The 2023 Ocean Advocacy Workshop will be held Friday, March 31st through Sunday, April 2nd, 2023 at Haw River State Park in Browns Summit, NC. Registration is required and includes all meals, snacks, and lodging for the duration of the event. The 2023 Workshop will focus on plastics, fisheries, wind energy and DEI in conservation. We will also be holding a poster session for students to present original research. For more information or questions, please email evs@uncg.edu.
Abstract submissions are now open for the Ocean Advocacy Workshop poster session to be held on 1 April 2023! We invite presenters to submit abstracts that aim to educate OAW attendees on local and state-wide environmental issues, as well as highlight strategies for addressing these issues through multi-stakeholder engagement and advocacy. We welcome presentations from various disciplines, including environmental and social sciences and policy.
The deadline to submit an abstract for the Ocean Advocacy Workshop poster session is 1 March. The abstract review committee will review abstracts and will notify presenters of acceptance via email by 3 March. All presenters must register for the workshop and attend the in person poster session (there is no virtual presentation option).
Offshore Wind Energy: Amber Hewett is the National Wildlife Federation‘s Northeast Regional Campaign Coordinator. She leads NWF’s offshore wind program and work across the Federation, its affiliates, and allies to expand responsibly sited, developed, and operated offshore wind power.
Wood Pellet Industry: Anita Cunningham, a climate justice advocate, serves as the Program Director for the NC Climate Solutions Coalition. She is a strong disaster and community organizer in Robeson County, working with Dogwood Alliance for environmental justice opposing the wood pellet industry in Eastern NC.
Plastics & Legislature: Lisa Rider is the Executive Director of Coastal Carolina Riverwatch. Lisa initiated the NC Marine Debris Symposium and serves on the Mid-Atlantic NOAA Marine Debris Program Consortium. Before joining Coastal Carolina Riverwatch, Lisa worked for 16 years in service to local government and has 20 years of experience in natural resources and integrated solid waste management. Lisa is a current student at NC Central University and advocates for social and environmental justice in her spare time.
Fisheries: Rocky Carter, a leader of the NC chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association and member of the Board of Directors for the NC Wildlife Federation, helped raise over $1.3 million for the “New River Oyster Highway,” a project that constructed 12 oyster reefs along the New River. Carter inspires others in marine conservation by leading and organizing fishing events for community members–from aspiring young anglers to veterans.
Fisheries: Tim Gestwicki started out as a boots-on-the-ground newbie at the NC Wildlife Federation in the early 1990s. Over the decades, he has worked his way up to become the CEO of the NC Wildlife Federation. Tim works to bring together government, industry, and citizens to protect NC’s natural resources and sustainably manage them for future generations.
Attila Nemecz works as the Marketing and Public Relations Director for Beaufort Community College and serves as the advisor for both the college’s Environmental Alliance and LGBT+ Club. He is the VP of ReLeaf Washington (a tree-planting organization), the former president of Inner Banks Wildlife, and helped start Action for Community in Raleigh.
Drew Ball, an experienced campaigner, lobbyist, and policy analyst, serves as the Director of Compass Campaign Strategies, a consulting firm dedicated to promoting responsible government policy and supporting progressive candidates. He is on the board of the North Carolina Sierra Club and is the former State Director of Environment North Carolina.
Jennifer Skvarla-Alligood is a grassroots activist and community leader who serves on several boards of directors, including the Plastic Ocean Project, Inner Banks Wildlife Chapter of North Carolina Wildlife Federation, Secotan First Nation People and New Era Agriculture.
Karley Kranich has a decade of experience helping nonprofits find their voice and tell their story. She currently serves as a Director at Golin, helping companies communicate about their environmental goals.
Reverend David Henry Rouson is a member of the Secotan First Nation People and Vietnam War veteran. He spent his post-war years working with underprivileged youth and restoring his family’s native farmland. Now farmer and landowner, Rev. Rouson works to develop agri-eco tourism that honors connections between nature, farming, and wildlife. He is a board member of Inner Banks Wildlife and New Era Agriculture.
Wilson Laney, now an emeritus faculty, served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Department of Applied Ecology at NC State University. Dr. Laney has spent over 40 years with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, including an appointment as the South Atalnatic Fisheries Coordinator, and is dedicated to the conservation of fish, wildlife and their habitats.
Emily Sutton, a riverkeeper with Haw River Assembly, manages citizen science projects to watchdog against sediment pollution and monitor the tributaries and main stem of the Haw River. She is leading the fight against pollution in the Haw River on many fronts, including emerging contaminants, Jordan Lake nutrients, and sediment pollution.
Ann Berry Somers has been active in the conservation of NC wildlife all her adult life and taught biology at UNCG for over 30 years. A multiple award-winning teacher and conservationist, Ann serves on the Board of Directors of the NC Wildlife Federation and is the founder of the Box Turtle Connection project.
Etsuko Kinefuchi is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at UNC Greensboro, with a focus on environmental and intercultural communications.
Samantha (Sam) Athey received her Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the University of Toronto and has spent the last decade researching the sources, fate and impacts of microplastics and associated contaminants in aquatic ecosystems. Sam now serves as the Education & Outreach Coordinator for the Plastic Ocean Project in Wilmington, NC and is a lecturer in UNCW’s Department of Environmental Science, where she teaches a course on marine debris.
Robert Booth is a small business entrepreneur who comes from a multigenerational family of landowners and farmers in Beaufort County. He is the Executive Director of Alpha Life Enrichment Center, a nonprofit focused on empowering local communities through and improving multicultural relations through activism. He also serves on the NC Wildlife Federation’s Board of Directors.
Ashley Rose is the Assistant Director of the Environment & Sustainability Program at UNC-Greensboro. She
Dawn Forrest Dolson is one of the original organizers of the Oceans Advocacy Workshop. She is on the board of the Plastic Oceans Project and a volunteer for Sound Rivers monitoring and maintains the trash trout located in Washington, NC.
Bonnie Monteleone is the founder and CEO of the Plastic Ocean Project and serves on the Board of Directors for the NC Wildlife Federation. In her research, she travelled the globe collecting plastic marine samples in four of the five main ocean gyres.
Jennifer Skvarla-Alligood (See above)
Artwork on display at the OAW by Bonnie Monteleone, founder of The Plastic Ocean Project.
The Environment & Sustainability Program is pleased to co-sponsor the Ocean Advocacy Workshop. A first-of-its-kind, the OAW is designed to teach participants how to champion for oceans and the environment. The two-day workshop will educate attendees about local and state issues, train them on online and in-person civic action and motivate them to become environmental champions through social media and political engagement. North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina Greensboro, North Carolina Wildlife Federation and Plastic Ocean Project are hosting the event at the Summit Environmental Education Center located at Haw River State Park in Browns Summit, NC on March 25-26th, 2022.
Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability
UNC Greensboro
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1009 Spring Garden Street
Greensboro, NC 27412
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Phone: 336.334.5388
Fax: 336.334.5864
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