Introduction: Sarah Wilson

I grew up in a small coastal town in San Diego County, California (Vista, California). My family had a sailboat when I was growing up so I spent summers exploring around Catalina Island. I loved fishing as a child and snorkeling the most and would spend hours in the water. These ocean experiences sparked my passion for the sea and its creatures and I knew since I was 6 years old that I wanted to be a marine biologist. So that is what I do with most of my time... I am on, in, and around the ocean as much as possible and happiest when I am sharing the wonders of the sea with others! I studied marine science at UC Santa Cruz and received a BA in Biology and then a MA in Science Education from San Diego State University. I currently am the Ocean Education Manager at the National Geographic Society working on the new Ocean Now Initiative and recently traveled the world by private yacht teaching all school topics, scuba diving, and marine biology for 5th, 7th, and 9th grade students. I have worked in education management, animal care and training, exhibit creation, instruction, and program development at top institutions including Sea World, San Diego Zoo, Birch Aquarium at Scripps, Dolphin Research Center, and the Ocean Institute. In addition, Sarah I work as a science and education specialist publishing books, websites, and teaching guides for National Geographic, Scholastic, IMAX Films, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the multi-agency marine portal website Thank You Ocean (www.thankyouocean.org). I also have extensive marine field research experience ranging from being a NAUI Scientific Master Diver in kelp forests and coral reefs to a sea turtle and marine mammal observer. I have spent over 15 years working as a Naturalist on various ships all over the world introducing the wonders of whales in Alaska, Baja Mexico, and Hawaii to teaching snorkeling and diving around the globe.
I have dreamed of visiting this beautiful remote chain of islands for years and that desire has grown even more since its creation into one of our Marine National Monuments. A place that “seems” so far removed from human impact is filled with evidence of our capacity to harm the ocean and its wildlife. Papahanaumokuakea is an ultimate learning laboratory for the marine environment due to the presence of species that are both robust and fragile in their nature. I am looking forward to learning and experiencing a wild and special place that is a baseline for conservation as well as an area in need of preservation due to the quantity of endangered and diverse species. The islands are so unique and inspire action for protection and awe from its beauty. My project plan is to teach and inspire others about the ocean through the creation of a series of workshops to be held across the country to ocean stakeholders, such as boat captains, lifeguards, and those in the scuba diving industry. These workshops will supply ocean information and outreach materials to those on the front line of public interaction about our ocean and will enable these stakeholders to inform their visitors on ocean issues and conservation. We have the power to damage or protect our own backyard, local seashore or waterway, or a place that seems a world away like Midway Atoll.