SERSTN is delighted to announce that the first 2018 meeting Keynote Speaker will be David Helvarg, Executive Director of Blue Frontier, an ocean conservation and policy organization (https://bluefront.org/about-us/).  David is a terrific speaker and a passionate advocate for ocean conservation, as well the author of six books. We are excited to have him share his experiences with “seaweed” organizations (that would be marine grassroots!).  David will also be hosting a workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 13th  for those attendees interested in working for better ocean advocacy.

On Thursday, February 15th, we will have the pleasure of hearing our second Keynote Speaker, Dr. Nicole Hernandez Hammer. Ms. Hammer is a climate science and community advocate at the Union of Concerned Scientists, where she works to address the disproportionate impacts of climate change on low-income and communities of color across the US.

BIOGRAPHY:  David Helvarg is Executive Director of Blue Frontier, an ocean conservation and policy group and the author of six books: Blue Frontier, The War Against the Greens, 50 Ways to Save the Ocean, Rescue Warriors, Saved by the Sea, and The Golden Shore – California’s Love Affair with the Sea. He is editor of the Ocean and Coastal Conservation Guide, organizer of ‘Blue Vision’ Summits for ocean activists and Peter Benchley Ocean Awards (co-founded with Wendy Benchley).  His honors include Coastal Living Magazine’s 2005 Leadership Award and the 2007 Herman Melville Literary Prize.

Helvarg worked as a war correspondent in Northern Ireland and Central America, covered a range of issues from military science to the AIDS epidemic, and reported from every continent including Antarctica. An award-winning journalist, he produced more than 40 broadcast documentaries for PBS, The Discovery Channel, and others. His print work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, LA Times, Smithsonian, National Geographic, Popular Science, Sierra, and Salon. He’s done radio work for Marketplace, AP radio, and Pacifica. He has led workshops for journalists in Poland, Turkey, Tunisia, Slovakia, and Washington DC.

He is also a licensed Private Investigator, body-surfer, and scuba diver.

David’s books:

BIOGRAPHY: Nicole Hernandez Hammer is a climate science and community advocate at the Union of Concerned Scientists.She previously served UCS as a climate outreach consultant. She holds an MS in biology from Florida Atlantic University, an MBA from Palm Beach Atlantic University, and earned her BA in interdisciplinary natural sciences from the University of South Florida.

Prior to joining UCS, Ms. Hammer served as the Florida field manager for Moms Clean Air Force. Before that, she was the assistant director of the Florida Center for Environmental Studies at Florida Atlantic University, and coordinated the Florida Climate Institute’s state university consortium.

Ms. Hammer has given numerous interviews in English and Spanish for local and national media, including The Miami Herald, National Public Radio, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Univision. She also made an appearance in National Geographic’s television series on climate change: Years of Living Dangerously (http://yearsoflivingdangerously.com/story/the-rising/)