However, Rebecca considered these obstacles an opportunity to think outside of the box and find new ways to bring marine conservation to both local and worldwide audiences.

Rebecca first created a series of in-depth k-12 marine science curricula, with four unique lessons covering topics ranging from bycatch reduction to sea turtle ecology to ocean acidification. The curricula were made available to teachers throughout the United States reaching over 32,000 school students and 30,000 citizens in the first year! The curricula were not only requested by teachers, but also by nature centers, colleges, sailing schools, and zoos and aquariums. Additional requests for the curricula programs reached schools as far away as Gaum, Hong Kong, and Cairo. In 2015, Inwater Research Group received an Environmental Stewardship Award from Keep Martin Beautiful for Rebecca\'s amazing creation.

She then searched for a way to create programs that would have an even more meaningful and lasting impact on the environment and our community. Rebecca developed immersive programs for the classroom using input from local school district science coordinators and teachers to best meet the needs of both the classroom teacher and students. She created \"traveling trunks\" that are lent to local teachers at no cost. These trunks contain all the lessons a teacher needs to bring the world of sea turtles to their students over the course of four lessons and several weeks. The programs mirror the research conducted at IRG, so students get excited and feel engaged, increasing retention and the likelihood that the conservation messages will stick with them for years to come. The programs cover topics such as nesting, beachfront lighting, population dynamics, data collection, and so much more. Students are also placed into different roles during the activities, including fisherman, biologist, engineer, and homeowner to learn about each group\'s unique perspective and role in protecting the environment.

Utilizing sea turtles as the conduit for learning, Rebecca\'s programs are able to integrate science, math, English/language arts, social studies, and more into their curriculum while aligning with their state standards. Rebecca has worked diligently to secure additional funding so that these programs will always remain free. Removing financial barriers to IRG\'s education programs ensures that all students and schools, even in the most underserved communities, have access to the same high-quality educational programs.

The trunk programs filled to capacity each school year, but IRG\'s educational reach was limited to only our surrounding school districts. Rebecca developed partnerships with other organizations in Florida that also had limited resources but wanted to expand the marine conservation education opportunities in their regions. Rebecca acquired numerous grants, donations, and sponsorships, allowing her to come up with new avenues to partner with other organizations to bring IRG\'s education trunks to their communities. The partnerships have allowed the IRG\'s programs to expand to 35 trunks offered in 17 school districts through 17 partner organizations. Each year, these programs reach over 30,000 students throughout Florida in a truly meaningful and engaging way. IRG\'s marine education programs can now be found in coastal Florida counties that represent 94% of total sea turtle nesting in Florida.

As IRG\'s educational initiatives expanded, Rebecca began receiving requests from scientists within the sea turtle community who wanted to share their research, but were nervous engaging with the general public and children. She took this opportunity to develop a program that was all-inclusive, user-friendly, and that gave non-educators the tools to feel comfortable educating students as well as the general public. By empowering scientists to also be educators, IRG is now expanding our conservation programs beyond just classroom usage.

Rebecca\'s unique set of skills and background in both science and education allow her to bridge the gap that frequently exists between the scientific world and the education community. She has also created workshops for conferences both in the formal education community as well as the science community. In the process, Rebecca has helped make scientists more engaging and thoughtful educators and helped educators better communicate complex scientific principles with their students.

Rebecca continues daily to seek out new means of continuing to spread the marine conservation message both locally and globally. Whether it\'s advising a researcher on adding an education component to a grant or finding ways to secure education supplies for an underfunded conservation group halfway across the world, Rebecca is always successful at increasing IRG\'s educational impact. She is always eager to come up with ways to partner with new organizations and find new and meaningful avenues to expand both organizations reach in new ways.

Rebecca\'s strong science background, thorough understanding of education, and creative abilities combine into a very unique set of skills. She\'s used all of these skills masterfully to create marine conservation initiatives and educational programs for a wide range of groups that impact both our local communities and people worldwide.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.