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13 - Coast Week in D.C. with Nicole Elko & Emily Patrolia
5 Plays10 months ago
In this episode of Going Coastal, co-hosts Jon and Deb are joined by Dr. Nicole Elko, Executive Director of ASBPA and Co-Executive Director of the U.S. Coastal Research Program, and Emily Patrolia, founder of ESP Advisors. Together, they unpack what really happens during Coast Week in Washington, D.C.!
We talk about:
- How coastlines are showing up on Capitol Hill
- Practical tips for introverts navigating policy events
- Why your voice matters — even as a student or early-career professional
If you’ve ever wondered how science meets policy, or how YOU can get involved in shaping the future of our coasts, this one’s for you.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction of Hosts and Guests
00:00:10
Speaker
Welcome back to the Going Coastal podcast, the podcast of the students and new professionals in the coastal field hosted by myself, John Miller, Marissa Torres and Deb Fernandez. Deb, you want to say hi? Hi, everyone. Today, we're very fortunate to be joined by Dr. Nicole Elko, Executive Director of the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association and Co-Executive Director of the U.S. Coastal Research Program and a good friend. I think I've known Nicole for many, many years, i think since our PhDs in Florida. So nice to have you, Nicole.
Guest Roles and Experiences
00:00:40
Speaker
Nicole plays a key role in advancing beach preservation, shaping coastal policy and fostering collaboration between scientists and policymakers to protect our nation's shorelines. Our second guest, equally as nice to have her, is Emily Petrolia, the founder of ESP Advisors, a firm dedicated to advancing ocean priorities through strategic consulting.
00:01:00
Speaker
She has extensive experience spanning Capitol Hill, NGOs, and the private sector. providing expertise to scientific nonprofits, trade associations, and startups. Welcome, Emily and Nicole.
00:01:11
Speaker
Thank you. It's great to be here. Thanks for having us. Thank you for joining us in these interesting times that we have right now. Your expertise is, I think, particularly valuable, and it's, I think, a ah really important, relevant discussion that we're about to have.
00:01:26
Speaker
But before we get into the the details. um We always like to start by just getting to know our guests a little bit. So very broad based opportunity to introduce yourselves. um Tell us what you want, you know, who you are, what you like to do, what your background is, what you do now.
00:01:44
Speaker
um So I guess we'll start with Nicole. Why don't you go first? Okay, thanks John. Hey everyone. So I am presently based in Charleston, South Carolina. My offices are on a small barrier island called Folly Beach, um home of a federal coastal storm damage reduction project that was initially constructed back in 1993, so I don't like to get too far away from those.
00:02:09
Speaker
As John mentioned, ah prior to about 2009, I was in Florida where I did my graduate work and started my career there, ah managing beaches for Pinellas County, Florida, on the West Coast from
Personal Backgrounds and Nonprofit Work
00:02:24
Speaker
Clearwater to St. Pete Beach.
00:02:26
Speaker
And um yeah, I love, I've got a family, and two daughters. In fact, I was at the DMV this morning getting my daughter's driver's license, and So, wow, that was crazy. and We're a family of ocean lovers, fisher people, surfers.
00:02:43
Speaker
and The kids surf competitively. and And something I do in my spare time is run a nonprofit all-female surf contest called the Folly Beach Wahine Classic, which is in its 23rd year here on Folly.
00:02:55
Speaker
Very cool and very scary, the part about ah having kids that are driving. I have i have one that that drives herself and another, which scares me, I think, even more, about to be a driver in a month. So scary things. so Yeah.
00:03:10
Speaker
So um Emily, how about yourself? um Let's get to know you a little bit. Yeah, thanks. Great to be here. So I always have been an ocean person. I grew up sailing, boating, fishing, swimming all year round in New England.
00:03:26
Speaker
um I went to uri for grad school and started working with Congress as Director of Government Relations for the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Observing System, or IUSE, and then worked for Senator Whitehouse for a little bit in the Providence office while I was there.
00:03:44
Speaker
And then came to D.C. with a Knauss Fellowship, which is a lot of listeners may know about it, but it's a it's a great fellowship through Sea Grant that's run through NOAA. um Caught the
Ocean Advocacy and ESP Advisors
00:03:55
Speaker
D.C. bug, worked on the Hill for Senator John Thune on the Senate Commerce Committee, and then had some other jobs doing international IUU maritime security work and then domestic lobbying, sustainability and agriculture at a big lobbying firm.
00:04:12
Speaker
And after kind of learning all of those different pieces of the puzzle of how U.S. federal policy works, I realized the ocean community wasn't super duper well represented in D.C. There were a lot of tactics I had picked up from the agriculture world, um from the international world that just hadn't infiltrated into the ocean space. And i and there were there weren't there wasn't really a dedicated firm organization.
00:04:38
Speaker
doing sophisticated lobbying and federal policy advocacy for the ocean space, because, you know, we need people who really understand the systems and understand the people, but we also need to understand the science and the issues and why these places, and love these places and why understand why they matter.
00:04:57
Speaker
So um that was why i started ESP five years ago, right before the pandemic hit, which was was a really interesting time to start a business and it's been it's been a really great journey so far. I'm based in DC. There's not much else going on in my life but work, but maybe someday.
00:05:14
Speaker
Nothing like starting a business at a time when everything's really, really calm and there's really not much to talk about. There's no important policy issues related to the ocean or climate or anything like that right
Knauss Fellowship and Policy Connection
00:05:24
Speaker
now. Yes, it's been a very, very calm and relaxing five years to do ocean advocacy. Yeah.
00:05:33
Speaker
I bet. I bet. It's a small world. It's one of these things that every time we have one of these podcasts, I know a lot of the guests, but then some of the guests I don't know so much. and you know i don't i'm Emily, I'm sure we've met before, but um you know when you mentioned the Canals Fellowship, part of part of what I do is through New Jersey Sea Grant. And so very familiar with the Canals Fellowship Program and had a lot of students actually get Canals Fellowships. And similar to your experience, kind of just get involved in that world that crosses over between sort of the ocean science and engineering in our case, and then the policy side. And, you know, similarly, we've had some students that just really get enamored with the the process um and, you know, have decided to stick with either Sea Grant programs or you know, going to work for federal agencies or in the D.C. area um on ocean policy issues. So really great to see that the Knauss Fellowship is, know,
00:06:29
Speaker
you know, an important part of your experience. And we hire a lot of, not exclusively, but a lot of Canals Fellows. So we have ah three former Canals Fellows on the team right now. And then we also have a fellowship in the spring where outgoing Canals Fellows, usually between like one or two, join us for six months and kind of learn how the outside advocacy um process works before they move on to their next job.
Client Management and Congressional Engagement
00:06:57
Speaker
So It's a great program to learn those things. And also it's a feeder program for my team, which is amazing because, you know, there's a lot of great ocean and coastal professionals out there.
00:07:08
Speaker
And Sea Grant does tend to be ah program that brings in some some great folks. Yeah, I definitely agree. um So before we get into um one of the main themes of this this episode, it stems from Coast Week and all the interesting things that happen have been happening in D.C.,
00:07:31
Speaker
um Before we go down that route, and Deb, you were you were in D.C. I unfortunately missed it. So, you know, I'm going to take a step back when we talk about that and let you guys have a um ah a conversation.
00:07:42
Speaker
um But before we do that, just um try to give us ah an example or not an example. and Try to give us an idea of kind of what you like a day-to-day in your career path and the things that you do. So, Nicole, you've you're spread all over the place. I know you you do a lot of different things, but kind of, you know, what what does your what is your typical day look like?
00:08:03
Speaker
Yeah, thanks. um so For a typical day for me, I work at the national, state and local level. So for example, and after I got back from the DMV this morning, I had a marshfront site visit here on Folly Beach and to talk about some local regulations that the city is considering putting into place. So it is nice, probably once a week, I actually get out of this office and and get out to the coast to interact with stakeholders in some form or fashion.
00:08:35
Speaker
A lot of what I do nowadays is less science and more policy, which I really love because I have a background and in coastal geology, my PhD.
00:08:47
Speaker
was studying the morphodynamics of barrier islands and kind of how that plays into today's modern management. And so now I get to apply, as Emily was describing, that science basis to helping communities with decisions on really important and scary things like regulations. You know, right now, this city is considering a 15-foot setback from the marsh for all future development bulkheads and you know, balancing that with the people that live there, the property owners that have had a house right on the marsh for for the last 50 years,
Policy and Regulatory Challenges
00:09:20
Speaker
right? So those are the type of policy questions that I tackle and handle, again, at all levels. And I think that the experience of still being on the ground here in the Carolinas and in the Southeast is really helpful for the work that I do at the national level.
00:09:37
Speaker
To be able to go in and have these conversations with colleagues from um California or or New England or even the Great Lakes, right? They're dealing with a lot of dynamic shoreline issues there as well.
00:09:49
Speaker
So on the national scale, you know, I might be later this afternoon in a virtual meeting with um appropriators or authorizers from Washington, D.C. and other nonprofits where they're having kind of a stakeholder listening session to understand what we want to see, for example, at WERDA implementation. The Water Resources Development Act was passed in 2024, and Congress has and ah congress that is telling the Army Corps of Engineers to do some pretty cool stuff. So they do want to hear how that's affecting local coastal communities. That's where I come in.
00:10:22
Speaker
Very cool. And it's, you any office that has a surfboard, you guys, you guys, listeners can't really see it, but I can, like, you can see it's in Nicole's office here surfboard in the background. That seems like a pretty cool office to me.
00:10:34
Speaker
um
00:10:37
Speaker
And the Emily, as we were talking before the the show, it seems like certainly nowadays you don't have a typical day to day. I'm sure it's like hour to hour, minute to minute. um But the best you can, can you give us a sense of kind of what what you typically do on a daily basis?
00:10:53
Speaker
Yeah, lately it's been a little more reactive than I'd like. um But, you know, within our team, We do a really good job. you know It's really important to have strong communication, ability to prioritize, ability triage, and just you know help each other. It's been pretty much just all hands on deck most of the time. And then also knowing when to just put things down and rest and you know avoiding burnout is a really important piece of, frankly, of the work we do. and I think that all of us do.
00:11:24
Speaker
And so we work a lot to help each other identify times where we can you know The to-do list is never done, but when can we just like rest and put things down and recharge the batteries because we know more is coming. and so that's kind of been our that's been We've just been in triage mode, so I guess I'm describing what it's like to be in a triage situation.
00:11:44
Speaker
um General day-to-day, we have 12 clients, and so and they're at various engagement
Importance of Communication in Advocacy
00:11:53
Speaker
levels. Some of them we're doing a lot more for. Some of them are just lighter-touch strategic advising.
00:11:58
Speaker
So we have calls with our clients regularly scheduled. We're working you know on products for them. So we might analyze a bill or a policy or write a new bill for them. Or there might be a hearing coming up that we want to get our client to testify at or just you know summarize the hearing. So we're kind of working behind the scenes on those things.
00:12:19
Speaker
um And then, of course, the the big thing to move things forward is scheduling meetings for our clients with the important members of Congress and their staff and also White House and agency officials, um similar to what Nicole was describing.
00:12:35
Speaker
So we schedule those formal meetings and we also prepare the clients for it. So, you know, we work with a lot of scientists who if if you had 20, they had 20 hours to describe what they do, it's not enough. Right. Because you can get so in the weeds and it's so interesting.
00:12:51
Speaker
And you know these meetings are typically 30 minutes and the staff are running a mile a minute. They have to cover these huge portfolios. So we prepare our clients a lot with what are our goals? What's our messaging? What will resonate?
00:13:05
Speaker
What is the leave behind we're going to give to this person? So it's a lot of prep for those meetings. And then the meetings are much more successful. And then my team and I all spend a lot of time having informal meetings.
00:13:17
Speaker
conversations with those influential people in DC. So it might be over coffee or drinks or just a phone call where we're not bringing the client to that, but we're we're just kind of intel sharing, relationship building, but also advocating in kind of that more informal way, which is kind of how DC works.
00:13:34
Speaker
So um yeah, I'm on calls probably 80% of the day and then doing ah deep work and kind of analysis the rest of the time.
00:13:46
Speaker
And then running the business is another piece. Well, it sounds, ah
00:13:52
Speaker
it's, it's, it's, i don't know whether to be a little insulted or, or, or the fact that academics or researchers can talk forever about their work and not being able to distill things down.
00:14:03
Speaker
um It's definitely, you, you bring up a good point though, about, you know, being able to communicate and understanding your audience and knowing how to do it well. And, you know, you know I'm fortunate. I feel very fortunate not to you give Sea Grant more i kudos, but you know because of what I do, you we're constantly being asked to give presentations in different settings to different levels of audiences. and so You learn pretty quickly.
00:14:31
Speaker
If you give that long, really detailed scientific presentation, you may get things thrown at you in certain places in New Jersey. so You learn how to you know read your audience and be able to speak
Understanding Congressional Processes
00:14:44
Speaker
you know either in sound bites or you know very precise, targeted um bullet points to the to the people. So there's definitely an art form to it and a skill that ah you know it's a great it's ah it's great that there are folks like you that are kind of like helping in that process. Because you know knowing the academics I do, there's some of us are very bad at it.
00:15:05
Speaker
And speaking of audience, since our audience are students mainly, we target the students, there are a few things that both of you talked about that I think if you're not familiar at all with the policy side of things, some terms might be difficult.
00:15:20
Speaker
And so maybe I want to come back on a few. Nicole, you talked about you were having meetings with appropriators and authorizers. What do you mean by that? Yeah, great question.
00:15:31
Speaker
So in Washington, when Congress gives direction to federal agencies, they first need the authorities to do it, number one, and then they need the funding to do it, right?
00:15:44
Speaker
That's the appropriation side. And um Unfortunately, i think those are two separate processes. So um staffers of and the elected officials of Congress that sit on the authorizing committees will um be the ones that are kind of running the show, right? um Many of our students do know that, you know, it's pretty rare that you're actually meeting with members. You're often meeting with their staff um and the the members that
00:16:16
Speaker
are on the authorizing or appropriating committees sit in a pretty powerful place and for the type of things that we do. And so their staffers are the ones that are fortunately really interested in hearing from stakeholder groups like ASBPA to learn what our needs are.
00:16:36
Speaker
um So when when when I say we're meeting with appropriators or authorizers, I'm referring to the staff of the elected officials that sit on those committees in Washington and, you know, generally, unfortunately, things that we work on in the coastal world um tend to be pretty bipartisan, right? So we will have Democrats and Republicans supportive of um some of the coastal provisions in these acts um to to get things like coastal storm damage reduction projects authorized.
00:17:10
Speaker
um That would be a ah beach nourishment project in federal speak, ah run by the Army Corps of Engineers, and then appropriated. So the funding to actually ah administer that project.
00:17:22
Speaker
Cool. Thank you. And then Emily, I think you talked about, for example, you will take some of your clients to hearings. And what did you mean by that? What are hearings?
00:17:32
Speaker
How does it work? That's a great question. So it actually adds on your other question. So Congress, you know, there's 535 of them. They are organized into committees to focus on different things so that they can specialize and move things along. So as Nicole mentioned, there's an appropriations committee in the House and the Senate that does all of the government funding. Well, not all of it, but that's too wonky.
00:17:55
Speaker
Most of the government funding that anyone in this podcast would care about. And then there's a bunch of other committees that are authorizing committees that have oversight over all of the things the federal government does.
00:18:06
Speaker
So in the House, you might care about the House Natural Resources Committee, which manages our natural resources. the Transportation Infrastructure Committee, which does a lot of those water resources projects.
00:18:17
Speaker
In the Senate, maybe you would care about the Environment and Public Works Committee that does EPA, among many other things, or the Commerce Committee, um which does NOAA, National Science Foundation, NASA, all that good stuff. So you kind of find your committee that covers the things you care about.
00:18:35
Speaker
Those committees also have subcommittees that get even more specialized. um So you can find this all online. But anyway, that's kind of a lens into understanding how Congress works and how they are able to drill down on these specific ocean and coastal issues.
00:18:53
Speaker
Those committees and subcommittees will hold different types of hearings where you know You've probably seen them on TV or on TikTok. All the senators sit like all formally up on the dais, and then they bring people up to testify that are like way down there with their little microphones um testifying before Congress.
00:19:11
Speaker
And it's all public. you can They're almost always public unless it's you know sensitive information, a top secret type of hearing. So you can watch them online, um and they'll the senators get a chance to ask the witnesses about the topic. so um For example, during Coast Week a couple weeks ago, the House Science Committee, subcommittee on the environment, so subcommittee of of the broader committee, had a hearing about um ocean technology and and the blue economy. And so there were four witnesses and they all talked about um kind of this interconnection between how the government works and government funded ocean science and the private sector and how
00:19:52
Speaker
you know, we kind of need, and and academia, we kind of need all three legs of the stool. um So that's that's a hearing. We like to, you know, help our clients to testify at hearings like that. So they get to be one of those people sitting up in front of the
Coast Week Experiences and Strategies
00:20:05
Speaker
microphone. It's a little nerve wracking because Congress that is asking them all these questions, um but we we prepare them for it. We prepare their their five minutes of testimony and prepare them for any questions the members might have.
00:20:18
Speaker
um But also clients ah might just care about what happened in that hearing. i don't have two hours to watch it. Can you please just send me one-page summary? So that's something we do um for the community as well.
00:20:32
Speaker
You brought up Coast Week. And as I said, mean I've had the opportunity to attend ah multiple times in the past. And I would say, you know personally, from from my experience, it was something that I tended to avoid. having you know Being a ah a longstanding member of ASBPA, and there's a technical conference in the fall, and then there's Coast Week.
00:20:57
Speaker
ah the policy focused event in the in the spring. And I routinely would attend the technical conference, but try to avoid CoSuite just because of the like little bit of intimidation. um But what I would have to say is, you know personally as an as an academic, when you finally get over that fear and you actually attend,
00:21:19
Speaker
there's a certain amount of like exhilaration or adrenaline that you feel when you leave because you spend all this time doing research and you're wondering like, what does it mean and how does it ultimately impact people and then you have the opportunity to go see, i guess, the way the sausage is made, so to speak.
00:21:39
Speaker
But it gives you a better understanding, certainly, of the way policy is made and you know it it gives you a unique way to frame, I guess, your research or think about it um and in terms of how it can ultimately impact people.
00:21:54
Speaker
So I would say it's it was it's been an invaluable experience having had that having that opportunity to go to Coast Week and not just go to DC, but also locally in New Jersey doing similar things with our ah state government. um So it's really valuable, really worthwhile.
00:22:12
Speaker
Again, I didn't get to go this week, but the three of you did attend this week. So I don't know, maybe, and let me, let me start by asking Deb a question. And you know what was your experience like as a young member?
00:22:24
Speaker
So that was my second year attending Coast Week at the ASBPA Coastal Summit. I'm not going to lie, the first year, i don't think I realized how much of another world it was. And i didn't know anything about American legislative system.
00:22:40
Speaker
And I was like, oh, wow, this is a lot. So it was kind of like, i don't know, they were speaking another language to me. I didn't understand much of it, but it was great. Like, I actually really enjoyed it. So and then I got the Coastal Advocate Award.
00:22:57
Speaker
So I've been working with Nicole Elko the past six months ish on the Government's Affair Committee of ASBPA. And so I've been able to to be in the loop of how the sausage is made a little bit more.
00:23:09
Speaker
as you said. And so it was actually really useful and helpful for me. So when I went to the Coastal Summit this year, I actually understood what we were talking about. And I was like, oh my God, this is awesome. This is actually super interesting.
00:23:21
Speaker
And as you said, John, there was this little adrenaline of like, oh my God, we can make things move. Like this is how it's done. um And so I really, really loved it.
00:23:33
Speaker
And as Nicole talked about earlier about the staffers, I had the opportunity to do hill tours and meet some of the staffers. And so that was really awesome. And some of them are really, really keen on the job that we're doing and the subjects that we try to advocate for.
00:23:50
Speaker
And so, yeah, youre if you get out of there and you're like super hopeful. Some of them actually don't really care. And you're like, all right, it's either a hit or a miss. But when it's a hit, It's super cool.
00:24:01
Speaker
So yeah, that was my experience. That was a really good summary of congressional engagement, Deb. Thanks. Yeah. And if I could just add to what Deb said, she was ah rock star of the ASBTA Coastal Summit this year. She gave a presentation um and and just nailed it.
00:24:22
Speaker
she as the government affairs intern for us this year, was responsible for sitting in on and taking notes for a lot of the virtual meetings that happened leading up to the summit.
00:24:34
Speaker
and So Deb summarized the federal agency exchanges that we held, you know, four of them leading up to the summit and the attendees really appreciated her summary and yeah, she did a great job.
00:24:47
Speaker
um So that leads me to some of the ah the things, and I did want to hit on um just how much preparation goes into making that week happen. um Not only at ASBPA, and I'll mention a few things that we did, but also um Emily myself and about eight or so other organizations all work together to make the Coast's Week part of it happen. and And that's the part that has really become even more and more powerful over the last several years, where we coordinate and and all get to Washington together so that we have this sort of unified presence on the Hill for that week. And I think it's really starting to pay dividends and maybe even coming to be expected that, oh, they're coming and you know this is this is when they're going to be here. And so so that that was really
00:25:36
Speaker
Really exciting. um So in addition to those virtual agency meetings that ASBPA holds prior to the summit, we held a virtual PEP rally with all of the associations that were involved with Coast Week.
00:25:52
Speaker
And these aren't just beach organizations um like ASBPA and beaches and shores, but also a lot of the estuary programs that Emily represents. And she can touch on that a bit more in a moment.
00:26:04
Speaker
um But, you know, it's all of the organizations representing the coasts of the U.S. And so the um the virtual pep rally was fantastic because it it kicked us off back in February before anyone, maybe before half of us had even booked our flights to go to Washington. um And we had a couple of senators. We had um administrator from Army Corps Engineers just kind of get us ready. You know, like this is this is where we are. this is the This is the atmosphere. We're a couple weeks into the new administration.
00:26:36
Speaker
And, um you know, it kind of gave us, it set the stage for us to all get there and and get ready. And it was um the first time, I think, that all of the organization's membership came together in one place.
00:26:50
Speaker
That's really hard for us to do in Washington because of various logistical reasons while we're there for Coastal Week. So um this gave us that opportunity to get over 500 of our members on a virtual meeting and to hear from some of the the big time leaders in in coastal.
00:27:08
Speaker
And John Senator Cassidy from Louisiana also mentioned my surfboard behind me when he got on camera. And um yeah, you know, I feel like that we have to show that we have skin in the game here. Like we love, we love the beach. We love the coast. It's not just that we were here, like, you know, blindly representing it. We we are the people that um that get in the water and that help the community. So I think that's a really powerful message. And it was extremely clear when we were up in Washington during that week. So
Planning and Impact of Coast Week
00:27:43
Speaker
tons more to talk about with Coast Week, but I'll pause there and and let Emily chime in and some.
00:27:49
Speaker
Well, I just want to give a shout out to Nicole, because i don't know if anyone has had experience trying to get people to come together for event planning, but having, you know, like a ten different associations and all of their members come together and do coordinated things.
00:28:06
Speaker
was very, very hard. And Nicole was the master cat herder, getting us wrangling all of us. And so we had all been, we've been on calls for almost a year leading up to it. um planning this all ah spearheaded by Nicole, like help just getting everything moving. So that was an amazing effort by her. So thank you, Nicole.
00:28:26
Speaker
And I think it was the first time all of those organizations this year was the first time everyone, I mean, had been able to coordinate. um And yeah, I think it's just going to be ah growing, a growing thing.
00:28:41
Speaker
ah And there's always that question, you know, like, Is there what you know, what are all the benefits of coming together? And it's, it was very clear that us all together, saying all these programs are different and important and unique, and they all need to be here doing their thing.
00:28:59
Speaker
And this is the power of our oceans and coasts. And there's nothing political about it. It spans all people, all ages, all backgrounds, all stripes. These are really important issues that we all care about. It was a really impactful week and a major bright spot in otherwise challenging.
00:29:22
Speaker
A few months. Yeah, I actually attended that virtual meeting and I think there were around 500 people who attended it, right? It was insane. It was really nice to have the senators talk to us.
00:29:35
Speaker
I was like, okay, this is cool. This is how you get the message across and those people are accessible and they're ready to listen to us. And I thought that was awesome. So one of the questions that I wanted to ask, again, not having attended this year,
00:29:50
Speaker
Was there anything different about this year as compared to years past? Yes, lots. um So from the ASBPA perspective for our summit, we had 12 students attend, and that's crazy different from past years. Like Deb said, we might have one or two in the past, but and the interest that we're seeing in coastal policy has escalated significantly over the last several years. And we but were fortunate to be able to offer travel scholarships to many of the members of the Students and New Professionals Committee of ASBPA to get up there and and have that experience.
00:30:28
Speaker
And it was fantastic, the story that you told, John, which is one that does happen year after year and isn't new, but it's new for the person getting that adrenaline rush, right? The students that came out of the meetings, we did a capital tour before some of the Hill visits.
00:30:43
Speaker
And so just seeing the that and remembering what that feels like of that. Wow, I'm making an impact like this. This is important work that we're doing in and having helping them get over that.
00:30:54
Speaker
The fear and and they say, well, i don't even know what I was afraid of. Like they were my age and wasn't that bad. So, yeah, it's it was really great experience. So that was one thing that was really different for us at ASBPA. And the other was Congress wasn't in session when we were there last year and they were this year. So we actually had um four members of Congress come to the National Association of Counties building and talk to our our conference rather than us having to go to them, which we did as well, of course. But that was fantastic to to have four representatives from different coasts. And again, bipartisan representation speak to us on Tuesday afternoon to kind of kick off the summit. So we had ah we had a whole plenary session of of great speakers that day.
00:31:45
Speaker
Yeah, and I can add, um so ESP represents the Association of National Estuary Programs, which is a program funded through the EPA under the Clean Water Act, and also the Integrated Ocean Observing System, which is a program funded through NOAA that does ocean and coastal data to support decision-making at the community, state, and regional level.
Engagement Strategies with Congress
00:32:07
Speaker
And they have um been in town during Coast Week before, kind of like it's planned, but not as much coordination around these events. um And so it was really great to have more coordination leading up to it.
00:32:21
Speaker
um that We had the coastal fair on Monday in one of the house office buildings where we had booths and like cookies and snacks and coffee and stuff. So staff were able to just wander, wander through in the afternoon and come see booths and you know if they're from a particular district or state, they can see what programs support ah their constituents. So that was a really great ah new thing that we added this year.
00:32:46
Speaker
um We also, i think it was the first year that we were able to plan both the Congressional Estuaries Caucus and a coastal communities caucus briefing in the same week.
00:32:57
Speaker
It's so hard to time them. And just side note again, what is a caucus, right? I'm saying all these words. We talked about what a committee is, which is a formal structure, which is how bills and topics kind of move through the congressional process.
00:33:12
Speaker
Caucuses are informal. um They're not really, they're not a part of the legislative process. So if a bill was introduced, it wouldn't be you know considered or voted on by a caucus, but it is a really important way to bring members together around certain issues.
00:33:28
Speaker
And so two examples are the Estuaries Caucus and the Coastal Communities Caucus. So they're both bipartisan. they have a wide range of members of Congress that are in that caucus.
00:33:40
Speaker
And so they'll have briefings, they'll share information And that's just, you know if you're looking for people who support those things, that's the caucus you go to. um So you know we had the co-chairs, bipartisan co-chairs speak at both of those briefings. It was kind of the kickoff um to the 119th Congress, which again, I'm saying a jargon thing, but a Congress is a two year session in which you know legislation is introduced and either passed, or if it's not passed, it dies at the end.
00:34:09
Speaker
So we started a new Congress in January. um So that was really exciting. And then for our client, I use, they were also celebrating their 25th anniversary. So they had their 25th anniversary event that week. So everyone could kind of join that and join in that celebration.
00:34:27
Speaker
and the other benefit of having weeks like these where it's kind of like a lot going on and There's there's like press hooks and stuff that's really interesting. um are Our client Iuse was able to get their bill that would reauthorize their program. So every program needs to be authorized as Nicole was mentioning and those authorizations expire. and so um you need to have a new bill that continues um that program being kind of in law.
00:34:59
Speaker
So for IUs, there's this expiring in the within this year. So they were able to kind of use the excitement of Coast Week get excitement around their bill being introduced by Representative Mike Giesel, a Republican from Mississippi, and Suzanne Bonamici, Democrat from Oregon. So just a lot of...
00:35:19
Speaker
exciting bipartisanship um when I think people who are just reading the headlines outside of DC might not expect that to be going on, but that's what the whole week was. And again, that built up energy of all of us doing it together just heightens heightens the benefits and heightens the excitement for everybody.
00:35:40
Speaker
Yeah, and Restore America's Estuaries also had an anniversary celebration of 40 years for them. So we celebrated with them on Monday evening. I mean, we were busy. It was nonstop. all week You should have been there, John. I'm jealous. It seems like I missed a a bunch of really interesting parties. But what I think is interesting kind of just about this discussion, well, aside from i think the...
00:36:03
Speaker
the terminology and the discussion of the process, I think, you know, one of the things that I'm picking up on is that there's a number of different points at which to engage in the process. And like, there's a ah bunch of different ways to talk about the issues that are important, both formal and informal.
00:36:21
Speaker
And they all seem to play a really important role in kind of moving things forward and ensuring things that are important to us, um, stay a part of the discussion. So,
00:36:32
Speaker
um That's kind of it's kind of probably interesting for our audience to hear and also something that they they don't really ah appreciate as much, all of these different engagement points.
00:36:43
Speaker
Yeah. And I was going to ask more on a personal level, uh, with all this social events, like, do you need to be a social person firsthand? Like, or can you be an introvert and still, i don't know, um, survive that Coast Week?
00:36:59
Speaker
Yeah, you can definitely be an introvert and survive Coast Week. The opportunities are there for you. You know, the, um, And there are plenty, trust me, of extroverted people that will will come and chat with you and and bring you into the fold.
00:37:16
Speaker
And one of the things that we do, as John was kind of mentioning, is sort of the lead up, the engagement. So you can choose to be as engaged as you want. um But we do really encourage our attendees to Hill visits.
Advice for Introverts in Advocacy
00:37:31
Speaker
um We started realizing several years ago that when we broke on Wednesday afternoon to go um hit the hill that some of our some of our attendees were just like sitting they're like, it's the conference room staying open. can we just hang out here until the next event?
00:37:47
Speaker
We're like, no, you you have to go to the hill. Like, that's why we're here. We need warm bodies and offices. Go get out there. So we um want the last virtual a thing that we do ahead of the ASVPA summit is we have an advocacy day webinar also in the month before where we form state teams.
00:38:05
Speaker
And that, um you know, there are certain states that they've got this down. They they know who they're visiting. They know when they're going to go. they they have the They're going to hit the House side of the Hill first and and finish with the Senate side so they can roll right into the next event, the next briefing that we hold on the Senate side.
00:38:22
Speaker
And um there are other people from that state there that, you know, they think, well, I'm a student, I'm an academic, I'm a consultant, like, I don't have a role here, right? I shouldn't bother. um But those are exactly exactly the folks that we want to get on the Hill, get in the offices. And that kind of pre-planning with the state teams really helped with that. And I think the majority of attendees this year did walk the halls of Congress um go to meetings. And, you know, that's part of the experience. That's why it's like, that's why you came. Right.
00:38:55
Speaker
I can add to that. I, most people don't know this about me, but I am an introvert. And also DC is like that. um So Coast Week is a busy week for us, but if you're in the DC, um,
00:39:10
Speaker
world, you are doing networking events at least three or four nights a week. So, you know, your workday is pretty much 9 a.m. to like 8 p.m. And, you know, you've got the socializing in the evening. So um I guess one tip just in general, as introverts know, is it's all about balance and finding recharge time.
00:39:31
Speaker
So i i don't have i don't I don't do a lot on the weekends with people because my job is so people-y. So you just kind of find that balance of and knowing what you need and knowing what's going to make you feel overwhelmed. um And then also networking really can be overwhelming, especially when you're a young professional and new to the space. And Deb, I would love to hear how it felt for you when you went to the first cultural celebration. But you know you walk into this room, it has like 200 people.
00:39:59
Speaker
Everyone seems to know each other. Everyone seems to be, they're all in their suits and it's very intimidating. um But just kind of remembering that there's a lot of other people like you who maybe don't know anyone and would love a chance to find someone to talk to.
00:40:13
Speaker
And then the people that do seem to know everyone, they were you not that long ago. And so they're going to really love a chance to talk with you. So just kind of remembering you know, we're all in this together and fake till you make it.
00:40:26
Speaker
um And I think my my three tips for introverts with networking, because this is like a big, it's like survival hack for DC is number one, have a plan. So like, try to come with a friend that you can like, just like buddy up together and and move around together. It's good to just not be fully alone, but also have like kind of questions that you're ready to ask someone that is about like, what brings you here or something that's like interesting that'll start the conversation.
00:40:55
Speaker
a for quality over quantity. You don't have to talk to 20 people. If you talk to just two or three people and have a good conversation, then you're good and you can, You can consider that like, okay, my homework is done. I'm going to allow myself to leave early. So usually have like, okay, I'm going to talk to five people and then I can go home and snuggle my dog.
00:41:13
Speaker
And then um the last thing I would recommend for, you know, for people new to networking, especially introverts is introverts tend to be really good listeners and that's a superpower.
00:41:25
Speaker
And the thing about people is they love to hear themselves talk. Especially the type of people that come to DC, they tend to have a little bit of an ego. So leverage that superpower of asking questions, listening, being really interested. You'll learn a lot.
00:41:41
Speaker
And they will like you just because you listen to them. So those are my
Coastal Policy and Professional Development
00:41:45
Speaker
tips. I love it when we start an episode and it has a certain focus, in this case, coastal policy, and then it kind of morphs into professional development. And the same thing happened actually last last episode, which was a research spotlight, but it ended up You know, we ended up having this great conversation that had almost more to do with professional development. And like, Emily, that that advice, we're going to save that. And like, it's it's golden as somebody who is also and the the podcast host says he's also an introvert, which doesn't seem to make sense. But yes, I am.
00:42:17
Speaker
um And some of that advice is just like, i'm like, yes, that's exactly the way like you have to do it. The superpower about listening um and just the ability to, ah you know, understand people, read the room, read the situation.
00:42:32
Speaker
um but I think Nicole also hit on you know, the opportunities to, um you know match yourself up with somebody you know who is experienced and kind of doing you know the the hill visits and things like that and you can you can learn a lot by just tagging along you know and you know you don't have to be you know super um expressive or you know you don't you know you can you can be kind of quiet the first time and just kind of learn from everybody what the process is and as you get more comfortable
00:43:04
Speaker
you know Find your voice and you know find out you know when you should you know what you want to say. Be very direct. And like you said, it's like it's it's not you don't have to talk. um You don't have to speak you know the entire time, um but just know the few things that you want to get across and and how to and how to get those that message across.
00:43:23
Speaker
Yeah, and I think that for students is really valuable because you'll always have a mentor there. And both of you express that and people are keen on helping you too.
00:43:33
Speaker
um So that's how I felt even during that crazy coast networking happy hour. no, that day was insane. At first I was like, oh my God. But luckily i had a buddy from who actually the president of SNP, Brennan Banks, that was also attending the conference last year. And so he was very nice and he was able to introduce me to some people. And so i appreciated that. And then this year, since I've also presented at the summit and thanks to the podcast, I'm not going to lie, um there are a lot of people that
00:44:08
Speaker
I've seen virtually before with the podcast or I've seen at other conference, especially the national conference of ASBPA. So it's getting easier and easier every year to start talking and to not feel awkward.
00:44:21
Speaker
I don't think I'm an introvert. i think I'm more of an extrovert. But my social batteries do have a limit. Not like Amy, your student from last month, and John. She has unlimited social battery, which i I'm really impressed.
00:44:37
Speaker
The advice that both of you gave are really interesting, even if you are an extrovert. I think that's kind of a survival 101 list that we need. And yeah, so I appreciate that.
00:44:50
Speaker
And I think the advice for the introvert also kind of the extrovert just needs to take that advice and kind of look at it from the other side and the other perspective. So if you are that extroverted person and you are more comfortable, like understand like, or be willing to, you know, engage ah people like us, people like us introverts who may be there and, you know, you may be like laying low, but, ah you know, definitely want to participate. um you know Take the opportunity to use your experience, to you know talk to the people that are new that you know might be there for the first time and kind of share your experiences because you know I think that's kind of what it's all about, especially when you see young people and students new professionals at an event like CoSuite.
Career Development and Mentorship
00:45:33
Speaker
And I hope that students and new professionals that are tuning in um heard what Deb just said and you get those applications in for the student awards for next year because...
00:45:44
Speaker
It is a great experience. you know I love working with the our ASBPA award winners who get to intern for the Science and Technology and Government Affairs Committee. And I i do think it's a really great career development move. So self-nominate.
00:46:01
Speaker
So this has been an amazing conversation. I think it's... you know i One of the reasons I enjoy doing this is because I learn something every time you know we have guests on, whether it's a new research topic or more about the political process, ah the coastal policy process, I should say, um you know professional development. yeah it's It's an amazing part of this experience.
00:46:21
Speaker
um As we begin to wind this down, one of the things that we ask all of our guests is, If there's students and new professionals that may be thinking like, hey, this sounds really cool. Like D.C. sounds really exciting. Coastal policy sounds really exciting.
00:46:37
Speaker
How do i get involved? How do i go that route? um you Is there any specific advice that they that you have for students that may want to follow in your your path? And I guess maybe I'll ask Nicole first again.
00:46:49
Speaker
Yeah, thanks, John. um Absolutely. b We've already talked about getting engaged, even if you are kind of a listen in listening mode to begin with. And I think that's a a really critical one.
00:47:01
Speaker
And then the the the second thing that I would offer, and this is advice that we also give all of our members when they hit the hill, in fact, and that is have an ask, right? I tell my kids this too, like, you're not going to get the that You know, you're not going to get to stop folding silverware at your new job and start being the hostess daughter if you don't ask for it. right um So, you know, talk to your advisor about going to the conferences, you know, find creative ways to get out there and network. um Do as much as you can virtually, but but really try to get, um find a way to come to some of these
00:47:40
Speaker
professional conferences, whether it be, you know, maybe you could even start out at a technical conference if that's more of your comfort level, because the networking um and the people that you meet there, like we've talked about here, were you at one point and and it's, you know, once you get to a certain point in your career, there's nothing more rewarding than then seeing a canal spellow that just is brilliant. And, you know, you can kind of tell that they're going to go on to to be the next leader of the next coastal thing. So get um yeah get involved in and and have an ask.
00:48:15
Speaker
That's really great advice, Nicole. ah love that. And I would echo all of that. was trying to think of and what to add. I think a couple of things, given like just thinking about what it's like to be a young professional or a student interested in ocean and coastal management and policy and kind of seeing what's happening in the news.
00:48:33
Speaker
And um i just want to say like one message is your voice matters and you can make a difference even in the federal space, which can seem really, as we've talked about, like overwhelming and scary and huge. And how could, how could my voice matter? How could this small, this coastal program in my state for, for my university matter? It does.
00:48:57
Speaker
And, um you know, groups like ASBPA bringing people from all around the country to ah bring that perspective to the Hill is and the success that these groups have had is a testament to that. So, you know, don't don't shirk away, lean in. um And then in terms of the career itself, I think probably every single person that you ask will say, find mentors, do informational interviews, talk to people. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
00:49:24
Speaker
And when you're thinking about when you're having those conversations and understanding people's career paths and thinking about your own, i have two, i'm going to mix two metaphors. So I apologize in advance. But one of them is you can think about your career like you're building a brick house and you might know what the house is going to look like at the end. and But maybe you don't know what each brick needs to be.
00:49:47
Speaker
And so when you're talking to people who have a job or a career you think you might be interested in understand all the different components of what their job is and think about how you might be able to get those components in different ways. And so these in this in a time like now, um it might be that you need to be a little bit more creative for a few years. It might not be a straight path to where you think you want to be, but maybe you see Oh, this person really needed to have good marketing skills or good communications or social media or graphic design.
00:50:19
Speaker
Maybe you can go spend a year getting those skills somewhere that's very different from the field you're in right now. And then you can import them back into the career you have, which is what I did when I was lobbying for like agriculture stuff. That wasn't where I wanted to wind up, but I learned all these skills that became really useful in my career. And then the second metaphor is that someone told me once um was your career is like crossing a river and you start at one side of the bank and you're, you know, you're trying to get to the other side, but in the, in the immediate, you're just jumping from the shore to the first dry stone, and then you jump to the next dry stone and then you jump to the next one.
00:51:03
Speaker
And then eventually you get to the other side. And when you look back, it was a path. And so when you're talking to people who are later in their career, it might make sense that that path you know, it seemed like it was predestined. But when you're in the middle of it, you're just jumping to the next dry stone. So give yourself grace and everything builds to something great.
00:51:23
Speaker
That's some great advice. um You mentioned mentorship. So I'll just give a quick plug for the ASBPA mentorship program, which I am a proud member of. There's opportunities to find people that have a similar interest as yours, similar career path. And, uh,
00:51:40
Speaker
get some of that mentorship. With that, I think we'd like to thank both of our guests. um and Nicole and Emily, it's been been great talking with you both. It's been very informative. I'm sure our audience appreciates the perspective that you have, and especially in this crazy time that we're living in.
00:51:57
Speaker
um you know The willingness of both of you to share some of your day, um to talk to our student and new professional listeners. Thank you, John. And I would love to give a shout out to John Miller on behalf of the entire ASBPA, who he's been an amazing leader of students, a great board member, and really, you know, the driving force behind keeping this podcast alive. So we really appreciate you, John. Thank you. Thank you.
00:52:27
Speaker
Hooray to John.
00:52:31
Speaker
but Before we go, we do want to thank New Jersey Sea Grant for sponsoring the podcast. And one last informative note, if you're interested in supporting Going Coastal, please reach out to us at our email address, podcastgoingcoastal at gmail.com. Thanks for listening.
00:52:53
Speaker
And thanks, Nicole and Emily. Bye. Bye.