Alumni Profiles
Mark Spalding
MPIA '92
Mark Spalding is president and chair of the board of The Ocean Foundation, and is an authority on international environmental policy and law. His research interests relate to marine conservation including protected areas, trade and the environment, and ocean renewable energy.
Mark coordinated a multinational effort to save Laguna San Ignacio in Baja California Sur, the last pristine birthplace of the Pacific Gray Whale. He also headed up the Alaska Oceans Program, increased ocean literacy in Alaska, fostered the creation of a Shipping Safety Partnership, and supported national and international work to promote sustainable seafood choices.
Mark has been chair of the council of the National Whale Conservation Fund, and on the national Board of Directors for the Surfrider Foundation as well as Pro Peninsula and One Earth One Justice. He is the former executive director of the San Diego Foundation's Orca Fund. He was a member of the Presidential and Congressional Advisory Committee on U.S.-Mexico environmental border relations, the Good Neighbor Environmental Board, through the end of the Clinton administration.
Mark graduated from IR/PS in 1992 with a concentration in international environmental policy and a Latin America regional focus. He is an avid reader and loves to travel. He enjoys walking and hiking and, when he is not in the Lesser Antilles, Mexico, or on an airplane, he can be found at his 220-year-old farm enjoying country life.
