About Us
Ocean Champions, a 501(c)(4) organization, with a connected political action committee Ocean Champions PAC, is the first national organization of its kind focused solely on oceans and ocean wildlife. Our goal is to develop a broad, bipartisan base of supporters from which to cultivate political champions for ocean conservation in the U.S. Congress and in key states. Ultimately, the aim is to create a political environment where protecting and restoring the oceans is a priority of federal and state governments.
The Oceans are Different Politically, and so is Ocean Champions
- Our oceans are in crisis and it’s time for our politicians to pay attention to their plight. While our public lands and their wildlife enjoy many dedicated champions in Congress, the oceans and their wildlife do not.
- Ocean Champions, a 501(c)(4) organization, with a connected political action committee (PAC), Ocean Champions PAC, is the first and only organization of its kind focused on building champions for the oceans at the Congressional level. Our goal is to create a political environment where protecting and restoring the oceans is a priority of federal and state governments.
- In 2004, Ocean Champions PAC became the first ocean conservation organization to actively campaign for candidates for federal office and 11 (79%) of the 14 candidates we supported were victorious on Election Day.
- In 2006, 16 (80%) of the 20 candidates we supported were elected and in 2008, 28 (82%) of the 34 candidates we supported were elected.
- Ocean Champions legislative victories and momentum include:
- Fisheries reform - Ocean Champions played an important role in the Magnuson-Stevens re-authorization and helped defeat a farm bill amendment that would have led to harmful new fishing subsidies
- Clean Water - Ocean Champions is working with Senate and House Champions to pass the Toxic Tides bill (HABs) to improve coastal water quality
- Ocean Governance - Ocean Champions is playing a leadership role in the push for new standards for protecting our oceans, including Oceans 21
- Funding - Invited by senior Members to propose ocean projects and securing new appropriations for ocean conservation
- Ocean Champions is creating a circle of accountability that will lead to increasing political clout for the ocean conservation community and its legislative initiatives.
- Because we know that the health of the oceans is neither a “right” nor a “left” issue, Ocean Champions is working aggressively to forge a bi-partisan “blue” movement that will move beyond traditional “green” politics and reach out to all individuals who have a stake in healthy oceans.
Join Ocean Champions
Your support of Ocean Champions helps ensure that we can keep working to build political champions for the oceans, so we can all enjoy pristine beaches, clean ocean waters, and abundant fish and wildlife for generations to come. Join Ocean Champions today.
Ocean Champions is looking for a graduate level intern
To view the full job description, click here( pdf ).
To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume and a brief description of why you are interested in this position to: hr@oceanchampions.org