Ocean Collectiv was a women-owned consulting firm that offered advising services to nonprofit environmental groups and for-profit companies working in ocean conservation and coastal economies to help them design policies that respect maritime ecosystems.

Sandra Whitehouse, the wife of U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), was a founding member of the firm. She is a self-described “expert on ocean policy” and has articulated her consulting area of expertise as “advancing ocean sustainability grounded in social justice.” ¹ The founder and former CEO was Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.  ² Johnson is a marine biologist, environmental activist, and author who co-founded the Urban Ocean Lab think tank. ³

According to its LinkedIn page, it stopped taking on new clients in May 2021. ⁴ As of September 2023, the link to its former website led to an unregistered domain. ⁵

Background

Ocean Collectiv was a women-owned consulting firm that offered services to environmental groups working in ocean conservation. It was founded in 2017. ⁶ It had somewhere between 11 and 50 employees and was based in Brooklyn, New York. ⁷

It described itself as a “collaborative of experts” that advised clients working in ocean sustainability and conservation, and claimed that it consciously ensured its work was “centering social justice.” Its mission was to move “ocean conservation into the mainstream.” ⁸ The expertise of its employees purportedly spanned “science, policy, community engagement, design, film, politics, education, technology, and communications.” ⁹

Despite the fact that co-founder Sandra Whitehouse’s LinkedIn page indicates that Whitehouse is still working at the firm, the firm appears to be defunct. According to its LinkedIn page, it stopped taking on new clients in May 2021. ¹⁰ As of September 2023, the link to its former website led to an unregistered domain. ¹¹

Leadership

Sandra Whitehouse, the wife of U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), was a founding member of the firm. She is a self-described “expert on ocean policy” and articulated her consulting area of expertise as “advancing ocean sustainability grounded in social justice.” ¹² With her background in marine science, Sandra Whitehouse has worked as a consultant to multiple environmentalist organizations, helping design policies that protect oceans, marine ecosystems, and coastal economies. ¹³

The founder and former CEO was Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. ¹⁴ Johnson is a marine biologist, environmental activist, and author who co-founded the Urban Ocean Lab think tank. Her work revolves around climate change and the belief that coastal cities will be imperiled by rising global temperatures. Johnson co-authored the “Blue New Deal,” which prioritizes ocean management and conservation in environmental policy. She is the former executive director of the Waitt Institute, and spearheaded an island-wide ocean zoning effort in the Caribbean. She previously worked for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). ¹⁵

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13. “Sandra Whitehouse.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 10, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-whitehouse-54099217/.
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