Mote and The Sarasota World Affairs Council co-sponsor lecture about the state of the world’s oceans
On Jan. 26, Mote Marine Laboratory and The Sarasota World Affairs Council (SWAC) will host and co-sponsor a lecture by the National Geographic Society’s Alex Tait as part of the SWAC 2016-2017 lecture series.
Tait’s lecture "The State of the World’s Oceans: Recovery of Endangered Species and Habitat Conservation” will be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 26 in Mote’s Keating Education Center's New Pass Conference Room (1599 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, Florida). Tickets are $30.
- Note: SWAC members, please reserve your seat by contacting the SWAC office at 941-487-4603.
“Mote is pleased to co-sponsor this lecture with The Sarasota World Affairs Council and expand Mote’s partnerships with other local organizations that share common goals with the Mote International Marine Science Partnerships Initiative,” said Michael P. Crosby, Mote President & CEO. He added, “There is also a strong history between Mote and the National Geographic Society from Dr. Genie Clark’s early research to our ongoing work with National Marine Sanctuaries and marine protected areas around the world.”
SWAC is a member council of the World Affairs Councils of America, the largest non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots organization in the U.S. dedicated to educating and engaging Americans on global issues. Each year, the Council provides a lecture series to promote an international affairs learning and networking forum.
Dr. Nat J. Colletta, President of SWAC, noted that "SWAC is pleased to extend its voice and membership through collaboration with organizations like Mote on substantive global issues such as this lecture linking the environment with global governance."
Tait is The Geographer in the Centers of Excellence at the National Geographic Society. He heads the Map Policy Committee that determines geopolitical guidance for the Society and he is leading the formation of the new Center of Excellence for Mapping. He provides mapping and geography expertise for the Society’s research initiatives, including the Pristine Seas project with National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala, and the Society’s geographic education programs.
Prior to working at National Geographic, Tait was Chief Cartographer and Vice President at International Mapping Associates in Ellicott City, Md. He created maps for the National Park Service and an atlas of the National Marine Sanctuaries. He participated in international land and maritime boundary dispute cases before the world courts. For maritime boundaries, he assisted legal teams in the geographic interpretation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Alex has also worked as a Cartographer at the Washington Post and a Lecturer in Geography at the University of Maryland.
Tait has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from Dartmouth College and an Master of Science degree in Geography from the University of Wisconsin. He is a co-author of the Census Atlas of the United States that earned a Globe Book award for public understanding of Geography from the Association of American Geographers. His maps have been published in National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, Smithsonian, and Outside magazines. Alex is a member and past-president of the North American Cartographic Information Society and a member of the Association of American Geographers.
More about Sarasota World Affairs Council
SWAC joins nearly 100 councils across 40 states that reach more than half a million people a year. Its mission is to foster a greater understanding of world affairs among members and the local community through a notable speakers’ series, educational outreach programs, transnational people-to-people diplomacy, and the development of a network of contacts and joint programs abroad.
SWAC aims to promote a community learning forum through which individual members can participate and gain access to the global community and develop current and informed knowledge of international affairs while building stronger cross-cultural ties.