What’s in a Name? Introducing Our New Organizational Name
September 1, 2025By Linda Cabot, Bow Seat President & Founder
Shakespeare once penned, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.” His implication is that names can often be irrelevant, holding no significance over something’s nature or essence. But for organizations, names carry important meaning and relevance. Organizational names and taglines usually represent program mission and focus, and while we have loved Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs, the time had come for a more accurate update.
We wanted a new organizational name that reflects our evolving and expanding programming, as well as a tagline that incorporates the creative aspect of Bow Seat’s mission, as creative advocacy makes our work so uniquely special.
The original idea for calling our program “Bow Seat” came from my time sailing and sitting on the bow seat of our boat, where I would spend endless hours on passages looking out over the ocean. The bow seat is also where I would hold my young daughters, and together we’d wonder about what might be below the ocean’s surface. Every so often, we would spot dolphins, porpoises, and whales. The bow seat became a place for exploration, contemplation, and imagination, as well as a place to teach my daughters about marine life and ocean conservation.
We will always keep “Bow Seat” in our name, but going forward, our new tagline will be Bow Seat: Creative Action for Conservation.
Our team had fun determining and coming up with a tagline that encompasses all the many components that make Bow Seat what we are today. This name addresses our interdisciplinary programming, where we explore the intersections of arts, advocacy, and conservation. Adding creative to the name speaks to the heart of what we do and how we creatively engage and empower young people to learn about and be active in conservation. Being a creative arts organization dedicated to conservancy is what makes Bow Seat distinct from most other conservation organizations, and now, moving forward, we will have a name that matches and aligns with our unique mission.
We are grateful for your interest, support, and partnership, and look forward to having you join us on the Bow Seat for many years to come!
Linda Cabot
President & Founder, Bow Seat: Creative Action for Conservation