The Honorable Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, to Receive Collaborative Institute’s Energy and Environmental Security Award and Serve Keynote Address at Global Conference on Oceans, Climate and Security
GC ’12 is proud to announce that Secretary of the United States Navy Ray Mabus will be an honored keynote speaker at the Global Conference on Oceans, Climate and Security. As the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy, Secretary Mabus leads America’s Navy and Marine Corps and is responsible for an annual budget in excess of $150 billion and almost 900,000 people.
Under Secretary Mabus’s leadership, the Navy established a goal of achieving energy security, in order to enhance the Navy’s war-fighting capabilities, and has taken major steps to address the challenges associated with dependence on fossil fuels. Secretary Mabus has made a major commitment to the introduction of renewable energy and new technologies, including a target of decreasing fossil fuel use by 50% by 2020 that will allow the service to significantly decrease its vulnerability to the expense and economic volatility associated with fossil fuels and save the lives of military personnel in combat zones.
The Secretary of the Navy is responsible for conducting all the affairs of the Department of the Navy, including recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training, and mobilizing. Additionally, he oversees the construction, outfitting, and repair of naval ships, equipment and facilities, and is responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies and programs that are consistent with the national security policies and objectives established by the President and the Secretary of Defense.
GC ’12 Conference Chair, Robbin Peach, stated that, “through his visionary leadership, Secretary Mabus is enhancing the Navy’s military capabilities and setting an example of how we can address the growing security challenges we face as a nation and a global community. We are honored to have Secretary Mabus share his insights and successes with us as a keynote speaker.”
About Secretary Mabus
Prior to joining the administration of President Barack Obama, Mabus served in a variety of top posts in government and the private sector. In 1987, Mabus was elected Governor of Mississippi. He was appointed Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the Clinton Administration in 1994. He also was Chairman and CEO of Foamex, a large manufacturing company.
Prior to becoming Governor, he was elected State Auditor of Mississippi and served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy aboard the cruiser USS Little Rock. In June 2010, President Obama asked Secretary Mabus to prepare a long-term recovery plan for the Gulf of Mexico in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. After extensive travel and many meetings, his report “America’s Gulf Coast: A Long-Term Recovery Plan After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill” was released in September 2010. The report was met with broad bi-partisan support.
Secretary Mabus is a native of Ackerman, Mississippi, and received a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Mississippi, a Master’s Degree from Johns Hopkins University, and a Law Degree from Harvard Law School.
He has been awarded the U.S. Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award, the U.S. Army’s distinguished Civilian Service Award, the Martin Luther King Social Responsibility Award from the King Center in Atlanta, the National Wildlife Federation Conservation Achievement Award, the King Abdul Aziz Award from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Mississippi Association of Educators’ Friend of Education Award.
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