Celebrating Estrellas Marinas: California Leaders for Ocean Justice

07 May 2024

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, May 7th, 2024

Media Contacts

Betsy López-Wagner, betsy@equitablecomms.com, 708-717-9408
Jo Vicente, johana@equitablecomms.com, 240-454-3493 

Celebrating Estrellas Marinas: California Leaders for Ocean Justice 

Sacramento, CA (May 7, 2024) –  Azul’s sixth annual Estrella Marina Awards were presented today, celebrating California leaders at the forefront of advocacy and action for ocean justice. 

This year’s awardees are Julie Packard, Conservationist, Philanthropist & Executive Director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Deputy Secretary for Equity and Environmental Justice Noaki Schwartz of the California Natural Resources Agency, California State Senator Dave Min, and #LatinosMarinos Organizer Oscar Rodriguez.

“Senator Min, Deputy Secretary Schwartz, Julie Packard, and Oscar Rodriguez are California leaders for ocean justice – true examples of leadership dedicated to our communities and the protection of our coasts and ocean,” said Azul Founder and Executive Director Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, following Azul’s annual California luncheon, held at Mayahuel, near the state’s Sacramento Capitol during the 19th annual California Ocean Day. “Azul is honored to present each of them with an Estrella Marina Award for their commitment to upholding the values of ocean justice and working alongside those most affected by ocean injustices in our state. Today we celebrate their work and share our gratitude for their steady support, as they work with Azul to protect the ocean for our communities and generations to come.”

“It’s an honor to receive this award from such a dedicated and effective ocean conservation organization,” said Julie Packard. “Monterey Bay Aquarium has had the privilege of working with Azul since its founding, on issues ranging from environmental justice in plastic production to bans on the shark fin trade and single-use plastic bags. They bring important perspectives to every conversation, and we are better for it.”

Julie Packard was celebrated for her remarkable contributions and unwavering leadership to ocean conservation and ocean justice allyship in California, along with the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s partnership efforts. Her visionary ideas – and innovative approaches have made the Monterey Bay Aquarium a trailblazer for their science-based initiatives and education programs to address climate change, plastic pollution, and ocean protection. In 2023, Azul and the Monterey Bay Aquarium co-hosted and presented the California Ocean Champion Awards to legislators for their leadership in ocean and coastal protection. Azul is deeply grateful to Julie and the Monterey Bay Aquarium for their continuous partnership over the years, which has been supportive of Azul’s policy work.  

 

“I share this honor with all the groups across California who support the state’s work to protect and ensure equitable access to all communities across California,” said Deputy Secretary Noaki Schwartz. “Thank you for the work you do every single day. Coastal access is not a privilege but a fundamental right for all Californians. A thriving, healthy ocean is vital for the health of the planet as well as the human spirit.”

Noaki Schwartz is being honored for her long-standing work in the environmental justice field and for being a longtime advocate for underserved communities dating back to her time as the Deputy Director of Communications, Environmental Justice and Tribal Affairs with the California Coastal Commission. She is currently the Deputy Secretary of Equity and Environmental Justice at the California Natural Resources Agency, where she continues to advance the principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in her work.

 

“I am truly honored to be selected as one of Azul’s Estrella Marina recipients on California Ocean Day 2024,” said Oscar D. Rodriguez, a #LatinosMarinos Organizer. “I will forever be grateful for Marce and the leadership at Azul for always going above and beyond to ensure our communities are represented in the ocean-conservation space. There’s a saying ‘if you are not at the table, you will be on the menu’. By being present and active in Sacramento, not only on California Ocean Day, Azul is ensuring our communities stop being on the menu and push for policies that protect us and the ocean.”

Oscar Rodriguez was recognized for his dedication to organizing with his Huntington Beach, California community on the ground in their work for ocean justice, fighting environmental injustices. As one of the first #LatinoMarinos, Oscar has supported Azul for almost a decade. From starting as a volunteer to being an organizer with Azul, Oscar has demonstrated determination to hold polluters accountable and ensure that community voices are heard in policy decision-making.

 

Upon receiving this Estrella Marina recognition, Senator Dave Min said, “I am incredibly honored to be recognized for Azul’s prestigious Estrella Marina Awards. With the passage of California’s 30×30 initiative, now begins the hard work to protect the places we love and the species they support throughout the Golden State. Thank you to the entire Azul team for your continued partnership to help turn the tide on climate change and the growing extinction crisis.”

Senator Dave Min was the author of SB 337 last year, which codified the State’s 30×30 initiative into state law. He is also the Chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Water committee and has been a great ally in advancing ocean conservation. This year, Senator Min is the author of SB 1402 which will help in the implementation of SB 337 and requires all state agencies, departments, boards, offices, commissions, and conservancies to consider the 30×30 goal when adopting, revising, or establishing plans, policies, and regulations that directly affect land use, management of natural resources, water use and quality, or biodiversity conservation.

Azul launched the Estrella Marina Awards in 2019 to celebrate the remarkable leaders working to protect our communities, ocean, and coasts in California and nationwide. Some previous awardees include Speaker Emeritus Anthony Rendon, Assistant Secretary for Equity and Environmental Justice Moisés Moreno-Rivera, California State Senators Monique Limón and Lena Gonzalez, California State Representatives Luz Rivas and Ash Kalra, and U.S Representative Raúl Grijalva of Arizona. 

More than a hundred ocean advocates — including Azul’s own delegation of Latinos Marinos – gathered for California Ocean Day to meet with their representatives and discuss policy solutions to advance environmental and ocean justice protections across our state. The advocacy day comes less than one month before the start of World Ocean Month and Semana Azul.

 

About the awardees: 

Senator Dave Min was elected in 2020 to represent Orange County’s 37th State Senate District, which includes the cities of Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Newport, Orange, Tustin, and Villa Park. As well as the communities of Anaheim Hills, Corona Del Mar, Foothill Ranch, North Tustin, and Silverado Canyon. In the Senate, Senator Min is focused on gun violence prevention, climate action, economic development and innovation, and investing in public education. He serves as Chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee, which has jurisdiction over the state’s environmental stewardship, including protection of California’s public lands and coastline, oil and gas regulation, and preserving biodiversity. As the only Korean American in the Legislature, Senator Min is proud to serve as Vice Chair of the California Asian and Pacific Islander (API) Legislative Caucus which has been instrumental in the passage of the historic AAPI Equity Budget. In response to the rise in anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic, the $166.5 million investment addresses longstanding racial inequities, provides services to victims of hate crimes, and funds prevention efforts. Before joining the State Senate, Senator Min was a law professor at UC Irvine, where he taught and researched in the area of business law. He is one of the country’s leading experts on banking and housing policy, and has testified six times before Congress on these issues. A son of Korean immigrants who grew up during the Korean War and its aftermath, Dave’s parents came to the United States in 1971 and raised their two sons in the Golden State. Dave is a native Californian who currently resides in Irvine with his wife, Jane Stoever, and their three young kids. His basic philosophy is one of long-termism, summed up by this quote from the ancient Greeks: A civilization is great when its elders plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in.

Julie Packard is the founding executive director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. She has led the Aquarium to become a global force for ocean conservation, through innovative exhibits, education programs, and science-based initiatives addressing sustainable seafood, plastic pollution, climate change, and protection of ocean wildlife and ecosystems. A trustee of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, she chairs the board of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, a leader in deep ocean science and technology. She serves on the Joint Oceans Commission Initiative, working to implement comprehensive reform of U.S. ocean policy. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a recipient of the Audubon Medal for Conservation, and is featured in the National Portrait Gallery.

Noaki Schwartz joined the Natural Resources Agency in March 2022. As the Deputy Secretary for Equity and Environmental Justice, Noaki will work to embed the principles of environmental justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion into the work of the Agency and its 26 member departments. She was the Deputy Director of Communications, Environmental Justice and Tribal Affairs at the California Coastal Commission, where she worked for eight years and where she helped lead the development of the agency’s environmental justice policy.  Prior to that, she spent more than a decade writing for the Associated Press, Miami Herald, Los Angeles Times, and other publications. Noaki received her Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Santa Cruz and an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She was born and raised in Long Beach, California.

Oscar Rodriguez grew up in Huntington Beach, California’s Oak View neighborhood – a 1/2-square-mile community in the seaside town. After witnessing firsthand how local governments disenfranchised communities of color, Oscar became passionate about community engagement and social change as an advocate with organizations including Azul and the ACLU in 2015. He’s the co-founder of Oak View ComUNIDAD, a grassroots group that has challenged some of Huntington Beach’s top polluters. Oscar works with the Azul team, assisting in organizing California Ocean Day in Sacramento and Azul’s Rising Leaders Initiative, a program held virtually and in Washington, D.C. He is currently an Asset Manager for Orange County Community Housing Corporation, a non-profit housing provider overseeing hundreds of low-income affordable housing units throughout Orange County. He also sits on the Huntington Beach Planning Commission. The California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) graduate has a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Care Administration and is in the process of applying to its Masters in Accounting program with the goal of becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and helping small businesses. 

Azul is an ocean justice organization working with Latinxs to protect the ocean and coasts. Founded in 2011 to bring Latinx perspectives and participation to ocean conservation, Azul has long advocated for ocean justice and equity at the international and national levels, as well as in the state of California, where the organization is based. Learn more at www.azul.org.

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