National Student Summit on Ocean Issues, January 16, 2004

At a White House reception, John F. Turner, Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental Affairs, discusses ocean policy with Jessica Haralson, a high school student at the South Texas Science Academy in Mercedes, Texas as Tara Schultz, Director of Science Education, Texas State Aquarium, Corpus Christi, Texas, looks on. Haralson traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the National Student Summit on Ocean Issues, which aims to foster interest in ocean science among high school students. At the Summit, top Bush Administration officials including Turner, listened and responded to the students' environmental policy recommendations. Coastal America, a partnership of federal agencies, funded and coordinated the event.

John F. Turner, Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental Affairs (far left) joined a panel of top Bush Administration officials including (from L-R) Don Schregardus, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Timothy Keeney, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, Benjamin H. Grumbles, Assistant Administrator for Water, EPA, P. Lynn Scarlett Assistant Secretary of Interior for Policy, Management and Budget, and James L Connaughton, Chairman White House Council on Environmental Quality to address 100 high school students attending the National Student Summit on Ocean Issues. The Summit, organized by Coastal America, brought 100 students from across the country to Washington to discuss ocean policy.