I’ve been working on environmental issues since 1998 when I joined an on-campus environmental group as a freshman at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and then went canvassing door-to-door that summer to protect Pennsylvanians from toxic waste. Spending my summer days empowering people to protect their families from toxic waste was an incredible experience and I’ve been doing grassroots organizing non-stop ever since.
My mom grew up in South Florida and I’ve been visiting her side of the family down there every year around the holidays for as long as I can remember. Because all of my Florida relatives live about a 10 minute drive from the beach, some of the best times I’ve had with my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins have been at the beach. Whether going for a leisurely walk after Christmas dinner with the whole family, going snorkeling with my parents or discovering what creatures have drifted ashore with an excited younger cousin and his dog, the beach has played host to many of my best memories.
The thing that really made me interested in working with Oceana to solve our oceans problems is the organizational culture of setting measurable goals and achieving them. The only way we’re going to preserve our global environment is to create a concrete vision for doing so and carry it out step by step.