Sanctuary Community Fund Grantees Build Community at Capitol Hill Ocean Week
Sanctuary Community Fund Leaders at Hill Day. From left to right Alex Bush (Oswego High School Outdoor Adventure Club), Danielle Narsizi (Creek Lands Conservation), Nic Brisebois (Green Cities Fund: Queer Surf), Monica Caves (Upstate Freshwater), Lisa Glidden (SUNY Oswego), Ben Hecketh (Oswego City School District), Michael Pittavino (Henry L. White Maritime Museum), Aleqwel Mendoza (California Habitat for the Indigenous Arts)).
“The possibilities we brought with us have been expanded.” – Alex Bush, Oswego High School, Outdoor Adventure Club
Marine sanctuaries are of the People, by the People, and for the People. At the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, we work to empower all people to use their voices to share why marine sanctuaries matter and the essential roles sanctuaries play in their communities. In this time of uncertainty, we need to build our communities more than ever.
In pursuit of connecting and convening our marine sanctuary communities, Sanctuary Community Fund (SCF) co-lead Diane Dotson pitched the idea of bringing SCF grantees together to gather and network at Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW). “If we truly believe communities are the heart and soul of sanctuaries, we need to get leaders here to meet one another and share their work with the larger ocean community,” said Diane.
Affirming this belief, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation flew 13 sanctuary leaders from the previous and current rounds of SCF to DC for CHOW 2026. Gathering these community leaders supports community building, information exchanges, and storytelling, both within individual sanctuaries and across the National Marine Sanctuary System. The Foundation bolsters people power to support marine sanctuaries that celebrate their history and heritage, spur economic prosperity and businesses, and open new opportunities for education, workforce development, and access for all. Our goal was to provide grantees with the opportunity to build community within their individual sanctuary, across sanctuaries, with Foundation and NOAA staff, and the larger CHOW community. Investing in our sanctuary leaders at CHOW shows the Foundation’s commitment to serving as a key convener and connector of our sanctuary communities.
Sanctuary Community Fund Leaders at the Ocean Awards during CHOW 2026. From left to right: Diane Dotson (National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, SCF co-lead), Jody Patterson (MATE ROV), James Moriaka (Papa Marine Debris Project), Monica Caves (Upstate Freshwater Institute), and Deanna Balistreri (National Marine Sanctuary Foundation).
Here’s what our community leaders had to say about why convening at CHOW with one another was so impactful:
Jonah Apo, PVS, PNMS
“Coming together at CHOW allowed us to connect with each other and learn from each other. I didn’t really have much background on Chumash Heritage or Lake Ontario before, but we were able to share our work and bounce ideas off each other to further our work.”
Aleqwel Mendoza, CHIA, CHNMS
“This is my first time here, these are the people I need to network with, our organization. Meeting other leaders. We’re really similar. So we’re comparing notes. We’re creating little mentorship programs. I’m going to be going to Hawaii learning navigation from them. They’re coming here. It’s been awesome.”
Nic Brisebos, Queer Surf, Green Cities Fund, CHNMS
“CHOW wasnt really on my radar – I stay in California most of the time. We didnt see the importance of policy and advocacy in surf culture until we started doing this work.”
“We are very grassroots. There is a responsibility to represent the queer experience in ocean stewardship, recreation, workforce at CHOW. It feels wild to have a seat at the table.”
Sanctuary Community Fund Leaders and attendees at the Sanctuary Community Fund Roundtable during Capitol Hill Ocean Week.
Mary Covarrubias, SYCBI, CHNMS
“It was amazing to see everyone involved with SCF. Can’t wait for the next one!”
Monica Caves, Upstate Freshwater, LONMS
“This was an unexpected opportunity I just had to go for. Meeting all these like-minded individuals doing incredible work in their sanctuaries and sharing how we can support one another – it is nice to be a part of this.”
Alex Bush, Oswego OAC, LONMS
“I feel like this conference has opened my eyes to the work other people are doing. We will leave here with a broader horizon than what we came with. The possibilities we brought with us have been expanded.”
Lisa Glidden, SUNY Oswego, LONMS
“CHOW has had a pretty big impact on me so far. The keynote this morning talked more about the role of educators in this work. It was so inspiring and actually made me think a little bit different about my work as an educator.”
Rachele Belt, FORCE BLUE, LONMS, CHNMS, PNMS
“I just want to say thank you to the Foundation for bringing all these wonderful people together.
Sanctuary Community Fund Leader, Aleqwel Mendoza (CHIA), chatting with Capitol Hill Ocean Week attendees.
SCF grantees participated in an at-capacity lunch-time roundtable to share their experiences and ensure visibility of the work each of the sanctuary leaders have been doing in their communities that was supported by the Sanctuary Community Fund. Grantees participated in several private workshops intended to facilitate resource sharing and community building within the grantees as well as take advantage of the Foundation’s expertise and resources at CHOW. As part of our “Living Lab”, folks were able to share visuals and artifacts from their work, including more information on their organizations and how to support. Several SCF grantees were featured in our Sanctuary Cinema and had a talk back with attendees. Grantees were encouraged to attend CHOW panels and events between their scheduled programming to make the most of their time in DC.
Sanctuary Community Fund Leaders at the SCF Roundtable at CHOW. From left to right: Hans Cole (National Marine Sanctuary Foundation), Jonah Apo (PVS), Danielle Narzisi (Creek Lands Conservation), and Lisa Glidden (SUNY Oswego).
For CHOW Hill Day, marine sanctuary leaders representing California, Hawaii, and New York and Chumash Heritage, Papahānaumokuākea, and Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuaries led educational meetings with their members of Congress to show the power of investing in local gateway communities in and around our nation’s national marine sanctuaries. This was most of the grantees’ first time in the Nation’s Capitol, even less having met with their members of Congress in the past.
Sanctuary Community Fund Leaders at Hill Day. From left to right Danielle Narzisi (Creek Lands Conservation), Nic Brisebois (Green Cities Fund: Queer Surf), Diane Dotson (National Marine Sanctuary Fund), and Aleqwel Mendoza (California Habitat for the Indigenous Arts).
All the delayed flights, unexpected cardio, and lack of sleep, were worth it to do exactly what we intended to when we brought these leaders to CHOW. We know that communities are the heart and soul of our national marine sanctuaries. We must prioritize the facilitation of such gatherings in our work going forward. The impact of funding and convening will leave a lasting impact on our coastal communities and the system at large.
Learn more at marinesanctuary.org/sanctuary-community-fund
Happy Hour Gathering for Sanctuary Community Fund Leaders following the conclusion of CHOW.