More and more often, the media is praising companies with great corporate social responsibility. These are the companies that make efforts that go above and beyond what is required by regulators, legislation and environmental protection groups.

The National Aquarium, located in Baltimore, MD., is a nonprofit organization that is home to over 17,000 amphibians, sharks, fish, bottlenose dolphins and even a grey-headed flying fox. In 2014, the aquarium went above and beyond, establishing a sustainable seafood program that strives to place the Chesapeake Bay community at the forefront of a national movement to protect the quality of local waters, support sustainable seafood production, reduce dependence on imported seafood and enjoy increased health benefits.

The most recent addition to the National Aquarium family is TJ Tate, an alumna of the School of Communication. Tate is serving as the director of the sustainable seafood program. In her role, she’s responsible for the development of enhanced education programs to help people better understand their seafood options and will work to expand those choices through partnerships that link local fishermen to local markets, improve opportunities for restaurants to serve local seafood and explore enhancement opportunities associated with local aquaculture.

“I’m honored to be joining the National Aquarium with goals of not only promoting sustainable seafood, but creating actionable changes for future generations of seafood consumers,” said Tate in a press release.

Tate previously served as the Executive Director of Gulf Wild Sustainability in the Gulf of Mexico, working to develop and implement Gulf Wild, the first and only fully traceable seafood with strict conservation and transparency principals.

Before becoming an accomplished marine biologist and conservation communicator, Tate was a student at Florida State. The sports fanatic worked as a student liaison between the baseball team and incoming players. In her off time, she loved running stadiums, an activity she did three times a week with one of her Communications professors.

“He would push me in the academic world and we supported each other through many a touch climb,” Tate said. “To be at the top of the stadium, you felt like you were at the top of the world and could accomplish anything.”

Tate also worked with WVFS Tallahassee, known as V89, and worked to host the first student body campaign to update the logo and look for the radio station.

“Florida State was an amazing education, experience and my gateway to a lifetime of working to meet and exceed personal and professional goals.”

Find out more about the Communication programs here.