2017 Agenda

Monday May 8th, 2017

5:30pm – 8:30pm – Kickoff Party

Join us at a kickoff get together at RFD Washington!

RFD Washington

810 7th St NW

Washington, D.C. 20001

 

8:00pm – 10:00pm – Movie Screening (This event is no additional cost but is limited to registered and paid Summit participants. This is not open to the public and tickets are limited, register here. If you cannot attend please let us know so we can open the spot up to someone on the wait list.)

Special Screening of Sundance sensation Chasing Coral with award-winning Director, Jeff Orlowski

Regal Cinemas Gallery Place

701 7th St NW

Washington, D.C. 20001

You can learn more about the film, here!

This is a free event but space is limited! Please sign up online here and if you cannot make it let us know ASAP so we can give your seat to someone on the waiting list.

 

Tuesday May 9, 2017

George Washington University

Marvin Center

800 21 St NW

Washington, D.C. 20052

8:00 AM
Registration (Continental Ballroom)
Refreshments (Continental Ballroom)

8:45- 9:00AM
Welcome Address (Betts Theatre)

9:00-10:00AM
Keynote Addresses (Betts Theatre)

“Her Deepness” Dr. Sylvia Earle, Founder of Mission Blue & National Geographic Explorer in Residence

Daniela Fernandez, Founder and CEO of the Sustainable Oceans Alliance

Senator Bob Menendez (D,NJ)

 

10:00-11:00AM

Opening Plenary – Ocean Strategy Under Trump (Betts Theatre)

John Racanelli, CEO of the National Aquarium

Chad Nelsen, CEO of Surfrider Foundation

Ralph Nader, Consumer Advocate, Lawyer & Author

Farah Obaidullah, Founder & Director of Women4Oceans

Moderator: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Founder and Principal of Ocean Collectiv

 

11:00-11:15AM
Comfort Break

 

11:15-12:30 : Panel Session 1 (Various Locations)

Stopping Offshore Drilling (Betts Theatre)
Description: With the Trump Administration announcing to re-open the Atlantic, Arctic Ocean and other U.S. waters to oil drilling, this panel will review successful opposition strategies to date.

Speakers: Nancy Pyne (Oceana), John Hocevar (Greenpeace), , CT Harry (IFAW), and Peg Howell (Former Offshore Engineer)
Moderator: Richard Charter (The Ocean Foundation)

 

Engaging Corporations in Plastic Pollution Solutions: Strategies and Stories (Room 403)
Description: Corporations can and must play a key role in reducing plastic pollution that “leaks” into our global waters. What opportunities are there for non-profits to engage with the for-profit sector to launch and scale meaningful campaigns? What strategies are most effective for engaging corporations in plastic pollution reduction initiatives? In this panel, you’ll hear from both NGOS and business on the importance of collaborative efforts to protect our global waters from plastic waste.

Speakers: Lia Colabello (COSTA Sunglasses/Kick Plastic Campaign), Eric DeRoberts (Trash Free Seas), Anna Cummins (5 Gyres) and Hilary Pickles (LUSH Cosmetics)
Moderator: Dune Ives (The Lonely Whale Foundation)

 

Coastal Resiliency and Sea Level Rise (Room 307)
Description: With trillions of dollars and millions of lives at risk, how do we protect our urban and rural shorelines while restoring our coastal ecosystems?

Speakers: Dale Morris (Royal Netherlands Embassy), Mayor Serge Dedina (Imperial Beach, CA), Rear Admiral Ann Phillips (U.S. Navy Ret.)
Moderator: Aaron Viles (Care2)

 

Reaching Out to Individual Funders (Room 413-414)
Description: A favorite biennial workshop with Chris Palmer on how to win over and partner with your donors to make your work succeed.

Speaker: Christopher Palmer (Center For Environmental Filmmaking, American University)

 

The Inland Ocean (Room 301)
Description: How ocean activism is reaching inland and how river and watershed groups are linking up with the blue movement around common issues of clean water and healthy oceans.

Speakers: Fred Tutman (Patuxent Riverkeeper), Michael Bowman (National Hemp Association), Anna Aurilio (Environment America) and Vicki Nichols-Goldstein (Inland Ocean Coalition)
Moderator: Margo Pellegrino (Blue Frontier & Coastal Paddler)

 

The Future of Fish and Fishing (Room 407)
Description: Effective strategies to deal with overfishing, pirate fishing and finding ways to protect marine wildlife, community fisheries and sea farms.

Speakers: Robin Alden (Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries), Coast Guard Commander Jay Caputo (Chief of Living Marine Resources Enforcement), and Noah Oppenheim (Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations)
Moderator: Gib Brogan (Oceana)

 

12:30-1:30 PM
Lunch & Networking (Continental Ballroom & Patio)

Lunch Session – The Blue Beat (Room 307)
Description: Journalists and other communicators discuss covering the ocean and how ocean advocates can better communicate with reporters as well as tell their own stories. Come with a story to pitch!

Speakers: Ian Urbina (New York Times), Louie Psihoyos (Academy Award Winning Director), Danni Washington (Big Blue & You), Mark Benjamin (Director) and Rona Kobell (Chesapeake Bay Journal)
Moderator: David Helvarg (Blue Frontier)

 

1:40-2:55PM Panel Session 2 (Various Locations)

Making Ocean Acidification Real for the Public (Room 407)
Description: One of the worst threats to the future of our seas is also one of the least known topics to the public. How does our community put OA on the front-burner of climate and ocean action issues?

Speakers: Alexis Valauri-Orton (The Ocean Foundation), Jeff Mauk (NCEL) and Alexus Kwachka (Commercial Fisherman)
Moderator: Jennifer Bennet-Mintz (NOAA)

 

Preemption and Other Legal Threats (Room 301)
Description: Conservative state lawmakers, often at the behest of industry lobbyists and ALEC, have developed laws preventing local governments from regulating plastic pollution (plastic bag and foam bans) as well as fertilizer use. Emboldened by the Trump administration, federal lawmakers may soon join in these efforts. How do grassroots people fight back?

Speakers: Mark Perry (Florida Oceanographic Society), Christopher Chin (COARE) and Angela Howe (Surfrider Foundation)
Moderator: Jennie Romer (plasticbaglaws.org)

 

Ocean Planning- Innovative Solutions for our Ocean’s Future (Betts Theatre)
Description: This panel pulls together some of the nation’s leading ocean planners and Peter Benchley Award winners to discuss recent state and regional efforts to guide ocean conservation and development.  It will include short clips from Green Fire’s ‘Ocean Frontiers III: Leaders in Ocean Stewardship & the New Blue Economy.’ Panelists will explain how securing our future in a collaborative way is the best way forward.

Speakers: Laura McKay (Virginia Department of Environmental Quality), Pete Stauffer (Surfrider Foundation), Jennifer McCann (Rhode Island Sea Grant), and Katie Wrubel (Makah Tribal Council).
Moderator: Karen Meyer (Green Fire Productions)

 

What Funders Want (Room 403)
Description: How do some of the major ocean conservation funders view the prospects for making progress during the Trump years and what kind of projects will they be looking to fund?

Speakers: Sean Cosgrove (Moore Foundation), Monica Medina (Walton Family Foundation), Angel Braestrup (Munson Foundation), and Chuck Fox (Oceans5)
Moderator: Mark Spaulding (The Ocean Foundation)

 

Conserving and Restoring Healthy Oceans with Marine Protected Areas in the U.S. and Beyond (Room 307)
Description: Over the last two decades, scientific understanding of how marine protected areas (MPAs) work to conserve and restore marine biodiversity has advanced more rapidly than the pace of MPA creation. We examine U.S. and international efforts to increase the rate of MPA formation to match what the oceans need in the face of growing attacks on MPAs and marine sanctuaries.

Speakers: Karen Sack (Ocean Unite), Matt Rand (Pew Charitable Trusts), Enric Sala (National Geographic), Amy Schick Kenney (National Ocean Protection Coalition) and Dakota Peebler (Heirs to Our Oceans)
Moderator: Mike Gravitz (Marine Conservation Institute) and Sylvia Earle (Mission Blue)

 

The Blue Economy (Room 413-414)
Description: Rising sea levels, storms and degradation of coastal habitats threaten over 8% of U.S. jobs and GDP that our coastal economy helps to generate. This panel highlights how understanding and mobilizing our Blue Economy can help generate solutions.

Speakers: Laurie Wilson (Blue Ocean Network), John Virdin (Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions), Liz Taylor (Doer Marine) and Kris Hollen (The National Aquarium)
Moderator: Dr. Charles Colgan (Center for the Blue Economy)

 

3:00-4:00PM Afternoon Plenary-The Future of the Blue Movement: Youth Perspective (Betts Theatre)
Description: This panel will bring together a team of youth (and adults working in the youth leadership sector) to discuss the importance of engaging youth leaders in the field of ocean conservation, strategies for reaching and mobilizing young audiences in a time of increased threats, as well as lessons from our panelists’ experiences.

Speakers: Nora Abdiruhman (National Aquarium), Kimberly Correia (Plastic Free Mermaids and South Broward High School Student), D’amy Steward (EarthEcho International Youth Leadership Council), Steve Culbertson (Youth Service America), Bill Street (SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment), and Seth Weinfield (Heirs to Our Oceans).
Moderator: Sean Russell (Youth Ocean Conservation Summit)

 

4:10-5:25 – Panel Session 3 (Various Locations)

 

Sunblock and the Ocean (Room 407)
Description: Recent research has identified a range of chemicals used in most sunblocks are harming coral reefs and other marine habitats. What can be done and what alternatives are out there?

Speakers: Dr. Craig Downs (Haereticus Environmental Laboratory), Joe DiNardo (Cosmetics Industry Veteran), and Heather Jeffries (Stream2Sea)
Moderator: Victoria Bell (Blue Frontier)

 

Ocean Recreation and Conservation (Room 307)
Description: This panel will explore the enhanced role the coastal and ocean community can play in conservation and stewardship, both as individuals and a sector.

Speakers: R. Mark Davis (Sailors for the Sea), Adam Cramer (Outdoor Alliance), and Drew Richardson (PADI)
Moderator: Pete Stauffer (Surfrider Foundation)

 

Can Coral Reefs Be Saved? (Room 301)
Description: With an estimated half already dead, coral reefs around the world are declining due to multiple stressors at the local and global level. Coral nursery programs are being implemented to attempt to restore degraded reefs. Panelists will discuss the status of coral reefs and the effectiveness of various policies and interventions aimed at saving them.

Speakers: Scott Winters (Coral Restoration Foundation), Dr. Nancy Knowlton (Smithsonian Chair for Marine Science), and Jeff Orlowski (Chasing Corals)
Moderator: Tripp Funderburk (Coral Restoration Foundation)

 

Healthy Ocean Hill Day Prep (Room 413-414)
Description: Getting people ready for Healthy Ocean Hill Day

Speakers: Lauren Townsend (Blue Frontier), other to be announced

 

5:45-6:40PM
Blue Drinks Reception (Public Bar – CASH BAR)

Location: Public Bar DC (10-15 minute walk from GW)
Address: 1214 18th St NW, Washington, D.C. 20036
Sponsored by: Inland Ocean Coalition & Coral Restoration Foundation

 

5:45-8:00PM
Youth Event – From Mocktails to Cocktails: “Mixing” for Our Oceans

Location: One Washington Circle Hotel
Address: 1 Washington Circle NW, Washington, D.C. 20037
Sponsored by: Heirs to Our Oceans & 5 Gyres

 

Sign Up Dinners – 7:00PM (Various Locations)
You will be able to sign up at the Summit or you can contact us and let us know which dinner you would like to attend. Space is limited for each. Please also contact us if you are interested in hosting your own dinner!

 

Women and the Ocean (The Front Page)

Organizer: The Women’s Aquatic Network

Description: Come join fellow marine conservationists for an evening of discussions about our marine environment, gender equality, and network with your fellow women (and men) working in the ocean field.

Address: 1333 New Hampshire Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20036

 

Plastics (Free) Dinner (One Washington Circle Hotel)

Organizer: 5 Gyres

Description: Post youth mixer, 5 Gyres will be hosting a plastic free dinner at One Washington Circle Hotel.

Address: 1 Washington Circle, Washington, D.C. 20037

 

Ocean Authors Chat and Eat (Bistro Bistro)

Organizer: Writers for the Sea

Description: There are over 70 author members of Writers for the Sea. They have given voice to the ocean through a range of books and other forms of outreach and mentoring. Join some of them for an engaging dinner! Among the salty writers attending: Jim Toomey, Dr. Steve Palumbi, Dr. Judith Weis, Wyland, David Helvarg, Serge Dedina, Richard Hyman Nancy Knowlton and Goffinet McLaren.

Address: 1727 Connecticut Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20009

 

Dinner and a Movie: Screening of Sonic Sea  (Hotel Palomar)

Organizer: International Fund for Animal Welfare

Description: Join IFAW for dinner and an evening screening of their new one-hour film, Sonic Sea, that tells the story of the devastating impact of industrial and military ocean noise on whales and other marine life and what we can do about it

Address: Hotel Palomar – 2121 P St NW

Inland Waterways  Dinner (La Tomate)

Organizer: Inland Ocean Coalition

Description: Join us for a lively discussion on the growing inland ocean coalition. Meet Chapter leaders from around the U.S. and get inspired! The Inland Ocean Movement is growing and we want you to be part of it!

Address: 1701 Connecticut Ave NW Washington, D.C. 20009

 

Diversifying the Blue Movement (Lemon Cuisine of India)

Organizer: Patuxent Riverkeeper and Blue Frontier

Description: Our nation faces a deep divide not seen in recent memory. How can we diversify our ocean networks and use the ocean and inland water movements to help heal and move forward? We will discuss how to expand into all our communities so that we better reflect the racial, gender, income and age diversity of our nation as we expand and invigorate the blue movement.

Address: 2120 P St NW, Washington, D.C. 20037

 

Wednesday May 10, 2017

8:30 AM
Morning Meeting on Senate Side of Capitol (SD-106)

Dirksen Senate Office Building

SD-106

Please allow ample time to get through security

Greetings by Senator Whitehouse (D,RI)

 

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Ocean Education Visits (House & Senate Offices)

 

5:30 – 7:30 PM
Evening Debrief at Mott House

122 Maryland Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002

Food and Wine will be provided.

 

8:00 PM – Blue Vision Party – Hosted by D.C. Surfrider Foundation (Public Bar – CASH BAR)

Location: Public Bar DC
Address: 1214 18th St NW, Washington, D.C. 20036

Thursday May 11, 2017

10:00 AM – Doors Open

10:30AM – Morning Symposium

Pew Charitable Trusts

901 E St NW Washington, D.C. 20004

Carolinas Room – 10th Floor (Seating Capacity 160) (This event is no additional cost to registered and paid Summit participants but spots are limited, pre registration is necessary. If you cannot attend please let us know so we can open the spot up to someone on the wait list)

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The Ocean of Tomorrow Symposium  

Four of this year’s Peter Benchley Ocean Award winners will discuss how they are using national policy, science and communications to help respond to threats facing our ocean planet and provide solutions that benefit our ocean communities both human and wild.

Susi Pudjiastuti, the Minister of Marine Affairs for the Republic of Indonesia has aggressively protected her nation from intrusion by pirate fishing fleets to the benefit of both the ecosystem and local fishing economy.  Dr. Ussif Rashid Sumaila of the Univeristy of British Columbia and Dr. Ben Halpern of the University of California Santa Barbara have used economic and computational science to better understand global fisheries and the overall health of the Ocean and created standards for action.  And Greg MacGillivray and his family have used media, including giant screen IMAX films to educate millions to the warnings and wonders of the seas through their One World One Ocean project. 

 These solution-oriented leaders will talk about next steps for protecting our coasts and oceans moderated by former Benchley winner Greg Stone, Chief Ocean Scientist of Conservation International.

The joint Blue Vision/ Benchley forum will lead into the 10th Annual Peter Benchley Ocean Awards. The awards is a separate event this year and for more information visit www.peterbenchleyoceanawards.org

 

Press Conference – No Offshore Drilling! 2pm – Simón Bolívar Park

 Join us for a press conference at Simón Bolívar Park outside of the Department of the Interior!

1849 C St NW

Washington, D.C. 20240