Upcoming WebinarS
October 14, 2026 • 7:00pm ET
Applying the Ocean Literacy Framework in Your Practice
Diana Payne, Catherine Halversen, Sarah Schoedinger
Cost: Free for members, $5 for non-members
Have you ever wondered or been asked…
“If I have to teach about (insert concept X,Y, or Z), how can these tools help me do that? I want to teach about the ocean, how do these tools help me figure out what to teach at a grade appropriate level?”
This month’s NMEA webinar will answer these questions so you can feel confident in applying the core components of the Ocean Literacy Framework in your teaching practice or helping others to do so.
Hosted by Sandra Bilbo, Director of Arts and Environmental Education, Walter Anderson Museum of Art and NMEA Director and Digital Media and Outreach Committee Co-chair.
Diana Payne is an Associate Professor and Education Coordinator with Connecticut Sea Grant, based at the University of Connecticut at Avery Point. She chairs NMEA's Ocean Literacy committee and Ocean Decade Working Group. An international expert in Ocean Literacy, she currently serves as Co-Chair of the IOC UNESCO Ocean Literacy Group of Experts, has presented at numerous international events, and served as a Fulbright scholar.
Catherine Halversen is an emerita Senior Program Director at the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California Berkeley where among other things she served as Director of Marine, Activities, Resources & Education (MARE), Communicating Ocean and Climate Sciences, and Reflecting on Practice. Her work focuses on developing and disseminating in-person and virtual professional learning programs and instructional materials for formal K–12 and informal educators, STEM university faculty, and undergraduate students. She has been involved in the Ocean Literacy Campaign since its inception and serves as a Vice Chair of the NMEA Ocean Literacy Committee.
Sarah Schoedinger is the founder of Thalassa Strategies LLC and a former senior education program manager with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Sarah was co-founder and co-lead of NOAA’s Environmental Literacy Program, which funded numerous effective, scalable, educational approaches for helping people of all ages take an active role in improving ecosystem health and increasing climate resilience in their communities. Sarah is a Past President of NMEA and has been a leader in a global campaign to increase Ocean Literacy, starting with the development of the foundational Ocean Literacy Framework. She continues to support NMEA and promote Ocean Literacy as a vice-chair of NMEA's Ocean Literacy Committee and a member of the Ocean Decade Working Group.