Organizations Filed Purposes:
MRDF INSPIRES TODAY'S STUDENTS TO BECOME TOMORROW'S OCEAN PROTECTORS THROUGH OUR MARINELAB PROGRAMS. WE EDUCATE THEM ABOUT THE ECOLOGY AND INTERDEPENDENCE OF THE MARINE COMMUNITIES OF THE FLOIRDA KEYS, INCLUDING MAN'S IMPACT, AND EXPANDING THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND AWARNESS TO TO INCLUDE LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND GLOBAL ISSUES. OUR PROGRAMS ARE GEARED TOWARDS SCHOOL GROUPS AND HOMESCHOOLING GROUPS FROM 5TH - 12TH GRADE. WE ALSO PROVIDE TEACHER WORKSHOPS FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. BY VISITING OUR MARINELAB UNDERSEA LABORATORY, ONE OF ONLY THREE OPERATING UNDERWATER RESEARCH STATIONS IN THE WORLD, STUDENTS ARE INTRODUCED TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF LIVING UNDERWATER, WHICH ARE THE SAME AS LIVING IN SPACE.
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN MARINE ECOLOGY, INCLUDING MANGROVE, SEAGRASS, AND CORAL REEF HABITATS.
REACHING OVER 4000 STUDENTS THIS YEAR, OUR MARINELAB PROGRAMS INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO MARINE SCIENCE CONCEPTS THROUGH HANDS-ON LABS, DISCUSSION ACTIVITIES, AND SNORKELING EXPLORATIONS BY BOAT ON OUR US COAST GUARD INSPECTED VESSELS. FOR MANY OF OUR STUDENTS, THIS IS THEIR FIRST EXPERIENCE OF THE OCEAN. OUR CURRICULUM IS BASED ON CURRENT SCIENCE, AND CONCEPTS ARE REINFORCED THROUGHOUT THE PROGRAM. FIELD EXPERIENCES HAVE BEEN PROVEN TO INCREASE RETENTION OF KNOWLEDGE - PLUS THE STUDENTS ARE EXPERIENCING NATURE UNPLUGGED IN AN INCREASINGLY PLUGGED-IN WORLD. PARTICIPATION IN CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECTS AND ADVANCED PROGRAMS IS AVAILABLE FOR HIGH SCHOOL AGE STUDENTS.
A ONE WEEK WORKSHOP INTRODUCES TEACHERS OF ALL SUBJECTS AND GRADES TO THE MARINE ECOLOGY OF THE FLORIDA KEYS. TEACHERS HAVE THE OPTION OF TAKING A GENERAL ECOLOGY PROGRAM, OR TO FOCUS ON THE ADVANCED PROGRAMS THAT ARE CORRELATED WITH AP BIOLOGY AND AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. TWENTY-NINE TEACHERS PARTICIPATED IN THE WORKSHOP IN 2017.
THE MARINELAB UNDERSEA LABORATORY HOSTED RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS WHILE IT WAS SUBMERGED IN OUR LAGOON FROM 1985-2018. IN MARCH 2018, THE LABORATORY WAS RETRIEVED FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE LAGOON AND HAS BEEN RENOVATED AS AN INTERACTIVE MUSEUM, DESIGNED TO PROVIDE AN EXPERIENCE THAT MIMICS THE FEELING OF BEING IN A WORKING UNDERWATER RESEARCH STATION.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| Ginette Hughes | VICE PRESIDENT | 40 | $77,093 |
| Ian Koblick | PRESIDENT | 20 | $75,000 |
| Joann Smenda | TREASURER | 40 | $54,950 |
| Tonya Koblick | SECRETARY | 0.5 | $0 |
| Bob Russell | VICE PRESIDENT | 0.5 | $0 |
| Shawn Tolley | DIRECTOR | 1 | $0 |
| Kathleen Mccue | DIRECTOR | 1 | $0 |
| Craig Mullen | DIRECTOR | 0.5 | $0 |
| Neil Monney | DIRECTOR | 0.5 | $0 |
| David Stone | DIRECTOR | 0.5 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202043219349306034_public.xml