January 2026 Newsletter

In This Issue

• A new addition to the newsletter—your stories!
• Share the news and sign up for Changing the Conversation on January 28
• Don't miss our upcoming event, Podcasts in Climate Communication, on January 29
• Meet our newest members of the Board of Directors! 
• An article to reflect on from the JEDI Committee
• Hard-hitting questions wanted

Sharing Your Stories in 2026!

We’re excited to announce the start of a new addition to the monthly newsletter—editorials! The NNOCCI community is a wide-ranging one filled with people from all over North America sharing climate change information and providing important education and resources. We couldn’t be where we are without you, so join us as we celebrate and highlight the work, people, and places that make NNOCCI, NNOCCI.

Youth Climate Summit: Building Skills, Hope, and Climate Solutions Together 

By Andrea Stein, Director of Education at the Roger Williams Park Zoo

"On November 8, our Education Department co-hosted our first Youth Climate Summit with the Rhode Island Environmental Education Association (RIEEA), bringing together 53 youth and 11 adult mentors from 11 schools and organizations for a day of learning, connection, and action around climate change.

The summit opened with a collaborative art experience led by local artist and advocate, AGONZA, setting a creative and hopeful tone. Participants then built skills for talking about climate change with anyone, especially across differences—in a session led by Kait Birghenthal from NNOCCI. As one youth shared, “Learning how to talk to others about climate change, even if they have different opinions than me, was very valuable.”

An inspiring keynote from Chris Gaynor (RIDEM) highlighted how personal stories and values shape climate leadership, followed by a reflective walk-and-talk around the zoo. Youth panelists James Tzul, Frank Jolifier, Abby Paull, and Ethan Paiva shared their own journeys in climate action, while adult mentors explored youth–adult partnerships with SJ Jennings. 

The summit culminated with participants coming together to reflect on the day and identify next steps for turning ideas into action. Youth and adult mentors worked side by side to consider climate projects they could advance in their own communities. As one participant shared, “It was nice to come together and to consider action steps around climate change projects.” This shared focus on moving from inspiration to action helped reinforce a sense of momentum and possibility. Teams will continue working on their climate action projects over the coming months and will reconvene this spring to share their work. Stay tuned to see how these ideas turn into action.

By investing in communication skills, storytelling, relationships, and youth–adult partnerships, we are helping to build the social and cultural foundation needed for meaningful climate action—now and into the future."

Stay tuned as a follow-up installment will be coming later this year. We're excited to share stories from all members—both personally, and organizationally—such as:

• How the Marine Discovery Center in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, revitalized a parking lot into a living shoreline

• The work of the Marine Mammal Center (NNOCCI's home) in Sausalito, California, to mobilize high school-aged conservation ambassadors

• Deeper dives into the work of NNOCCI grads outside of institutions, such as Q & As with book author alums

• Introduction of new tools, including some material translations into Spanish and ASL, as well as the climate solutions bank we've had in the works

If you receive this newsletter, you likely already know what NNOCCI is and why strategic framing matters. A crucial solution to acting on climate change is to talk about it, and we're here to help with that.

If you need some help starting the conversation with others now is your chance! Please share this upcoming one-hour free opportunity with colleagues, friends, and family.

Changing the Conversation: An Introduction to Effective Climate Change Communication

Please join us on Wednesday, January 28 from 3–4 p.m. ET / 12–1 p.m. PT

FREE Webinar - Register Here!

Trying to talk about climate change but finding that facts alone don’t always land? While climate science is essential, social science shows us how to share climate messaging in ways that truly connect with our audiences. Whether you’re brand new to the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation (NNOCCI) or just want to learn more, this is a great chance to connect with us.

Join experienced NNOCCI trainers to explore how tested values and metaphors can help audiences become more open to climate messages, and become part of a community working to make climate conversations more positive, civic-minded, and solutions-focused.

With over 15 years of impact, dozens of peer-reviewed publications, and a growing network across the U.S. and Canada, NNOCCI is a nationally recognized leader in climate change interpretation. NNOCCI is proud to operate through a fiscal sponsorship with The Marine Mammal Center.

Help kick off our new series of online events with NNOCCI Presents: Podcasts in Climate Communication. This interactive discussion will highlight how our members have used Strategic Framing in this popular medium, including how they engage with listeners in a recorded format, how they have been able to use NNOCCI tools in this work, and why they chose podcasting to share their messaging.

The event will feature the minds behind the “Let’s Sea” and “This Week in Science” podcasts, as well as new ideas from aspiring podcasters! 

Thursday January 29, 2026
10–11 a.m. PT / 1–2 p.m. ET

Let's Give a Warm Welcome to Our New Board Members!

One of the most exciting parts of the New Year for NNOCCI is that we get to welcome new members to our Board of Directors! These individuals will serve on the Board for two years, and provide vital support to the daily operations, and ongoing growth, of our Network. They are true assets to the success of this organization, and we are infinitely grateful that they volunteer their time with us, contributing their expertise and energy to this work. Kudos to the new members, we look forward to diving into this year, together!

Please help us in welcoming our new 2026 Board of Directors members!

Krystal Krucik (she/her) – JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) Director 

Krystal Krucik is the new JEDI Director on the Board. She lives in San Francisco, CA, working at the Marine Mammal Center. She has been near NNOCCI since 2016 when she worked at the New England Aquarium alongside Kait and used NNOCCI tools in her interpretation. She then had formal training in 2022 when she took a Crash Course/ Framing the Conversation Course. Since then, Krystal has been a Teaching Assistant and Co-Facilitator for the Framing the Conversation Course and Changing the Conversation Introductory Presentation. She has been really excited as a facilitator to see more JEDI work present in the NNOCCI trainings and hope to further this incredible work with a fresh perspective! She is very excited to serve this incredible community!

Amy Shea (she/her) – Science and Evaluation Director

Amy first became a part of the NNOCCI network in 2014 after completing a study circle while she worked at the Palm Beach Zoo and Conservation Society. Today, Amy works at the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, FL as the Senior Manager of Interpretation and Guest Learning and has stayed connected with NNOCCI in various ways over the years. In the year ahead, Amy looks forward to developing a resource for us to answer those tricky science questions and work with the rest of the Science and Evaluation committee to better understand the impact of our trainings.

Megan Stouffer (she/her) – Communications Director

Megan has been with NNOCCI just shy of two years. Having already played a role in both the Membership Engagement and Communications Committees, Megan is thrilled to further show off this great community—and the amazing work you do—through NNOCCI’s comms channels. Her passion for people and planet drives her work in digital marketing and content curation. She currently works for New England Botanic Garden where she gets to share plant-powered stories across social media and other digital marketing channels. Alongside knowing way too many social media trends, Megan is a Certified Drone Pilot and a Certified Interpretive Guide through the National Association for Interpretation. When she’s not working, you can often find her exploring small towns in New England, working on a jigsaw puzzle, or hanging out with her cat, Sox.

Bailey Robbins (she/her) – Secretary 

Bailey lives in Orange County, California, but was born and raised in Minnesota. After receiving her bachelor's degree in Marine Biology, she wished to focus on climate change education. Bailey just completed her master's program at Unity Environmental University in Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience, which is how she first connected with NNOCCI. In Fall 2025, Bailey worked with NNOCCI to develop a climate solutions bank to share with members for her graduate capstone project. The experience was very rewarding, and she is looking forward to supporting NNOCCI directors and committees as Secretary!

Resource & Reflection

This month, the JEDI Committee has shared an article about the erasure of voices, histories, and climate change at national parks over the last year. View the article at the link here or click the button below. If you have a few minutes, reflect on the article with the following questions:

• If you work at an institution impacted by this censorship, what are ways you are still telling the stories of the people and histories that are being erased?

• If you work at an institution not impacted, how might you and your organization serve as a safe haven for diverse perspectives, difficult history, and the critical work of climate advocacy?

Send In Your Hard-Hitting Questions

Climate change can be confusing—even for people who care deeply about it. Do you have a climate question that’s hard to explain, easy to misunderstand, or just plain stumps you? Send your toughest climate change questions to Amy Shea at ashea@brevardzoo.org, and we will break them down with clear, science-based answers as we create a “Tough to Answer” science questions resource.