NEXT EVENT:
More information below.
Drawing on 45 years of coastal leadership, The Coastal Society proudly launched its “Margaret A. Davidson Coastal Career Development Program” in 2018. This Program continues TCS’s long-term emphasis on students, recent graduates, and coastal professionals and was inspired by the late Margaret A. Davidson, an icon who mentored and befriended many of today’s coastal leaders. As a primary part of the MAD program, TCS will honor Margaret’s legacy through a series of career development workshops to benefit early- and mid-career professionals and the next generation of coastal practitioners.
The first workshop in this series was December 13, 2018, in Long Beach, California, in association with the Restore America’s Estuaries – Coastal States Organization Habitat Summit. The Long Beach workshop featured a morning of keynote talks on career options, employment prospects, and important career opportunities in California and around the nation. The afternoon offered a series of smaller group discussions about various skills needed to succeed including resume development, interview tips, how to successfully engage with a mentor, and networking. Subsequent in-person workshops followed a similar agenda, condensed into half-day events on a virtual platform during the COVID pandemic, to provide the latest information on coastal careers.
In honor of Margaret’s life-long commitment to the coasts and those charged with protecting them, most of these workshops feature a strong mentoring component. Registrants will first hear inspiring stories about successful mentor-mentee accomplishments and then have the opportunity to engage with potential mentors during each workshop. After the workshop, participants are paired with a workshop speaker of their choice for a separate conversation.
In an effort to help TCS gauge interest, identify locations, and shape the workshop offerings, we are requesting interested attendees fill out this survey: https://survey.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_br5CU6IFEbhmNTv. Additionally, TCS is seeking coastal professionals interested in serving as a mentor/presenter at workshops. If interested, please contact the TCS Office at: admin@thecoastalsociety.org
The Coastal Society’s Coastal Career Workshop
In conjunction with North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Coastal Summit
April 9th, 1-4:30pm EDT
Marble’s Kids Museum in Raliegh, NC
The Coastal Society (TCS)’s Coastal Career Workshop: April 9th, 1-4:30pm EDT
Held in conjunction with the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s 2025 Coastal Summit: Ripple Effect: Enhancing Oysters, Salt Marsh & Water Quality Together. This event is the place to be for aspiring coastal professionals! Join us at the Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh, NC for an in-person event filled with networking, informative talks, and career advice from experts in the field. Whether you’re a student looking to kickstart your career or an early professional seeking expanded opportunities, this workshop is the perfect place to connect with like-minded individuals and learn from professionals in your field. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to take your coastal career to the next level!
This workshop will not touch on basic skills offered by other entities such as general resume editing and interview preparation. Rather, attendees will benefit from a) learning about career paths not always broadcast by institutions of higher learning or colleagues, b) hearing speakers from a wide range of environmental fields share their personal career journeys, and c) engaging speakers in small groups to discuss specific skills. Past workshops have featured talks on navigating USAJobs.gov, marketing yourself, effective networking that truly sets you up to land your desired job, and much more.
All of our speakers are not only dedicated to their professional practice, but are eager to give back to the next class of coastal and environmental professionals. There will be ample opportunities to network with speakers and your fellow attendees and to learn more about what TCS can do for you throughout your career.
Tickets are available for $15.00, but those who have registered to attend the NCCF Summit will receive a special promo code from NCCF for $5.00 off admission to the workshop.
Stay tuned for upcoming virtual or in-person career workshops in 2025 as TCS continues to build upon this successful program. Please contact MAD Committee Chair Jeff Flood with any suggestions for geographic location or topics you’d like to see featured in 2025!
MAD Workshop Archive:
Click on the bolded date below for information on past workshops.
December 8, 2018 – Long Beach, CA, in conjunction with Restore America’s Estuaries and the Coastal States Organization
January 10, 2019 – Washington, DC, in conjunction with the National Council for Science and the Environment conference
April 4, 2019 – Woodbridge, VA, in conjunction with the Atlantic Estuarine Research Society Spring Meeting
June 3, 2019 – Washington, DC, in conjunction with Capitol Hills Ocean Week (CHOW)
June 10, 2019 – Brockport, NY, in conjunction with the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) Annual Conference
November 18, 2019 – Wilmington, NC, in partnership with the University of North Carolina – Wilmington
February 7, 2020 – Charleston, SC
February 27, 2020 – Durham, NC, in partnership with the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment
March 26, 2020 – West Long Branch, NJ (cancelled)
June 10, 2020 – Virtual Workshop
September 24, 2020 – Virtual Workshop
November 4th, 2020 – Virtual Workshop
June 29 & 30, 2021 – Virtual Workshop
November 16, 2021 – East Lansing, MI in partnership with the Michigan State University Department of Fish and Wildlife (hybrid)
November 18, 2021 – Virtual Workshop in partnership with NCAR (1)
December 2, 2021 – Virtual Panel Discussion in partnership with NCAR (2)
December 3, 2021 – Virtual Workshop
January 20, 2022 – Virtual Panel Discussion in partnership with NCAR (3)
February 3, 2022 – Virtual Panel Discussion in partnership with NCAR (4)
June 27, 2022 – Virtual Workshop
December 4, 2022 – New Orleans, LA in partnership with the National Academy of Sciences’ Gulf Research Program, Louisiana Sea Grant, the Louisiana Science Teachers Association, and other partners
January 26, 2023 – Virtual, hosted by the Duke Student Chapter of TCS – open to Duke students only.
August 4, 2023 – Silver Spring, MD, hosted by the National Sea Grant Office – open to the 2023 class of Sea Grant/Knauss Fellows only.
March 21, 2024 – Gloucester, VA, in conjunction with the Spring 2024 meeting of the Atlantic Estuarine Research Society (AERS), hosted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
October 8, 2024 – Beaufort, NC, in conjunction with the Coastal Carolina Riverwatch’s (CCRW) Water Quality for Fisheries Symposium, hosted by the Duke University Marine Lab (DUML)
Check out another amazing opportunity for graduate students through NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, the Margaret A. Davidson Fellowship Program.