Articles

• Friendly Fungi
• 10 Questions on Vietnamese Fishing Communities
• Dr. Sharon Walker Wins Highest Honor from NMEA
• NOAA Funding to Support Bottlenose Dolphin Research
• Living Shorelines Workshop Scheduled for November
• Research Prioritization Workshops to be Held Throughout the Gulf of Mexico Region
• Featured Publication
• From the Director

Sea Briefs is a report on the results of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium.

Editor: Valerie Winn

This newsletter is available in PDF format from:
masgc.org/seabriefs

MASGC supports applied, interdisciplinary marine science research, education and outreach efforts to foster the sustainable development and management of the Mississippi and Alabama coasts and nearshore ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico

Mississippi-Alabama
Sea Grant Consortium
703 East Beach Drive
Ocean Springs, MS 39564
Phone: 228-818-8840
E-mail: seabriefs@masgc.org
MASGP 07-011-02

Dr. Sharon Walker Wins Highest Honor from NMEA

MASGC Education Director Dr. Sharon Walker was presented the Honorary Member Award, the highest honor given by the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA), during its July conference in Portland, Maine. The award is reserved for individuals who have demonstrated a distinguished career in teaching, research or other service in marine education.

A marine educator for 40 years, Walker has been a prominent force on behalf of ocean literacy on the national stage. She testified before the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and served as a member of that committee. The very long list of programs and activities that Walker has spearheaded includes Operation Pathfinder, COAST PILOT, Sea Grant Global Climate Change Curriculum, Coral Reef curriculum for middle school (in English and Spanish) and the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence.

Having guided, nurtured, protected and supported NMEA for many years, she has managed the national office, coordinated the printing and production of the NMEA journal, Current, organized and hosted the executive committee meetings and served as president and board member, as well as chaired the membership and grants committees among others.

“There’s no question that Dr. Sharon Walker deserves NMEA’s highest award,” said NMEA president Thaxter Tewksbury. “She has been called ‘a bulldog’ for marine education. As one of her colleagues said, ‘Sharon goes to bat for us at any opportunity, invited or not.’"