Legislative Briefings and Expert Panels

As part of its on-going efforts to provide the State with the scientific information it requires to manage California’s extraordinary marine environment, COAST convenes legislative briefings and expert panels regularly in Sacramento. These events provide the legislature, state and federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations with the best available science for informed decision-making. COAST’s role is to be a neutral arbiter of information and to not advocate for any particular outcome.

Building Capacity and Knowledge for Responsible Ocean Energy in California *California Ocean Day Luncheon, May 6, 2025, Sacramento* Ocean Day Webpage Slides Asm. Chris Rogers, California Assembly District 2 Sam Cohen, Government Affairs Officer and Legal Officer, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Jana Ganion, Offshore Wind Senior Advisor, Office of Governor Gavin Newsom Dr. Ben Ruttenberg, Professor, California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo Bridging Science to Policy on Offshore Oil Platform Decommissioning California Ocean Day Luncheon, April 11, 2023, Sacramento Fact Sheet Opening slides Speaker biographies Dr. Jeremy Claisse, Associate Professor, Quantitative Marine Ecology, Cal Poly Pomona Jennifer Lucchesi, Executive Officer, California State Lands Commission Esperanza Vielma, Executive Director, Environmental Justice Coalition for Water Asm. Gregg Hart, California Senate District 37 Microplastics: California's big little plastic problem California Ocean Day Lunchtime Webinar, March 29, 2022 Webinar recording Speaker biographies Briefing sheet Dr. Eunha Hoh, Professor, School of Public Health, San Diego State University Dr. Scott Coffin, Research Scientist, State Water Resources Control Board Office of Senator Ben Allen, California Senate District 26 The Science and Impacts of Oil Spills, "Ask An Expert" Legislative Briefing in partnership with the California Ocean Science Trust and Assemblymember Petrie-Norris Fact Sheet Dr. Sean Anderson, Professor of Environmental Science and Resource Management, CSU Channel Islands Dr. Andrea Bonisoli Alquati, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, Cal Poly Pomona Dr. Natalie Mladenov, Associate Professor, Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, San Diego State University Dr. Rich Ambrose, UC Los Angeles Dr. Jennifer Dugan, UC Santa Barbara Steve Hamption, Former CDFW-OSPR Sea-Level Rise Related Research, Meeting with California legislative staff, April 12, 2021 Recording Slides Speaker biographies Dr. Katharyn (Kathy) Boyer, Professor, Biology, San Francisco State University Dr. Ben Hagedorn, Associate Professor, Geological Sciences, CSU Long Beach Dr. Phil King, Associate Professor, Economics, San Francisco State University Dr. Kiersten (Kiki) Patsch, Assistant Professor, Environmental Science and Resource Management, CSU Channel Islands Dr. Dan Reineman, Assistant Professor, Environmental Science and Resource Management, CSU Channel Islands Dr. Laurie Richmond, Associate Professor, Environmental Science and Management, Humboldt State University Dr. Christine Whitcraft, Professor, Biological Sciences, CSU Long Beach Sea-level Rise and Impacts to Vulnerable and Disadvantaged Communities California Ocean Day Luncheon, March 19, 2019, Sacramento Dr. Kiki Patsch, California State University Channel Islands \| Slides Dr. Juliano Calil, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey \| Slides Mr. Serge Dedina, City of Imperial Beach \| Slides Mr. Jack Ainsworth, California Coastal Commission \| Slides Ms. Amy Vierra, CSU COAST (moderator)	From left to right: Dr. Ben Ruttenberg (San Luis Obispo), Jana Ganion (Office of Governor Gavin Newsom), Sam Cohen (Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians ), Dr. Liz Whiteman (Ocean Science Trust) discussing offshore wind in California during the COAST-OST Ocean Day on May 6, 2025, in Sacramento.
Artificial Reefs: The State of the Science in California Legislative Briefing, June 12, 2018, Sacramento Dr. Jeremy Claisse, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Dr. Milton Love, UC Santa Barbara Ms. Becky Ota, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Dr. Mark Steele, CSU Northridge Dr. James Lindholm, CSU Monterey Bay (moderator) The Future of Fish: Trade-offs Associated with California's Seafood California Ocean Day Luncheon, February 20, 2018, Sacramento Dr. Mike Graham, Moss Landing Marine Labs, San José State University Dr. James Lindholm, CSU Monterey Bay Dr. Dale Squires, UC San Diego Secretary John Laird, Natural Resources Agency (moderator) Coastal Monitoring: Ocean Changes and the California Coastline Assembly Select Committee On Coastal Protection and Access to Natural Resources Informational Hearing, June 7, 2017, Sacramento Assemblymember Mark Stone, California State Assembly Dr. Mark Carr, UC Santa Cruz Ms. Cyndi Dawson, Ocean Protection Council Dr. James Lindholm, CSU Monterey Bay Dr. Selena McMillan, Reef Check California Dr. Karina Nielsen, San Francisco State University Dr. Pete Raimondi, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Offshore Wind Energy Production in California Legislative Briefing, March 14, 2017, Sacramento Ms. Sandy Aylesworth, Natural Resources Defense Council Commissioner Karen Douglas, California Energy Commission Ms. Jenn Eckerle, Ocean Protection Council Dr. Benjamin Ruttenberg, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Dr. James Lindholm, CSU Monterey Bay (moderator) Living Shorelines: Nature-Based Coastal Protection California Ocean Day Luncheon, March 14, 2017, Sacramento Dr. Katharyn Boyer, San Francisco State University Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, California State Assembly Ms. Mary Small, California Coastal Conservancy Secretary John Laird, Natural Resources Agency (modertor) Ocean Aquaculture in California: Status and Opportunities California Ocean Day Luncheon, March 15, 2016, Sacramento Secretary John Laird, California Natural Resources Agency Dr. Michael Lee, CSU East Bay Ms. Diane Windham, NOAA Fisheries West Coast Regional Coordinator, California It’s a Small World After All: How Ships Move Biological Species Around the World and How Risks Are Managed California Ocean Day Luncheon, March 24, 2015, Sacramento Mr. Christopher Scianni, California State Lands Commission Dr. Nick Welschmeyer, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, San José State University Multi-tasking in the Marine Environment: How Marine Organisms are Dealing with Multiple Sources of Stress California Ocean Day Luncheon, March 24, 2014, Sacramento Ms. Cat Kuhlman, Ocean Protection Council Dr. Karina Nielsen, Sonoma State University Dr. Anne Todgham, San Francisco State University and UC Davis A New Foundation for the Adaptive Management of California's Marine Protected Areas: How Baseline MPA Characterization Has Set the Stage for Cost-effective and Partnership-based Ongoing Monitoring Programs California Ocean Day Luncheon, April 16, 2013, Sacramento Dr. James Lindholm, CSU Monterey Bay Dr. Dean Wendt, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Dr. Liz Whiteman, California Ocean Science Trust and MPA Monitoring Enterprise Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Marine Environment California Ocean Day Luncheon, March 26, 2012, Sacramento Dr. Kevin Kelley, CSU Long Beach Dr. Keith Maruya, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project Collaborative Fisheries Research: Stakeholder Perspectives Informational Briefing, November 17, 2010, Sacramento Mr. Michael Bell, The Nature Conservancy Mr. Tom Mattusch, Recreational Fisherman Mr. Tim Maricich, Commercial Fisherman Collaborative Fisheries Research: Supporting California's Information Needs Informational Briefing, September 21, 2010, Sacramento Dr. James Lindholm, CSU Monterey Bay Dr. Rick Starr, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, San José State University Dr. Dean Wendt, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
	From left to right: Dr. James Lindholm (CSU Monterey Bay), Dr. Mark Steele (CSU Northridge), Dr. Jeremy Claisse (Cal Poly Pomona), Dr. Milton Love (UC Santa Barbara), and Ms. Becky Ota (California Department of Fish and Wildlife) discussing the state of the science of artificial reefs in California during the COAST legislative briefing on June 12, 2018 in Sacramento.


	From left to right: Dr. Dale Squires (UC San Diego), Dr. Mike Graham (Moss Landing Marine Labs, San José State), Dr. James Lindholm (CSU Monterey Bay), Former Secretary John Laird (California Natural Resources Agency), and Ms. Amy Vierra (CSU COAST) speaking to attendees about the trade-offs associated with California's seafood at the CSU COAST California Ocean Day Luncheon on February 20, 2018 in Sacramento.


	From left to right: Ms. Mary Small (California Coastal Conservancy) and Former Secretary John Laird (California Natural Resources) discussing living shorelines and their potential to act as nature-based coastal protection in California at the CSU COAST California Ocean Day Luncheon on March 14, 2017 in Sacramento.

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