Middlebury Institute of International Studies presents a lecture by Dr. Mark Spalding, founder and president of the Ocean Foundation, entitled The Status of International Ocean Acification Policy Activities, on Wednesday, May 2, 6pm-7:30pm in MIIS's McGowan Building, Room 102.

Dr. Mark Spalding will discuss the Ocean Foundation’s International Ocean Acidification Initiative, building capacity to monitor, understand, and respond to ocean acidification. The program aims to observe how, where, and how quickly changes are occurring by working with international partners to train scientists and resource managers in ocean acidification monitoring. In addition, the Ocean Foundation is translating that scientific knowledge into political action.

Mark J. Spalding has been the President of The Ocean Foundation since its founding in 2002. Under his leadership, it has grown exponentially from a $200,000 to $7 million/year budget, as he prioritized its focus on steering the human relationship with the sea to a brighter future through diverse, carefully chosen strategies and projects. Mark drove the design and establishment of the Alaska Oceans Program, the Shipping Safety Partnership, the Loreto Bay Foundation and the St. Kitts Foundation. Mark is the advisor to the Rockefeller Ocean Strategy (an unprecedented ocean-centric investment fund), and designed the first-ever blue carbon offset program, SeaGrass Grow.

This talk is part of the Hayward Social and Environmental Speaker Series, co-hosted by the Center for the Blue Economy.