Operations Pod

Bylaws

Chair: Tami Lunsford
The Bylaws Committee keeps the Bylaws up to date; maintains the Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs); ensures each new Board member, including Chapter Representatives, has a copy of current Bylaws. Upon request the Bylaws Committee will provide assistance to Chapters with Bylaws development and revisions. Current NMEA members: log in and request to join Bylaws Committee

Chapters

Chair: Tami Lunsford
The Chapters Committee is led by the current NMEA President-Elect and provides an organizational structure to improve communications between NMEA Chapter Representatives and current activities in each NMEA Chapter for the good of the organization. All Chapter Representatives participate in quarterly conference calls, provide written updates for NMEA News and other publications including conference materials, provide periodic updates of web information, participate in coordination of share-a-thon events and other potential fund-raising activities, and maintain the flow of information to their respective NMEA Chapter from the National Office. Current NMEA members: log in and request to join Chapters Committee

Equity and Belonging

Chair: Rae Quadara

Executive

Chair: Tara Hicks Johnson (operational, not public)
The Executive Committee (Ex Com) is a subset of the NMEA Board of Directors that has been delegated specific powers to act in certain circumstances on behalf of the full Board. Because the NMEA Board is fairly large and meets relatively infrequently, the Ex Com serves (with some restrictions) to act for the Board between meetings in the capacities of advising the NMEA leadership and moving organizational business forward in an efficient manner.

Finance

Chair: Don Pinkerton
The Finance Committee works with the full Board of Directors, and with the guidance of the Treasurer, to create annual budgets for the organization. The principle task of the Committee includes reviewing the initial draft of the budget prepared for the Executive Committee meeting usually held in January each year. Current NMEA members: log in and request to join Finance Committee

Grants and Development

Chair: Vacant
The Grants and Development Committee (G&D) is primarily responsible for coordinating and leading the research and request of extramural funds and sponsorship to support NMEA efforts and business, such as annual conference, scholarships, Current Journal, strategic planning and professional meetings, Board travel, promotion, campaigns, or other related endeavors. Encourage NMEA board members to seek out and nurture funding opportunities, in communication with (G&D), in support of NMEA efforts and actions. Current NMEA members: log in and request to join Grants and Development Committee

History

Chair: Sarah Richards
The History Committee’s chair is responsible for documenting the history of NMEA. The chair will, along with other members of the committee, collect images of people, conference sites, and memorabilia; compile information about the workings of the organization; and organize these materials in digital form so that they can be posted on the NMEA History website. Current NMEA members: log in and join History Committee

Communications Pod

Current: The Journal of Marine Education

Chair: Meghan Marrero
The Current Committee oversees NMEA's flagship peer-reviewed publication Current: The Journal of Marine Education, to ensure timely, consistent and high-quality content that best reflects the organization reaches members and other audiences. Committee members encourage, solicit, and review manuscripts for publication and seek appropriate sponsors for funded issues of the journal. Current NMEA members: log in and join Current Committee

Outreach

Chair: Cassie Stymiest
The Outreach Committee strives to increase awareness and appreciation of marine and aquatic education in formal and non-formal educational settings at all levels, and the role of NMEA in facilitating that process. Efforts generally include developing processes and materials for various audiences, especially the education community. Current NMEA members: log in and join Outreach Committee

Social Media

Chair: Laura Chaibongsai
The Social Media Committee oversees the online presence of the organization on various social media platforms in an effort to communicate with members, reach out to the broader marine science education community, and promote the mission and activities of the organization. The committee works closely with the other Communications sub-committees to ensure that messaging of social media posts is consistent, both across platforms and with the communications framework of the organization. Current NMEA members: log in and join Social Media Committee

Technology

Chair: Sandra Bilbo
The Technology committee sets policies, procedures and priorities for NMEA’s use of technology. It serves as the communication and coordination hub for the Board, web developers and all Chapters in their participation in decision-making about the NMEA website and other electronic technologies that NMEA may use. The committee works in collaboration with the other Communications sub-committees to ensure an organized and consistent approach to communication efforts for NMEA. Current NMEA members: log in and join Technology Committee

Stakeholders Pod

International

Chairs: Géraldine Fauville & Susan Haynes: international@marine-ed.org
The International Committee provides, upon request, support for overseas members and organizations and seeks opportunities to promote NMEA Internationally. The Committee provides advice and guidance to the President and NMEA on all international activities of NMEA. It holds international meetings at NMEA annual conferences to welcome international attendees. It also serves as NMEA liaison with other international marine educators associations. This is a closed committee, so please email the committee chairs to inquire about joining.

Membership

Chair: David Christopher
The purpose of the Membership committee is to increase and retain the membership of the National Marine Educators Association. The Membership committee strives to work with the Membership Secretary, Directors, Chapters, and Committee Chairs to ensure a highly engaged, motivated and diverse membership. Current NMEA members: log in and join Membership Committee

Student Engagement

Co-Chairs: Sean Russell & Kathy Fuller; students@marine-ed.org
The Student Engagement Committee works to support the engagement of youth (college age and younger) in NMEA by creating opportunities for young people to learn more about the field of marine education, while engaging with professionals in the field. The Committee helps coordinate the annual NMEA Youth Conference, a one day event during the NMEA Annual Conference that provides an opportunity for high school and college age youth to connect with NMEA, take part in workshops and sessions on diverse topics in marine education, conservation, and science, and meet NMEA members and other students who can help further their interest in this field. The Committee also coordinates a variety of activities throughout the year to recruit NMEA student members and support their professional development through webinars and virtual training opportunities. Current NMEA members: log in and join Youth Engagement Committee

Events Pod

Awards

Chair: David Wehunt
The Awards Committee conducts activities in support of the NMEA Awards Program, including the Johnette Bosarge Award, which recognizes outstanding accomplishments and activities by marine educators. The Committee accepts nominations for the awards, selects winners from the nominations for each award, prepares for the award presentations at the annual NMEA Conference and insures all award plaques are ordered. Current NMEA members: log in and request to join Awards Committee

Conference

Chair: Tara Hicks Johnson
The Conference Committee reviews proposals from NMEA Chapters for hosting conferences, and makes recommendations to the board for approval or adjustments to the proposals before approval. Throughout the conference planning process, committee members act as general advisors to conference hosts, providing guidance on general NMEA conference policies, successful
strategies from past NMEA conferences, budget planning, program preparation, presenter and conference evaluation, and other areas as requested by conference chairs.  Current NMEA members: log in and request to join Conference Committee

Scholarship

Chair: Kate Achilles
The scholarship program was created by the NMEA Board of Directors in 1995 to assist members in attending the annual conference. Scholarship awards are available for NMEA members living in the U.S. or abroad. The annual NMEA auction, held at each annual conference, provides partial funding for these scholarships. Applicants must be NMEA members in good standing. Chapter membership is a plus, but not required. Current NMEA members: log in and request to join Scholarship Committee

Issues and Trends Pod

Conservation

Chair: Frances Lang, Chair, conservation@marine-ed.org
The Conservation Committee provides information to the NMEA membership and its audiences to support informed decision-making. Through NMEA’s website, News, Current Journal, and other publications, we share tools to support individual and collective action for ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes health. We recognize there are many different approaches to conservation, and strive to provide information that is accurate, relevant, and accessible for all audiences.

Education Research & Evaluation

Chairs: Joanna Philippoff—philippo@hawaii.edu
The Education Research and Evaluation Committee strives to foster and share educational research and evaluations in ocean and aquatic topics to inform best practices in formal, informal and free choice learning. The Committee’s goal is improve the quality of educational research and the rigor of evaluations in ocean, aquatic, coastal and Great Lakes topics and to create a network of like-minded researchers and evaluators. Current NMEA members: log in and join Education Research Committee

Ocean Literacy

Chair: Diana Payne, Vice Chairs: Catherine Halversen & Sarah Schoedinger; oceanliteracy@marine-ed.org
The Ocean Literacy Committee focuses on improving people’s awareness and understanding of the influence of the ocean in their lives and their influence on the ocean. Committee members promote ocean literacy to diverse local and global audiences through increasing the presence and prominence of ocean science in formal and informal education, research, policies, programs, resources, and instructional materials. Current NMEA members: log in and join the Ocean Literacy Committee

Traditional Knowledge

Chairs: Linda Chilton & George Matsumoto: traditionalknowledge@marine-ed.org
The Traditional Knowledge (TK) Committee is composed of individuals interested in promoting traditional knowledge and rights as it relates to marine resources and ecosystems. The TK Committee promotes a TK presence at national and international marine educator conferences, provides local NMEA chapters with information on local traditional communities in their region, is working to develop traditional knowledge guidelines and promotes protocols for sharing and using traditional knowledge. Current NMEA members: log in and join Traditional Knowledge Committee

Ad Hoc Committees

Governance

Chair: Bob Rocha

The purpose of the Governance Committee (GOV) is to improve the recruitment, support, development, and accountability of the Board of Directors of the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA).

Strategic Planning

Chair: Sandra Ryack-Bell

USA Blue Schools

Chair: Meg Marrero

Contact a Committee

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