Join us for the 2017 MARINE Fall Panel on “How to Get Involved in Local Policy". We've invited an expert panel of speakers to discuss ways we can engage in local policy and decision-making both as concerned citizens, and environmental professionals. Discussion topics will include an introduction to California policy and the importance of local/state government as a stepping-off point for larger action, as well as a small exercise in crafting the most efficient "ask" of various groups you may encounter.

We will provide a light dinner beforehand, in addition to a happy hour following the panel.

Speakers:

Dr. Dan Brumbaugh is an Associate Researcher in the Institute of Marine Science at UC Santa Cruz, and a former California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) Policy Fellow. Dan's interests focus on marine protected areas (MPAs), coastal and marine spatial planning and ecosystem-based management, and ecological and social resilience in marine and coastal systems. Dan especially enjoys projects that bring together and integrate diverse perspectives from the natural and social sciences, and ones that bridge strategic science with on-the-ground applications for improved natural resource management. He has collaborated on diverse media (e.g., research articles, educational guides and booklets, interactive simulation models, and project newsletters) and worked extensively with marine conservation practitioners to bring the best available science to decision making. His participation with various governing and advisory groups includes the Council of the Bahamas National Trust, the Advisory Council of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, the Marine Priority Biome group of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, and many other conservation organizations and working groups. Most recently, he has worked to develop a framework for MPA co-management for The Bahamas.

Assemblymember Mark Stone represents the people of California's 29th Assembly District, which includes portions of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, and Monterey Counties. Now in his third term as a state legislator, Mark has fought to curb illegal coastal development, reduce plastic pollution, and clean up drinking water supplies. In his capacity as Chair of the Select Committee on Coastal Protection and Access to Natural Resources, he has held hearings investigating oil spill prevention efforts, plastic garbage effects on the coastal environment, offshore fracking, beach erosion, and coastal access for all Californians. Before his service in the Assembly, Mark represented the Central Coast in various capacities. He was elected twice to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, where he worked on health care, education, youth issues and the environment. Before entering public service, Mark worked as an attorney in the tech industry and as a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School.

Erin Eastwood is an ocean policy specialist working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Ocean Conservation Policy Program. Previously, she completed a John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Program Office. She graduated from Columbia University's Conservation Biology MA program in 2015, where she conducted several applied research projects contributing to the management of coral reefs in Fiji and the Dominican Republic, and to conservation efforts in the tropical forests of Latin America and Indonesia.

Dr. Don Croll is a Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), Co-founder of the conservation non-profit Island Conservation, Founding partner of the conservation for-profit Conservation Metrics, Inc., and Faculty Director of the UCSC Natural Reserve System. He has conducted conservation research on island ecosystems and marine vertebrates for over 30 years, and published over 100 papers and articles on the conservation and ecology of marine species and island ecosystems. As a conservationist, his work has helped inform the closure of California gill net fisheries, the establishment of a ban on commercial fishing for krill US federal waters, the CITES listing of several manta ray species, the establishment of protected islands in Mexico, and the protection of insular threatened species from island invasive species.

Registrations are closed

How to Get Involved in Local Policy