Alexandra Cousteau

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Alexandra Cousteau
Cousteau in 2013
Born
Alexandra Marguerite Clémentine Cousteau

(1976-03-21) March 21, 1976 (age 48)
NationalityAmerican, French
Alma materGeorgetown University
Known forEnvironmental conservation
SpouseFritz Neumeyer
Children2
Parent(s)Philippe Cousteau
Jan Cousteau
RelativesPhilippe Cousteau Jr. (brother)
Jacques-Yves Cousteau (grandfather)
Simone Cousteau (grandmother)

Alexandra Marguerite Clémentine Cousteau (born March 21, 1976) is a filmmaker, sustainability keynote speaker and an environmental activist. Cousteau continues the work of her grandfather Jacques-Yves Cousteau and father Philippe Cousteau. Cousteau advocates the importance of conservation, restoration and sustainable management of ocean and water resources for a healthy planet and productive societies.[1][2][3]

Personal life[edit]

Cousteau is the daughter of Philippe Cousteau and Jan Cousteau and the granddaughter of French explorer and filmmaker Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Simone Cousteau.[4][5] She is a member of the third generation Cousteau family who explore and explain the natural world.[6][7] At the age of four months, Cousteau first went on expedition with her father, Philippe Cousteau and learned to scuba dive with her grandfather, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, when she was seven.[8]

Education[edit]

Cousteau earned a bachelor's degree in political science (International Relations) from Georgetown College in 1998. In May 2016, she received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Georgetown University, her alma mater.[9]

Career[edit]

In 2000, Cousteau co-founded EarthEcho International with her brother Philippe Cousteau Jr. to further her family's legacy in science, advocacy, and education.[10][11]

From 2005 to 2007, Cousteau worked on ocean conservation issues in Central America as an advisor for MarViva.[12]

In 2010, Cousteau led the Expedition Blue Planet: North America, a five-month, 18,000 miles of interactive exploration of critical water issues[clarification needed] across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.[13] Cousteau and her team filmed a range of critical water issues on the Colorado River, the Gulf Coast, the Tennessee Valley, the Great Lakes, and Chesapeake Bay and also stopped in 20 communities along the route to host watershed action days. [14]

In 2014, she led an expedition to Canada in partnership with the Ottawa Riverkeeper and Aqua Hacking 2015, a conference focused on protecting the river.[15][16] It's a joint initiative between Ottawa Riverkeeper, Alexandra Cousteau's Blue Legacy, and the de Gaspe Beaubien Foundation.[17]

Cousteau is also a member of the board of Neom,[18] a planned cross-border city in northwestern Saudi Arabia developed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

In 2019, she co-founded Oceans2050,[19] where she currently serves as president. Oceans2050 is an ambitious project that aims to restore ocean abundance by the year 2050.

Cousteau is a globally popular speaker on sustainability, conservation and resilience to climate change.[20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Keren Blankfeld Schultz (September 1, 2008). "Alexandra Cousteau Weighs In on the Future of the Ocean". Scientific American. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  2. ^ LLoyd Grove (April 22, 2010). "Why Is Jacques Cousteau's Granddaughter Driving John McCain's Bus?". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  3. ^ "Who is the nouveau Cousteau?". The Independent. September 11, 2008.
  4. ^ "Future player: Alexandra Cousteau". CNN. October 28, 2008. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
  5. ^ "Know your Cousteaus: Diving deep into the family pool". The Washington Post – The Reliable Source. June 8, 2010. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
  6. ^ Dianne Bates (May 6, 2001). "The Undersea World of Alexandra Cousteau". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  7. ^ Leslie Kauffman (May 18, 2011). "Cousteau Cousins Pitch Water Issues". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
  8. ^ Blue Legacy (April 3, 2010). "Another Cousteau Working to Save the Waters". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
  9. ^ "Cousteau Advocates Legacy Building, Environmental Protection". The Hoya. May 26, 2016.
  10. ^ Ian Urbina (July 24, 2007). "Pressure Builds to Ban Plastic Bags in Stores". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
  11. ^ Agence France-Presse (2007). "Ocean lures the heirs of Cousteau's legacy". Expatica. Archived from the original on April 22, 2008. Retrieved October 31, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ^ Paco Gomez Nadal (February 28, 2007). "En el primer mundo el delfinarios son prehistoria". La Prensa (Managua).
  13. ^ "Expedition Blue Planet 2010: North America". National Geographic. Archived from the original on July 9, 2010.
  14. ^ "North America". Alexandra Cousteau. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  15. ^ "Jacques Cousteau's granddaughter joins Ottawa Riverkeeper in conservation effort". Metro News (Ottawa). Archived from the original on March 27, 2018.
  16. ^ "Alexandra Cousteau, Meaghan Murphy and Ottawa Riverkeeper Meredith Brown test the water on the Ottawa River on Saturday, September 14, 2013 to evaluate its quality". Calgary Herald. September 16, 2013. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  17. ^ Kelly Roche (July 12, 2013). "Cousteau lending name to mission to save Ottawa River". Ottawa Sun. Archived from the original on December 30, 2016.
  18. ^ "The members of Neom advisory board" (PDF). Neom. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 4, 2020.
  19. ^ "Oceans 2050". Oceans 2050. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  20. ^ "Alexandra Cousteau Speaker Booking Fees | Aurum Bureau". Aurum Speakers Bureau. Retrieved January 14, 2022.

External links[edit]