The program will feature Akira Biondo, Director of Operations, PangeaSeed Foundation; Priscilla Brooks, Vice President and Director of Ocean Conservation, Conservation Law Foundation; Linda Cabot, Founder and President, Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs; Kannan Thiruvengadam, Community Engagement and Environmental Resilience Strategist, Sea Walls Boston; and Richard Vevers, Founder and CEO, The Ocean Agency.

Dr. John Mandelman, Vice President and Chief Scientist, Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, New England Aquarium, will moderate. The program will be part of the Aquarium Lecture Series, which is presented free to the public through the generosity of the Lowell Institute. Registration is required: http://support.neaq.org/site/Calendar?id=108366&view=Detail.

The panel discussion is part of a week-long celebration called Sea Walls: Artists for Oceans in Boston from July 19 to 26. Eleven new ocean advocacy murals and public events will be happening around the city, mostly in East Boston, to increase interest in marine stewardship. Renowned contemporary artist Shepard Fairey, who created the famous “HOPE” portraits of President Obama, will be painting a mural on the side of the New England Aquarium’s Simons Theatre during the week. Produced in collaboration with HarborArts, a local public art initiative, this new series of public murals in East Boston will add to the seven murals created last year as part of the Sea Walls Boston’s pilot project. The Aquarium is the Honorary Conservation Partner for the event, sponsored and created by PangeaSeed Foundation.