CHOW Hill Day 2026
Join us to advocate for a healthy ocean and Great Lakes as we bring CHOW to Capitol Hill!
Come set sail with us on Thursday, June 4th, 2026, for CHOW Hill Day!
CHOW attendees are given the opportunity to elevate ocean and Great Lakes policy issues with their members of Congress through the events of CHOW Hill Day.
Constituent Meetings – Participants will be given the tools to arrange their own meetings with their members of Congress to discuss critical policy issues affecting conservation, heritage, science, and technology. Participants will have the opportunity to meet with their elected officials and staff to discuss critical policy issues affecting our ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes and the communities that depend on them. Please RSVP to let us know you’ll be meeting with your members of Congress and access all the resources you’ll need to get started.
Congressional Briefing – CHOW Hill Day 2026 will feature a congressional briefing on Thursday afternoon for congressional staff and CHOW attendees (as space allows). Please RSVP for the briefing to Diane Dotson at ddotson@marinesanctuary.org. Details to come.
The Foundation will not be scheduling any Hill meetings. CHOW attendees must arrange their own meetings with their elected officials to discuss critical policy issues. The CHOW Hill Day toolkit will walk you through every step of the process.
Join us in support of a healthy ocean and Great Lakes as we bring CHOW 2026 to Capitol Hill!
Blue Tech Breakthroughs in National Marine Sanctuaries
130 Cannon House Office Building
National marine sanctuaries offer diverse marine environments—from deep-sea canyons to coral reefs— providing real-world laboratories and testbeds to solve ecological challenges and champion our marine heritage. Our shared waters bring together public, private, academic, and non-profit collaborators to demonstrate, refine, and scale maritime innovations to improve the blue ocean marketplace and power decision-making. Because these areas are already closely monitored and managed, they provide a controlled yet authentic environment for high-tech development, harnessing collaborative partnerships, increasing economic prosperity, and advancing breakthrough technologies. In this briefing, we will highlight innovative technologies, new discoveries, and real-world applications in our national marine sanctuaries.
Moderator:
Shannon Colbert, Senior Vice President, External Affairs, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
Speakers:
Dave Bernstein, CH, PLS, GISP, Vice President of Hydrospatial, NV5 Geospatial
Shane Healey, Sonar Systems Architect, Northrop Grumman
Tosca Lichtenheld, Head of Federal and Defense, Sofar Ocean
Dawn Kernagis, Director of Scientific Research, DEEP
This event is intended for congressional staff and CHOW attendees (as space allows). Please RSVP for the briefing to Diane Dotson at ddotson@marinesanctuary.org.
Note: panelists will be available for questions following the briefing
Hosted by National Marine Sanctuary Foundation in conjunction with the House National Marine Sanctuary Caucus
Aquarium Conservation Partnership Policy Briefing
The Aquarium Conservation Partnership is hosting a policy briefing on how we are impacting marine debris initiatives and the blue economy. ACP will also recognize the work of the House Ocean Caucus Chairs, Representative Bonamici and Representative Carter.
For any questions, please contact Ayana Melvan (amelvan@mbayaq.org)
Where: Cannon House Office Building, Room 340, 27 Independence Ave SE, Washington, DC 20003
The Aquarium Conservation Partnership
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