator or project director. With Jean-Michel Cousteau, he has created the Ambassadors of the Environment educational program for young people. This is a truly innovative outdoors educational experience designed to help the next generation live more gently and sustainably on the planet.
Leon Panetta authored the legislation that established the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Monterey, California, the community where he grew up. He was also a leader for the oceans during the many years he served in Congress and as White House Chief of Staff for President Clinton. Now, as chair of the Pew Oceans Commission, Mr. Panetta is charged with making our oceans and other marine habitats a national priority.
Ellen Prager is Assistant Dean at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. In 2000, she was a host researcher for the Jason Project and broadcast live to students while living underwater for two weeks in the Aquarius undersea laboratory. She was then featured in an ABC News Special on Earth Day, “Planet Earth 2000”, and more recently has appeared on CNN and NBC’s EcoWatch Coral Crisis special in Miami. Prager has also written several books including The Oceans and Furious Earth: The Science and Nature of Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Tsunamis.
Roger T. Rufe, Jr. is President and C.E.O. of The Ocean Conservancy. He joined the organization after a 34-year career in the United States Coast Guard. While in the Coast Guard, Rufe served as captain of five ships, as chief of Congressional Affairs and as a U.S. delegate to the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization in London. He is a member of the Pew Oceans Commission and serves on the Executive Committee of the World Conservation Union’s Species Survival Commission. Rufe earned a Master’s in Public Administration from New York University.
Cathy Sakas is Education Coordinator for the NOAA Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary. She teaches programs via distance learning television about Gray’s Reef, the National Marine Sanctuary Program, Northern Right Whales and Manatees to middle and high school students throughout Georgia, as well as many other states. Sakas has produced two documentary series entitled “Coastal Naturalist” for Georgia Public Television and is currently hosting a 22-part series for Turner South called “The Natural South”, a series about environmental issues across the southeast.
Thomas E. ‘Ted’ Thompson is Executive Vice President of the International Council of Cruise Lines, a trade association that represents the interests of 16 cruise lines. He coordinates ICCL association work regarding technical items, international safety regulations and regulatory oversight within U.S. ports. He regularly represents the cruise industry at meetings of the International Maritime Organization where ICCL has been granted consultative status as a Non-Governmental Organization. Thompson retired from the U.S. Coast Guard as a Captain, with 27-years active duty.
Carolyn Thoroughgood has been Dean of the Graduate College of Marine Studies and Director of the Delaware Sea Grant College Program at the University of Delaware since 1985. Her research interests are in the fields of nutritional biochemistry and seafood science and technology. Thoroughgood has published broadly in both scientific journals and general audience literature. Her service to the national marine community and membership on the Executive Committee of the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE) often requires congressional testimony and staff assistance to key legislative committees.
Sharon Walker is Associate Dean for Outreach and a Professor within the College of Marine Sciences at the University of Southern Mississippi, Administrator for the J.L. Scott Marine Education Center and Aquarium, and Director of Education for the MS-AL Sea Grant Consortium. She has authored numerous publications on oceanography, coastal processes, and global environmental issues and collaborated in more than 30 research projects in the last decade. Walker is past-President and current Membership Secretary for the National Marine Educators Association and current Educational Chair for the Marine Technology Society.
Admiral James Watkins (USN-Ret.) served as President of the Joint Oceanographic Institutions in Washington from 1993-2000 and, early in his tenure, led the historic effort to establish what is now known as the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education, or CORE. As a result of CORE’s efforts, Congress authorized and funded the National Oceanographic Partnership Program Act, which implemented a broad ocean science and technology agenda for the nation and established the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) to facilitate collaboration among federal agencies dealing with ocean issues. Watkins also served as Secretary of Energy under President George H. Bush and as 22nd Chief of Naval Operations under President Ronald Reagan.