About Us — Emerald & Forgotten Coast Adventures

Memorable Experiences + Education

Emerald & Forgotten Coast Adventures brings memorable historic and ecological experiences to area residents, students, and visitors through hands-on activities and tours. Our mission is to provide the opportunity to couple memorable experiences with education to empower the next generation of our planet's stewards. We accomplish this with interactive activities designed to introduce, ignite curiosity, and develop an appreciation — and hopefully a passion — to preserve and protect our history and environment.

Our Team

Jon A Schmidt, Ph.D.

Founder

Jon has had a passion for marine science since he could walk and explore the beaches of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Becoming SCUBA certified at the age of 13 helped him expand his exploration of the marine environment. Jon went on to earn his doctorate in marine ecology from Florida State University, and now 36 years later after conducting marine studies around the world, Jon is bringing his passion to explore, study, and develop a passion for marine science in the next generation. He learned as a child that experiencing the environment firsthand is the only way to reinforce classroom education. This hands-on experience can lead to a lifetime pursuit and passion for the marine environment.

Brittany Pace

Director of Education

As a Florida native, Brittany grew up exploring the outdoors and developed a passion for marine science at an early age. Leaving Tallahassee for North Carolina, her dreams took flight at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she earned a B.S. in Marine Biology (with minors in Environmental Science and Leadership Studies) and a M.S. in Environmental Studies (with a focus on Environmental Education and Coastal Management). Over the last decade, she has taught thousands of students, developed curriculums, cultivated partnerships, and served the local communities in both North Carolina and Florida. Brittany is dedicated to creating immersive experiences in the environment to increase awareness, foster connections, and inspire stewardship. Seeing those light bulb moments occur and igniting the passion among the next generation are the ultimate goals, we as educators, all strive for in experiential learning.

Denise Schmidt

Merchandise & Historic Tours

Denise grew up in the Emerald and Forgotten Coast, graduating from Bay High School in Panama City and spending summers and visits to her family in Suwannee, Old Town, and Cross City. Jon and Denise met in Tallahassee and raised two sons there while spending their vacations visiting and exploring the Emerald and Forgotten Coasts. Denise's family has been ingrained in the local history and she has a passion to see young people learn and explore these coastal communities to learn how earlier generations lived and took care of the marine environment. Denise has developed all the merchandise for sale to support the non-profit and will lead the historic tours requested by visitors to the area.

Board of Directors

John Di Paola
Danielle Brennan
Jennifer Shumate

Our Mission

Provide the opportunity to couple memorable experiences with education to empower the next generation of our planet's stewards.

Purpose

Provide the opportunity to couple memorable experiences with education to empower the next generation of our planet's stewards.

Vision

To teach 10% of the area's student population (~7,000 students) with marine science education every year so that the next generation become better stewards and active conservationists, as well as provide an opportunity for visitors and residents alike to learn about the unique areas of the panhandle.

Values

We will base our experience building activities on the facts of the area and not myth or rumor. This requires extensive research and consultation with area historians and ecologists to build memorable experiences on truthful education. We will also be a respecter of all views as supported by fact and research.

Vision Statement

To facilitate the preservation of the unique qualities and history of the Emerald and Forgotten Coasts through memorable educational field trips for locals and visitors alike.

Company Philosophy

Build a passion in everyone who comes to us by being passionate about what we teach people.

What we do

We bridge the gap between learned knowledge and applied experience to help spur a passion in marine conservation and historic preservation. Sparking a desire for learning is charged by memorable experiences brought by passionate educators. We provide hands-on opportunities to learn about the history and marine ecology of the Florida Panhandle in a way that creates memorable and life-changing experiences.

How do we do this?

Taking students and visitors into the field, we provide them with the opportunity to see, feel, touch, and experience the uniqueness of the local history and marine ecology of the Florida Panhandle and the Gulf. This is accomplished by connecting classroom lessons with hands-on sampling and exploration in the marine environment and tours of the historic towns and villages in the Panhandle.

Why do we do this?

Teaching in the classroom, or in a lecture in a condominium complex for visitors and part-timers, provides some basic knowledge. By coupling a memorable hands-on experience with that teaching, we hope to ignite a passion for the conservation and preservation of what makes the Florida Panhandle unique and worthy of protection. As tourism levels increase, the pressure to change the area's uniqueness grows, resulting in commercialization similar to other heavily traveled areas in Florida and the US. Commercial tourism, if not balanced with the protection of the ecology and history of an area, will degrade the unique value and attractiveness of an area.

E&FCA is transparent with our finances and resources, and our financial information can be found here.