Genevieve Johnson – Writer & Education Director

Genevieve leads education initiatives at earthOCEAN and the Whale Trackers series. Through her research, and years spent raising awareness at a grass roots level, Genevieve sees the effect environmental education has on changing attitudes and behavior in young people.

A former high school environmental education teacher in her native Australia, Genevieve feels a responsibility to make a difference, by utilizing her passion, expertise and education experience around the globe to raise awareness about the environment, while promoting ways to minimize our impact upon it. In 2008, she completed a Master of Education degree at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia.

She sailed around the world as Education Director on the Voyage of the Odyssey, a 5.5 year global scientific and education expedition, studying whales and ocean pollution led by biologist Dr. Roger Payne.

Genevieve is an experienced public speaker, has featured in numerous television and print media articles, and has written over 500 environmental stories for the award winning PBS website – “Voyage of the Odyssey” – http://www.pbs.org/odyssey Genevieve often works with scientists, conservation groups, and educators when creating education content, and writes environmental documentary films for earthOCEAN.tv

Genevieve’s education initiatives have created waves around the world. In 2001, her work over six months in Papua New Guinea was instrumental in raising awareness about the marine environment, which led directly to the declaration of a 1.5 million square kilometer marine mammal sanctuary. In 2000, she created and introduced the first environmental content for inclusion in schools in the Pacific nation of Kiribati and recently designed virtual education programs so students can participate in real science and research expeditions, live from the classroom, and from zoos and aquaria around the globe. In 2008, she was nominated, along with her husband Chris, for the Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation.