Azul Welcomes Latino Leaders to Washington, DC to Advance Ocean Justice During Semana Azul
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Azul Welcomes Latino Leaders to Washington, DC to Advance Ocean Justice During Semana Azul
Semana Azul Kicks Off National and International Ocean Month Activations for Azul
Washington, D.C. (June 25, 2025) – In celebration of Ocean Month, Azul held its annual Semana Azul in Washington, DC bringing together #LatinoMarinos and ocean conservation advocates from around the country to advance ocean justice.
As part of this year’s Semana Azul, participants from Azul’s Rising Leaders Initiative convened in the nation’s capital for an immersive program designed to foster their learning and build up the generation of advocates. Participants had the opportunity to meet and connect with advocacy and policy leaders to learn about diverse career paths in advocacy and get a behind-the-scenes look into how policy is made on the local, state, and federal level. Participants also conducted Hill visits, putting into practice their knowledge in sit-down meetings with Congressional members and staffers from key states including California, Illinois, Rhode Island, and Texas. Semana Azul concluded with a celebration marking the graduation of its third Rising Leaders Initiative cohort.
“Azul is immensely proud to work with and witness this multigenerational cohort of Latino advocates,” said Azul’s Founder and Executive Director Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš. “Our Rising Leaders Initiative cohort is a testament to how cultural heritage fuels the fight for ocean justice, creating solutions that benefit our communities and our world. Equipped with the necessary tools ranging from a foundational understanding of advocacy and policy, communications and digital tools, as well as community organizing methods, these leaders are excited to drive and advance ocean justice as they return to their respective communities across the nation.”
“I am grateful to have been selected for the Azul Rising Leaders Initiative because it is not every day that you can come to D.C. and meet other Latinos working in the environmental and ocean justice space,” said Rising Leader Natalia Valencia Jimenez of East Patchogue, New York on Long Island. “From meeting with our representatives to hearing from the actual people who help shape policy, I know myself and fellow cohort members are walking away with the tools and experience to continue to advocate for our ocean and community.”
Azul is the only U.S.-based organization specifically focused on and working with Latinos to protect the ocean and coasts. Drawing on its rich history of fusing Latino conservation traditions and ocean justice values, Azul is building on 14 years of grassroots ocean justice organizing and policy successes.
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Azul is an ocean justice organization working with Latino communities to protect our blue planet. Founded in 2011, Azul has developed –and executed– campaigns that achieved groundbreaking ocean conservation policy victories at local, national and international levels