Photo courtesy of John Dos Passos Coggin I was invited to give opening remarks at NOAA's Climate Connections 2.0 on October 29, 2024. Hello everybody, my name is Angelo. Like Hunter said, I live and work here in town for an organization called the Center for American Progress. I direct our ocean policy work and our work with Indigenous communities. I’m originally from the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands and plan to return there one day. 5 years ago last Friday, Super Typhoon Yutu crashed into the southern end of Saipan with sustained winds of 175 mph and gusts of 190 mph. It was the second strongest storm to ever strike the United States and caused 800 million dollars in damages. The storm killed 2 people, left thousands homeless, and tens of thousands without power for months. I had friends and family living in FEMA tents for months on end, and when they say they lost everything they owned, they literally meant everything they owned. As the ocean contin...

I was invited to speak at the 7th International Marine Conservation Congress and chose to speak about the strengths and weaknesses of 30x30 on the ocean.  Sharing my remarks here for posterity. Welcome to the Beyond 30x30 Era This is my first time in South Africa, and I just want to thank our wonderful hosts for welcoming us all here, and for treating us all so well in your home. I also want to thank the SCB marine section, the conference steering committee, and the conference co-chairs for hosting an excellent conference this year. And I want to thank all of you for getting up so early on the last day of the conference to come to hear me speak. My name is Angelo Villagomez, and I live in Washington, DC and work for an organization called the Center for American Progress. My work these days is almost solely focused on the waters of the United States, so I want to recognize that there are people from 72 countries here and that my experience may not be applicable or relatable ...