Healthy Ocean Advocacy Academy
The HOC: Helping Advocates Raise their Voice for the Ocean
The Healthy Ocean Coalition has been hosting Healthy Ocean Advocacy Trainings since 2016. The HOC training series has been our premiere outreach and advocacy event. It is a sought after advocacy tool for local and regional ocean, coastal, and community advocates around the country.
HOC Trainings by the Numbers
4 virtual trainings
9 in-person retreat style
350+ attendees
The Healthy Ocean Advocacy Academy
The HOC has moved these advocacy trainings to the next level by developing the Healthy Ocean Advocacy Academy for advocates to learn and grow in their advocacy while creating long-term local and regional community of advocates.
The Healthy Ocean Advocacy Academy takes the work we did to develop our trainings over six years, marry it with participant feedback and relaunches it as a less time intensive, more nuanced and action oriented Academy for advocates who want skill-building but need a virtual option!
virtual academy format:
Over 10 live sessions (90min) and 2 weeks of individual or group fieldwork, each cohort will work to:
Build an ocean advocacy community.
Develop a deeper understanding of administrative & legislative advocacy and its importance.
Learn about current federal Administrative policy priorities around equitable ocean conservation and access to nature.
Develop an advocacy goal around a federal ocean policy.
Identify, shape, and hone storytelling to support the advocacy goal.
Develop relationships and attend a virtual decision-maker meeting to support the advocacy goal.
Develop communications via media relations to support the advocacy goal.
Develop communications via social media to support the identified advocacy goal.
When the Heathy Ocean Advocate Academy cohort ends, each Healthy Ocean Advocate leaves with:
A certificate of achievement.
A personalized Ocean Advocate Plan (OAP) that contains their advocacy goal and actions taken.
A community of HOC Network members to draw from in support of their action plan and professional goals.
Monthly check-ins for 3 months with the HOC Leadership team to help complete their OAP.
Access to the HOC Network - webinars, mini-workshops and trainings, and information sharing on hot topics on equitable ocean conservation policy.
testimonials
“I learned so much about ocean policy and advocacy efforts, and participating in the academy really made me feel empowered to take something so big and daunting into my own hands.”
— 2022 HOAA Participant
“[The HOAA] is a comfortable place to learn how to advocate, and to be given the tools to do it. No way would I have been able to write a killer Op Ed without help ... That’s attention and support that’s not readily available (for free!) in so many places. Such a good opportunity to access big powerful tools for action.”
— 2022 HOAA Participant
“It provided me with the knowledge and network to advance my advocacy work and I would love to see that for anyone wanting to be involved in ocean advocacy.”
— 2022 HOAA PArticipant
2023 Healthy Ocean Advocacy Academy Savannah, georgia
We hosted our first Academy back in person this past May in Savannah, Georgia. Participants from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia came together to discuss how the Biden Administration’s commitment to protecting nature is showing up in the Southeast and how to bring in communities into conservation of our special ocean and coastal places.
2022 virtual healthy ocean advocacy academies
The HOC hosted our Fall 2022 Academy in the virtual realm, creating space for advocates and community organizations to attend from the safety of their homes, while still connecting with a broader community around critical issues of ocean and climate justice.
The virtual academies focused on developing connections to President Biden’s America the Beautiful Initiative and Global Goal to protect 30% of land and water by 2030 - then doing skill-based workshops to put those connections into practice via advocacy and communications.
Experts Supporting the Healthy Ocean Advocacy Academy
david riera
David is an environmental scientist, educator, and advocate with 15 years of leadership experience, academic, and research training. A United States Marine Combat Veteran and First Generation Afro-Hispanic college graduate, David is driven to tackle various social and environmental issues. He is a McKnight Doctoral Fellow at Florida International University, and an educational professional with a Master of Science - MS focused on Agroecology, Sustainable and Urban Agriculture, Plant Biotech, & Natural Resource Conservation Management.
David is the embodiment of the adage, "don't talk about it, be about it." and energizes the Healthy Ocean Coalition to keep pushing forward for a healthy ocean and healthy communities. David is bilingual and has worked in service of his communities for over 25 years. He is an experienced Researcher with a demonstrated history of field and laboratory work, skilled in Veterinary Medicine, Microsoft Word, Heavy Equipment, Gardening, and Molecular Biology.
David brings his decades of expertise into advising the HOC's work to build community throughout its programs and is instrumental in the HOC's work to develop and iterate its Healthy Ocean Advocacy Academy.
Hermina Glass-Hill
Hermina Glass-Hill is Director of the Susie King Taylor Ecology Center and Women’s Institute in Midway, Georgia. Hermina is a writer, historian, preservationist, and sustainability advocate who has been a voice for environmental justice and human rights for more than twenty years.
Hermina served as research historian for the National Center for Civil and Human Rights where she learned the value of hard-won struggles for racial equality and ocean justice during the Civil Rights Movement. Hermina worked as the climate justice advocate at Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, engaging communities and educating local, state, and federal policymakers on the impact of climate change on frontline coastal communities. She currently works for Oceana as the Georgia Senior Field Representative where she builds on-the-ground support for ocean conservation.
elbi elm
Elbi is an accomplished leader and community-builder, dedicated to empowering creatives and leveraging self-expression as a catalyst for change. She is a proud alumna of Howard University and the Savannah College of Art and Design, and the founder of The Culturist Union, a platform that equips creators with the support, awareness, and confidence to improve their craft and their community.
With over 15 years of leadership experience, Elbi brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table. She served for nine years in the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence analyst turned instructor and has since held various roles in the nonprofit sector, including serving as a diversity marketing advisor and board member for several organizations.
Elbi’s commitment to excellence and innovation has been recognized by several organizations, including Savannah SCORE's 2019 BizPitch competition, American Express' "100 for 100" program, and Hyundai's Progress Project grant.
Angelo Villagomez
Angelo is Senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he focuses on Indigenous-led conservation. Born in a village on an island in the western Pacific Ocean next to the Mariana Trench, but trained in western scientific methods, Villagomez is a conservation advocate who uses Indigenous knowledge and values and the scientific method to address modern threats including habitat loss, fishing, and climate colonialism.
Villagomez worked for 14 years at The Pew Charitable Trusts as advocate for the designation and expansion of the national marine monuments in the Pacific Islands and a policy expert on global shark conservation. During his tenure at Pew he led efforts to secure an agreement at the International Union for Conservation of Nature committing governments to protect at least 30% of the ocean in fully to highly protected marine areas and contributed to The MPA Guide and the IUCN MPA Standards.
Angelo holds bachelor’s degrees in biology from the University of Richmond and environmental policy from Rollins College. He is a mediocre ukulele player and enjoys scuba diving in warm tropical waters full of fish.