Maryland Sea Grant to Host National Marine Educators Group

NMEA Works to Increase Public Understanding about Freshwater and Marine Ecosystems

Maryland Sea Grant is rolling out the welcome mat for a new partner, the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA). This national educational organization will operate out of our offices in College Park.

NMEA works to advance the public’s understanding and protection of freshwater and marine ecosystems. Its approximately 900 members are classroom teachers, informal educators, university professors, scientists, and others from around the United States and other countries.

The association, formed in 1976, holds an annual conference and supports 17 regional chapters that pursue a variety of educational and conservation programs. NMEA has supported the development of Ocean Literacy Principles, an educational framework and network about oceans for learners of all ages. The association has also worked to integrate ocean science concepts into state and national educational standards for primary and secondary schools. NMEA publishes a quarterly, peer-reviewed publication, Current: The Journal of Marine Education.

The association’s annual conference will be held July 21-25 this year in Annapolis. (Registration is open, and you may register online.) The main focus will be the Next Generation Science Standards.

NMEA’s national office was most recently located at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Miss., and prior to that at the Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, guided by Sharon Walker, NMEA membership secretary, and longtime NMEA associate Johnette Bosarge. After Ms. Bosarge died in March 2013 and Walker retired from a long career in marine education, NMEA decided it was time to seek a new home for the national office.  In 2013 a request for proposals was offered by NMEA for an organization to host the national office, and Maryland Sea Grant applied and was selected in March 2014.

“We are pleased to host an organization as accomplished as NMEA,” said Fredrika Moser, director of Maryland Sea Grant. “We expect that our location close to Washington, D.C., will help NMEA to advocate for marine education and connect with many of the educational institutions, organizations, and programs in the Washington, D.C., area.”

The NMEA office operation will be overseen by J. Adam Frederick, assistant director for education at Maryland Sea Grant. Frederick is membership secretary and a past president of NMEA. He will supervise Jeannette Connors, NMEA’s new office manager and membership coordinator.

Contact NMEA at:
NMEA National Office
Jeannette Connors
nmea@marine-ed.org
844-OUR-NMEA (844-687-6632)