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Mark Simmons

Mark Simmons

About

Mark Simmons grew up in a Northern Virginia farm community where, at an early age, his father taught him that stewardship of wild and domestic animals requires lifelong responsibility and commitment.

At the age of eighteen, Mark had his first encounter with whales and dolphins at SeaWorld in Orlando which led him to a ten year career in animal behavior there, working mostly with killer whales.

By 1998, he founded a marine life protection group, Wildlife International Network, with former boss and close friend, Robin Friday. In April 1999, Simmons joined the Keiko Release Project as the Director of Animal Husbandry and led the Behavior Team onsite in Iceland. There he authored and applied the behavioral protocols for reintroduction that gained approval from the Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries for Keiko’s formal release.

Friday and Simmons went on to create Ocean Embassy, whereby their team assists governments on protective marine legislation, conducts extensive field work with marine mammals and helps rescue stranded animals. He created and continues to provide visionary leadership of a large scale research & conservation database called OERCA that serves global wildlife management needs. Simmons has taught marine mammal behavioral science at the University of Miami and conducted numerous seminars and lectures on the Keiko Release Project. He currently serves as a board member for Embassy Blue Institute and the Marine Mammal Conservancy, both non-profit organizations with the mission to protect marine life.

When not traveling, Simmons spends his time with his wife and two daughters at their home in Orlando, Florida. He has a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida. He is an avid cyclist and dabbles in art and woodwork. Mark is also a generous patron of local coffee shops when engaged in the fine art of writing.

Commitment

Commitment

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Description

<p>It’s hard to be committed to anyone when you don’t know whom to trust.</p><p>Alexis Toles, a former FBI agent turned undercover CIA agent, is quickly finding that out in Nancy Ann Healy’s newest political thriller, <i>Commitment</i>.</p><p>Alex embeds in a secret organization of intelligence operatives known as The Collaborative. Its partners include operatives from the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI, US Department of Defense, and an entanglement of foreign intelligence agencies.</p><p>It’s about half a year after the death of President John Merrow, a friend and someone she respected. But she remains committed to overthrowing The Collaborative as she works with a onetime adversary who believes the organization’s involved in the president’s death.</p><p>Meanwhile Alex; her wife, Cassidy O’Brien; and Cassidy’s son try hard to live as a family but must first overcome personal struggles, including a nasty custody battle with Cassidy’s ex-husband, Congressman Christopher O’Brien. The family has their own share of secrets that, if unleashed, could affect their hopes for the future.</p><p>There’s no place to turn without discovering people who are not who they claim to be. That can’t stop Alex. She must remain committed to the cause, both at home and as she works against The Collaborative.</p>

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Reviews

<div> <p>“Among the misinformation and cacophony regarding the public display and release of whales and dolphins, animal behavior and marine mammal expert, Mark Simmons, provides a compassionate and deeply challenging account of the failed experiment to release a killer whale named Keiko. In <em>Killing Keiko</em>, Mr. Simmons sets the record straight and details why the unfortunate star of <em>Free Willy</em> was not ultimately a release candidate and why human agendas led to his death. This engaging, well-written and timely book is a sobering reminder that our human compassion for animals is not always well-conceived and that we need to better understand what our actions actually mean for such animals as opposed to what they mean for ourselves. A must-read for every animal lover out there…”</p> <p><span style="line-height:1.6em;">Gregory D. Bossart, V.M.D., Ph.D., Diplomate, European College of Zoological Medicine (Wildlife Population Health), Senior Vice President of Animal Health, Research and Conservation, Georgia Aquarium</span></p> </div>