Mote welcomes Elizabeth Moore to its Board of Trustees
Mote Marine Laboratory is proud to welcome new Trustee Elizabeth Moore — a Bradenton, Florida resident and avid supporter of initiatives for education, the environment and conservation of land and wildlife.
Moore enhances Mote’s Board of Trustees with her wealth of experience championing science-focused programs in museums, aquariums and the world-class research facilities of Mote. Moore is a leadership donor for Mote’s new, international coral reef research facility expected to open during 2017 in the Florida Keys. Her gift of $1 million toward this facility will have amazing ripple effects by helping Mote advance research on the grand challenges facing coral reefs and on innovative ways to restore them.
Moore serves on Mote’s Education & Outreach Committee and Aquarium Committee, helping the Lab engage the next generation in marine science and ocean stewardship. She has encouraged her five children to participate in scientific excursions and volunteer for environmental programs. Her youngest daughter, Merry, is a high school intern at Mote.
“Mote is a world-class facility, and it’s unique,” Moore said. “I am happy to support their efforts to sustain our oceans for future generations. My whole family has been into scuba diving on reefs all over the Caribbean, and my daughter Merry is a marine science student at St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Bradenton. When you take these kinds of interests to another level, you learn how much our ocean ecosystems matter and you realize that they face many threats, but there is a lot we can do to help.”
Moore engages actively in citizen science programs in paleontology, marine science and conservation. She also contributes significantly to Southwest Florida communities, serving on the boards of St. Stephens Episcopal School — where her crucial support allowed for creation of a new Marine Science Center — along with Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County Foundation, Lemur Conservation Foundation and Manatee Matches Giving Circle. Beyond Florida, she serves on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Science in Boston, the Peabody Essex Museum Board of Overseers and the National Advisory Board of the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana.
She earned the Spirit of Manatee Award from the Manatee Community Foundation in March 2016. In February 2016, Mote honored Moore and other leadership donors during a special “sledge-hammer” ceremony launching the demolition of its old buildings on Summerland Key, Florida, where the Lab’s new research and education facility will be constructed.
“Elizabeth’s passion for educating the next generation about our close connections to the ocean biosphere is exactly what we need to translate and transfer our research into broader impacts that benefit both our marine environment and society,” said Dr. Michael P. Crosby, President & CEO of Mote. “Her enthusiasm for lifelong learning, especially through direct 'hands-on' research experiences of volunteer citizen scientists, is helping diverse communities become more ocean literate. Her generous philanthropic investments in Mote are providing a foundation for a new era of innovative research in the Florida Keys and beyond.”
Moore earned her Master of Arts in International Affairs from American University and her Bachelor of Arts in Economics & French Literature from Denison University.