Profile
Basic Info
First Name |
Jack |
Last Name |
Greer |
Display Name |
Jack Greer |
Your Affiliated Organization |
Maryland Sea Grant (retired) |
Job Title |
Writer |
About You |
My Background: I grew up iin Richmond, VA, but even before I could walk I started spending every summer by the Chesapeake Bay. There I learned to swim, fish, crab, row, paddle, ski, sail, and muck about. I also got in touch with something bigger than myself that I've been trying to describe ever since. I went to college at the University of Virginia, and then to graduate school at the Univeristy of Richmond, the University of London, and the University of Maryland. I took a break for a year or so to work as a boatbuilder and to write a novel, and then came back to finish my Ph.D. and to begin work at the University of Maryland. My Work History: After teaching for nearly a decade in public school (2 years), the University of Richmond (1 year), and the University of Maryland (6 years), I joined the Maryland Sea Grant College. During my time at the University and at Sea Grant, I've served as Acting Director of Maryland Sea Grant (1987-89), Director of the Coastal and Environmental Policy Program (1991-1994), and Director of the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center (1992-2004). For most of this time I also served as the Assistant Director for Public Affairs for Maryland Sea Grant. Since 1992 I've worked on a number of Bay-related policy issues, often serving as a facilitator. These include working with small communities to solve tough environmental finance issues; with the Chesapeake Bay Commission to help facilitate the Bi-Sttate Blue Crab Advisory Committee (BBCAC); with the Governor of Maryland to facilitate a Blue Ribbon Panel for funding MD's Tributary Strategies; and with the Chesapeake Bay Program to help facilitate the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Blue Ribbon Finance Panel chaired by former VA governor Gerald Baliles. My Interests: I made a very conscious decision back in the mid-70s to focus my energies on the Chesapeake Bay. I've thought a lot about humanity's relation to the natural world and to the importance of "place." I've found that the Bay connects us with place in a very special way. In addition to the Bay, my first love is writing, both nonfiction and fiction. Most of my career has been spent writing about the Chesapeake Bay and working to translate complex science and policy issues for a broad audience. I co-edited Chesapake Futures: Choices for the 21st Century with Donald F. Boesch, and I co-edit Maryland Sea Grant's magazine, Chesapeake Quarterly . I've also published poetry and short stories, including a new collection entitled, Abraham's Bay & Other Stories from Dryad Press (www.dryadpress.com). |
Email Address |