Lyden-Kluss, RADM Thomas Appointed IMO Ambassadors

Mission to educate the public about the benefits and opportunities in the marine industry

Carleen Lyden-Kluss, Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Marketing & Communications, along with RADM Cari B. Thomas of the United States Coast Guard were recently appointed IMO Maritime Ambassadors by the International Maritime Organization. The two were nominated for this positon by the United States Coast Guard.

An IMO Ambassador is an advocate for maritime and seafaring professions and actively conducts community outreach activities which encourage young people to consider careers at sea or in the maritime industry. IMO Maritime Ambassadors are encouraged to share their passion about the maritime world with others, particularly young people who are starting out on their further education, apprenticeships and career pathways. The IMO Ambassador Scheme was launched in February 2015 as an initiative to emphasize the importance of the maritime industry. The program depends on the experiences of people in maritime careers to promote it.

“Thomas and Lyden-Kluss were nominated by the United States Coast Guard because of their extensive careers in different maritime activities as well as their unique interest in maritime education and training opportunities for students”, stated a Coast Guard announcement. “Thomas and Lyden-Kluss are two of the first IMO ambassadors from the United States and are congratulated on their appointments!”

RADM Cari Thomas assumed duties as Assistant Commandant for Human Resources in June 2015. In this capacity, she is responsible for implementing the vision for human capital management; to recruit, develop, and retain a diverse, proficient, effective workforce to meet the current and future needs of the Coast Guard’s nearly 60,000 member active duty, reserve and civilian workforce.

Carleen Lyden-Kluss Kluss is a marketing and communications professional who has been engaged in the commercial maritime industry for nearly 40 years. Her passion, and mission, is the promotion of the maritime industry and its value to global society. In her work with the North American Ministry Association (NAMMA), she has become an advocate for seafarers and their welfare.

While working with NAMMA, she brought the World Maritime Day to North America in 2006, and with NAMEPA has created an observance every year, rotating between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. She was instrumental in producing the World Maritime Day Parallel Event in 2009 in the United States, and most recently, Carleen collaborated on the North American World Maritime Day Conference on Maritime Education and Training in Linthicum, MD.

 In 2007, Carleen co-founded NAMEPA, whose mission is to engage industry, regulators, environmental groups and educators to develop strategies to protect the marine environment and to educate seafarers, port communities and students to “Save our Seas”. Under this banner, she has been able to reach out to millions of students urging them to learn more about the maritime industry, and to port communities and the public at large throughout North America and the Caribbean explaining the value proposition of the maritime industry and the opportunities to enter the field for a lifelong career.

In 2014, Carleen co-Founded the Consortium for International Maritime Heritage (CIMH) whose goal is to unite the modern day industry with its antecedents to educate the public on its importance.

When asked for her goals as an IMO Ambassador, Carleen expects to deliver presentations at regional Rotary Clubs and Chambers of Commerce, informational sessions on the industry through the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (highly organized afterschool programs offered to underserved populations) and regional Key Clubs (high school student volunteer programs), work closely with maritime high schools and academies to promote the benefits of our industry and its structure (IMO), develop a series of “What’s up in Maritime” videos which can be targeted towards a variety of populations as well as uploaded to YouTube, further develop the Consortium for International Maritime Heritage which will serve to promote the maritime industry and the IMO, and reinforce to the public that the shipping industry is a highly regulated industry by the IMO. “This is a factor that is often overlooked by the public, who continue to perceive us as lawless cowboys doing whatever we want on the high seas” she commented.

IMO will share information provided by the Maritime Ambassadors on the activities they have undertaken via its social media networks.