On June 7, 2023, the Center for American Progress, Azul, and Urban Ocean Lab, with the support of Earthjustice, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Ocean Defense Initiative, and Green 2.0, hosted an online symposium on the rising tide of justice and equity in ocean policy. I gave brief remarks, welcoming our guests to our office. I'm posting them here for posterity. The video of the event is embedded above and linked  here . Hello and welcome to Upwell: A New Wave of Ocean Leadership.  I’m Angelo Villagomez, a proud Chamorro from the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands.  I’m a senior fellow here at the Center of American Progress – and on behalf of my colleagues here at CAP, Azul Urban Ocean Lab, Earthjustice, NRDC, Ocean Defense Initiative, and Green 2.0,  I’m delighted to welcome you to our offices today to celebrate the ocean and its vital role in our lives. And I also welcome all of you watching online. Before I introduce our symposium, I want to acknowledge tha