Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW) is the nation’s premier ocean and Great Lakes policy conference hosted by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation that convenes policymakers, scientists, managers, business leaders, conservationists, educators, students, and members of the public to engage in dialogue and debate on significant issues that impact our ocean and Great Lakes and to propose innovative policies and partnerships to address these issues. For more information, please visit the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation website.

Each year, thousands of people who have a stake in the future of our waters and our planet converge at CHOW to hear from the preeminent voices—and future leaders—in our industry, glimpse the future of marine technology, and meet the policymakers eliciting change on the local, state, national and global levels. The topics discussed at CHOW become the mainstream headlines about our ocean, coasts and Great Lakes, and all are welcome to the dialogue. And we need your voice too.

By showcasing the cutting-edge advancements and emerging leaders that are shaping the future of ocean stewardship, CHOW 2025 spotlights THE NEXT WAVE of transformative change across science, culture and heritage, climate action, and innovation.

Every wave begins with a single drop or ripple. As these ripples move forward, they gather momentum and grow in strength. What starts as a small ripple can evolve into a powerful wave, capable of driving significant change, discovering new depths, sharing stories, inspiring action, and ultimately shaping the future. At the heart of every wave are people who inspire, challenge, disrupt, and lead. They are the innovators and forces of nature – the true wavemakers driving progress and meaningful change.

CHOW is planned, convened and programmed by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, in collaboration with partners such as NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, sponsors, a CHOW Advisory Committee, and others across the ocean space.

The Foundation is the official non-profit partner of our national marine sanctuaries, and a leading voice for U.S. protected waters, working with communities to conserve and strengthen those special places for a healthy ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes. For more information on the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, visit marinesanctuary.org.

Anyone interested in supporting CHOW can donate HERE.

Your donation to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation helps us keep Capitol Hill Ocean Week free and open to the public. It also supports our efforts to conserve and expand national marine sanctuaries for a healthy ocean, coasts and Great Lakes.

The conference takes place on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 and Wednesday, June 4, 2025.

It is hosted at the Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC.  All plenary sessions are held in the main amphitheater.

Check back soon to capitolhilloceanweek.org for the 2025 conference agenda!

Registration is required for anyone attending as guests during CHOW Conference days, and it is highly recommended that attendees register online in advance of the conference so you will only need to check-in onsite. There will be on-site registration for those who still need to do so.

CHOW registration is free and open to the public. Anyone interested in attending as a guest can register HERE or onsite at the check-in desk upon arrival.

No, it is not necessary for you to register staff or volunteers who will be manning your company or organization’s exhibit booth at the Conference. Booth staffers will simply need to check-in at the registration booth upon arrival and are required to always wear their CHOW name badges in a visible manner while staffing an exhibit booth.

For attendees located across the country and the world, the Capitol Hill Ocean Week plenary sessions are broadcast on a virtual conference platform that is accessible via a web platform and mobile app. Online attendees may also access additional virtual sessions programmed by CHOW partners to provide an even more robust agenda.  Registration is required to access the virtual conference site and mobile app.

The Ronald Reagan Building’s food court is a short indoor walk from the conference site.

To view a full list of Capitol Hill Ocean Week sponsors, please visit capitolhilloceanweek.org, where they will be added as they are confirmed.

We are grateful to our CHOW Advisory Committee, sponsors, and partners who represent organizations from across the diversity of the marine community that all help contribute to our conference agenda. The goal of CHOW is to build bridges and convene different perspectives in an open forum.  All speakers are encouraged to speak openly about the panel’s topics, share their expertise and leadership, and their comments are not pre-vetted in any way.

There are a variety of sponsorship levels and associated benefits. Please see the CHOW sponsorship prospectus for more information. Space is limited and sponsorships are first-come, first-served. If you are interested, we recommend reaching out to Laurie VanBenschoten at lvanbenschoten@marinesanctuary.org as soon as possible to secure your spot.

Space is limited and sponsorships are first-come, first-served. If you are interested, we recommend reaching out as soon as possible to secure your spot. Please contact Laurie Van Benschoten at lvanbenschoten@marinesanctuary.org

If you, your company, or your nonprofit organization is interested in sponsoring CHOW, please contact Laurie Van Benschoten as soon as possible at lvanbenschoten@marinesanctuary.org. Please also feel free to get a head start on securing your sponsorship by filling out a sponsorship pledge form.

There are four primary ways to pay for CHOW sponsorship: Online using a credit card, by mail with a check, through a wire transfer, or via an ACH payment.

To pay for your CHOW sponsorship online using a credit card, please:

* Fill out a pledge form.

* Complete your sponsorship payment according to the sponsorship level indicated on your pledge form.

* Look out for email communications from the Foundation and our staff to help you begin making the most of your sponsorship benefits!

Please allow the Foundation up to one full business week to initially reach out regarding your sponsorship benefits activation.

 

If you’d prefer to pay for your CHOW sponsorship via either check, wire transfer, of ACH payment, please:

* Fill out a pledge form – and make sure to select “Please Invoice Me” at the bottom of the form.

* Look out for an email from Laurie VanBenschoten, Development Manager, containing your invoice. Please allow at least three full business days to receive your invoice. Our team is working hard to process all pledge forms and sponsor requests in a timely manner.

* Send your sponsorship payment using your preferred payment method, as indicated on your custom invoice.

The Sponsor Hub exists to allow confirmed sponsors to manage their benefits, including Ocean Awards Reception attendance, more independently. The Sponsor Hub also allows the Foundation to easily manage sponsor relationships and benefits accurately and efficiently. The Foundation relies on the Sponsor Hub to collect important information from sponsors, including but not limited to benefits selections and Reception guest lists, to host general information and promotional resources for sponsors, and to anticipate and answer sponsors’ questions and concerns regarding the Conference and Reception. Use of the Sponsor Hub by sponsors at all levels is highly encouraged by the Foundation. Without the utilization of the Sponsor Hub by all sponsors, Foundation staff response time greatly increases.

No. As a nonprofit organization itself, the Foundation cannot offer discounted sponsorship levels for other nonprofit organizations. However, in the past, there have been several instances where coalitions of nonprofit organizations – groups of approximately four to seven nonprofits – have sponsored CHOW as a coalition, thus reducing the cost of sponsorship for each organization in the coalition by splitting the cost and benefits of sponsorship. If your nonprofit is a member of a coalition that may be interested in sponsoring as a group, please contact Laurie Van Benschoten at lvanbenschoten@marinesanctuary.org.

The Foundation offers group sponsorships at the Advocate level and above ONLY. Group sponsorships are only available for organizations, they are not available for groups of individuals and cannot exceed ten (10) organizations. You will be responsible for identifying a single point of contact for the group. If you are interested in submitting a group sponsorship, please contact Laurie VanBenschoten, Development Manager, at lvanbenschoten@marinesanctuary.org for more information.

The Ocean Awards Reception will take place on the evening of Tuesday, June 3rd at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC.

No. The Ocean Awards Reception is a new part of Capitol Hill Ocean Week that creates an energizing and fun soiree for meeting, mingling, and celebrating champions of our ocean. The reception is the place to network with colleagues old and new, luminaries in the marine community, and the business leaders and policymakers that are invested in our waters.

This standing reception is a fantastic opportunity to form partnerships with shared missions, host clients, gather with friends, broaden networks, enjoy sustainable US seafood and most importantly – celebrate our collective commitment to improving the health of our ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes and the communities that depend upon them.

Capitol Hill Ocean Week events hosted by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation intend to meet the requirements to qualify as widely-attended events under the ethics rule of the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Office of Government Ethics and Department of Commerce. The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (EIN#94-3370994) is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization and is not a registered lobbyist.

Award recipients will be announced closer to the event date. Check back at capitolhilloceanweek.org!

The Ocean Awards Reception is a ticketed event with a limited capacity. Most Capitol Hill Ocean Week sponsorship and partnership packages are allotted a certain number of reception tickets, as outlined in the CHOW Sponsorship Prospectus.

There will also a be a number of individual tickets on sale at a later date. Please check back at capitolhilloceanweek.org!