James W. Porter

Member since: 2022

Proposed by: Trustees' Garden Club, Zone VIII

Seconded by: Junior Ladies' Garden Club, Zone VIII

James W. Porter, PhD, is the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professor, Odum School of Ecology, Emeritus, at the University of Georgia, specializing in the ecology of coral reefs and marine consequences of global climate change. Coral reefs are a critical protective buffer to shorelines, support biodiversity, and are home to roughly twenty-five percent of all marine life. Dr. Porter has testified multiple times before Congress on the impact of global warming on coral reefs. He also testified at the United Nations on the environmental and human health effects on coral reefs of abandoned underwater, unexploded ordnance. ABC World News, NBC Nightly News, CNN, and CBS Evening News have featured his work.

Dr. Porter was the chief scientific adviser for and appeared in the 2017 documentary, Chasing Coral, which won the 2017 Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, a 2018 Peabody Award, and the 2018 Emmy Award for Outstanding Nature Documentary. Dr. Porter was the keynote speaker at the GCA's 2019 NAL conference.

Honorary member since 2022.