Expedition leader named to board of South Carolina Aquarium

By Alex Junes-Ward

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Global expedition leader Thomas S. Mullikin was named to the board of directors of the South Carolina Aquarium, Sept. 14. His unanimous election to the board is for a three-year term.

“Tom Mullikin shares my lifelong passion for the natural world and for saving species from extinction,” said Jonathan Zucker, chairman of the board, South Carolina Aquarium. “He will bring great energy, insight and determination to our mission to protect what we love about our great state and beyond.”

Kevin Mills, president and CEO of the South Carolina Aquarium, agrees.

“The Aquarium is committed to helping communities come to terms with the impacts associated with a changing climate,” said Mills. “Tom’s established leadership on this topic will strengthen our ability to offer meaningful solutions that safeguard wildlife, wild places, people and property.”

Mullikin, who chairs the gubernatorially established S.C. Floodwater Commission, is an energy and environmental attorney, university professor, former U.S. Army officer and retired commanding general of the S.C. State Guard. He has climbed scores of mountain ranges on every continent (including summiting four of the world’s seven great summits) and logged SCUBA dives in all oceans. In July 2020, Mullikin led a first-of-its-kind expedition across the Palmetto State, covering more than 500 miles on foot, and by raft and kayak, with SCUBA gear, even on horseback from the mountains to the sea as he led his team in an exploration of the seven natural wonders of South Carolina.

Established on the banks of the Charleston Harbor in the spring of 2000, the South Carolina Aquarium is home to more than 5,000 plants and animals; and features both the famous Sea Turtle Care Center (hospital) and the Great Ocean Tank, which extends from the first-to-the-third floor of the Aquarium and is the deepest tank in North America.

For more information, please visit https://scaquarium.org/.