Associate Education Director, Consortium for Ocean Leadership, Washington, DC

Sharon Katz-Cooper started at JOI in March 2007. Prior to joining JOI, Sharon was the educator on the core team developing the Smithsonian's Ocean Hall, a large new exhibit set to open in September 2008. She has also worked as a contractor doing education work for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and has a background in informal and conservation education. She learned about JOI through collaborations for the Ocean Hall and sailed on the first School of Rock expedition in November 2005.

In between projects (and making dinner), she writes children's books and magazine articles on science and social studies topics. She has written on such diverse subjects as ocean life, hats, France, the periodic table, and Aristotle. She loves to cook and bake, dance, travel and hang out with her boys: husband Jason and sons Reuven and Judah. She has traveled, both for work and play, to Madagascar, China, Israel, Venezuela, Japan, Europe, and many parts of Canada and the U.S.

Sharon is a native to this area, having grown up in Washington, DC and Silver Spring, MD. After 18 years here, she was lured away by the Ivy League; Sharon holds a bachelor's degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University and a Masters in Environmental Studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She is also pursuing a graduate certificate in early childhood education from George Mason University.