Evening Tide Talks

Featured Speaker

Erica Moulton

Marine Explorer, Educator, and Founder of the Center for Open Exploration

Erica Moulton is a marine explorer, educator, and founder of the Center for Open Exploration. From Arctic to Antarctic waters, Caribbean reefs to Florida mangroves, Erica connects technology, people, and purpose. Earning her Bachelor of Science from the University of West Florida, Erica also spent a semester on board the LIU Southampton vessel Spirit of Massachusetts, traveling from Maine to Haiti. She earned her Master’s degree in Conservation Education from Prescott College while living with the Arawak Amerindians in Guyana, South America.

With over 25 years of global ocean research, she combines robotics, science communication, and workforce development. Inducted into The Explorers Club in 2021 during the 40th anniversary of women’s admission, she promotes a legacy of exploration, helping to redefine who gets to explore. She ensures students, communities, and emerging scientists have the tools to participate in discovery. She worked alongside Dr. Sylvia Earle in the Antarctic, supported shark research in Greenland and Svalbard, conducted endangered species research in collaboration with indigenous communities in Guyana, and even contributed to a NASA experiment that flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. Whether expanding women’s participation in the Blue Economy in the Maldives, partnering with Caribbean conservation leaders in Saba, or developing the globally recognized “ROV in a Bag” program with the Marine Technology Society, her work opens exploration doors that were once closed. Here in Florida, Erica serves as Assistant Dean of Natural Sciences at St. Petersburg College, leading STEM initiatives that prepare the next generation of ocean technology professionals.

SCUBA diving since age 13, Erica believes exploration is not just about going to the edges of the map. It is about expanding opportunity, inspiring stewardship, and empowering others to see themselves as part of the ocean’s future. She continues to prove that, when we open exploration, we open possibilities!