Alumna Kari Martin ’97, to present in Environmental Speakers Series

ALFRED, NY – Alfred University alumna Kari (Jermansen) Martin ’97 will present at next week’s Environmental Studies Speakers Series. The presentation—titled “You Are What You Eat: The Plastic Pollution Plague”—is scheduled for 12:20 p.m. Friday, Sept. Oct. 7, in Roon Lecture Hall, Science Center, on the Alfred University campus.

Martin earned a bachelor’s degree from Alfred University in 1997, with a double major in environmental studies and political science. She also has a Master of Science degree from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, with a concentration in environmental policy and democratic processes.

She is advocacy campaign manager for Clean Ocean Action (COA), a nonprofit ocean advocacy organization based in Long Branch, NJ. Martin joined COA in 2000 as a summer intern while working on her graduate studies. In 2001, she joined the staff full time, focusing on outreach and education. Over a span of eight years, Martin served in assistant and director positions in policy, outreach, and communications.

While stepping aside from her position to raise a family, Martin served on COA’s Board of Trustees from 2015-2019, and rejoined the staff in 2019 to work on education programs, as well as outreach and advocacy. In her current position, she works on the issues of nonpoint source pollution, plastic pollution, and offshore energy. She informs and engages elected officials, organizations, and residents of all ages and backgrounds in actions and initiatives to stop ocean pollution and the harmful industrialization of the ocean.