A New, Interactive Program Expands Maritime Career Awareness, STEM Engagement, and Industry Access for Students Nationwide
January 14, 2026 — The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) is proud to announce the launch of Meet a Mariner, an exciting new workforce development initiative designed to connect students directly with maritime professionals working across the global maritime industry.
Meet a Mariner brings ship captains, engineers, port operators, environmental specialists, logistics experts, and other industry leaders into K-12 and post-secondary classrooms — virtually or in person — to share their career journeys, explain what they do, and show students how maritime careers power the global economy while protecting the marine environment.
This innovative program provides educators with an easy-to-use, high-impact way to integrate career awareness, STEM learning, and environmental stewardship into their curriculum, making it a powerful new addition to the maritime workforce development toolkit.
“Maritime is one of the most important and least understood industries in the world,” said Molly Dushay, Executive Director of NAMEPA. “Meet a Mariner breaks down those barriers by giving students direct access to the people who move our economy, protect our oceans, and operate the world’s most complex transportation system. It makes maritime real, personal, and attainable.”
Unlike traditional career videos or static presentations, Meet a Mariner is fully interactive. Students meet live professionals, ask questions, and learn how their classroom subjects, from biology and physics to economics and technology, connect to real careers in shipping, ports, supply chain logistics, offshore energy, environmental protection, and vessel operations.
The program supports national and regional workforce priorities by helping students:
- See clear pathways from school to careers
- Discover high-wage, high-demand maritime careers
- Understand how ships, ports, and supply chains operate
- Learn how environmental protection and sustainability are built into maritime operations
Teachers receive ready-to-use resources including pre-visit materials, mariner bios, discussion questions, and post-visit activities, making Meet a Mariner simple to integrate into science, social studies, CTE, and career-readiness courses.
“Every maritime professional has a powerful story. Could be about how they started, or the amazing places they have been in their career.” says Meghan Reilly, NAMEPA Education and Outreach Manager. “By sharing those stories with students, we are building the next generation of mariners, engineers, port leaders, and environmental stewards who will keep our waterways safe, efficient, and sustainable.”
Meet a Mariner is now open for both educators and maritime professionals to participate. NAMEPA invites shipping companies, ports, maritime associations, and industry partners to join the growing network of mariners, helping to inspire the future workforce.
Media Contact: Molly Dushay, Executive Director (m.dushay@namepa.net)
About the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA)
The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) is a maritime industry-led organization of environmental stewards dedicated to preserving the marine environment by promoting sustainable marine industry best practices and educating seafarers, students, and the public about the need to protect global ocean, lake, and river resources. Learn more at www.namepa.net.