Behind the Bark: Saving Seals and Sea Lions

with special guest

Adam Ratner, Director of Conservation Engagement

The Marine Mammal Center

FREE and Open to All

We’re kicking off 2026 with a bang (and a bark). Happy New Year, Ocean Hoptimists!

Seals and sea lions have a way of making us pay attention. They haul out on beaches, look us in the eye, and—whether we deserve it or not—remind us we’re connected. When one of them is in trouble, the whole coastline feels it. Eventually, so do we.

For half a century, The Marine Mammal Center has turned that connection into action, rescuing and rehabilitating thousands of sick and injured animals across California and Hawai‘i. But here’s the thing most people miss: every patient tells a story about the ocean’s health, and about us. They’re warnings. Clues. And sometimes, proof that care, time, and restraint can still leave a visible mark.

On January 22, we’re bringing in someone who knows those stories better than almost anyone: Adam Ratner, Director of Conservation Engagement and one of the great interpreters of what marine mammals have been trying to tell us all along.

In Behind the Bark: Saving Seals and Sea Lions, Adam will take us inside the world’s largest marine-mammal hospital—where frontline rescues, climate research, community action, and the occasional grumpy sea lion all collide. Expect real cases, big questions, and a surprisingly hopeful look at what’s possible when science, volunteers, and local communities pull in the same direction.

Adam’s work is about empowerment: helping people see themselves as part of the solution, not spectators to decline.

“I am hopeful for the future of the ocean simply because the overwhelming majority of people want to protect it. Study after study continues to show people want action. What's missing is the compelling story and clear guidance for how people can get involved themselves. All of us can help with that.”

   -Adam Ratner

Start the year with purpose, with community, and with a champion who reminds us that hope isn’t naive—it’s learned, practiced, and alive in every animal that gets a second chance.

Bring friends. Bring questions. Bring that new-year energy.

The ocean—and its noisiest neighbors—are calling.

More Info: www.oceanhoptimism.org