Ocean Conservation Honors 2026
Join us at the Seattle Aquarium’s Ocean Conservation Honors event on Thursday, November 5. Ocean Conservation Honors bestows awards to individuals who further the Aquarium’s mission of Inspiring Conservation of Our Marine Environment.
This year, the event will feature a reception where attendees can connect with others in the conservation community and enjoy our Ocean Pavilion space, followed by an engaging panel discussion with the winners of the Seattle Aquarium Sylvia Earle Medal, Conservation Research Award and inaugural Youth Advocacy Award.
Congratulations to this year’s award winners: Dr. Kathryn L. Sobocinski, Dr. Richard A. Feely and Annapoorani Lingeshwaran. Read more about this talented trio below.
Honoree bios
Dr. Kathryn L. Sobocinski
Dr. Kathryn L. Sobocinski, Ph.D., is an applied marine ecologist focusing on fishes, fish habitats and impacts of human disturbance and climate change in coastal ecosystems. Kathryn currently focuses on salmon survival in marine ecosystems, studying interactions between salmon, their prey and competitors. She also works to assess the effects of estuary restoration for salmon, as well as marine ecology related to human-caused changes in the Salish Sea and beyond.
Dr. Sobocinski is an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and the Marine and Coastal Science program at Western Washington University. She has a bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College; a master’s degree from University of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences; and a Ph.D. in Marine Science from the College of William & Mary, Virginia Institute of Marine Science. She lives in Bellingham and likes to get on or in the water whenever possible.
Dr. Richard A. Feely
Dr. Richard A. Feely, Ph.D., is a retired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration senior fellow at the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. He currently works there as a volunteer scientist. He also taught at the University of Washington School of Oceanography. His major research areas are carbon cycling in the ocean and ocean acidification processes.
He received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of St. Thomas, in Saint Paul, Minnesota; and a master’s degree and Ph.D., both in chemical oceanography, from Texas A&M University. He is a current member of the U.S. CLIVAR/CO2 Repeat Hydrography Program Oversight Committee; U.S. Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification; American Geophysical Union; American Association for the Advancement of Science; and American Chemical Society. He is a former member of the international Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network Executive Council; and the steering committee for the International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project.
Dr. Feely has authored more than 380 referred scientific research publications. He received the Department of Commerce Gold Award in 2006 for research on ocean acidification. In 2010 he was awarded the Heinz Environmental Award for his pioneering research on ocean acidification. In 2014, Dr. Feely received the NOAA Administrator’s Award for his work on the 2013 IPCC AR5 Climate Change Report. In 2022, he received the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service. In 2025, Dr. Feely was awarded the Texas A&M University Halbouty Metal for Geoscience.
Annapoorani Lingeshwaran
Annapoorani Lingeshwaran is a sophomore at Lakeside High School in Seattle who is passionate about removing microplastics from water. She inspired and worked closely with Washington State Representative Gerry Pollet to champion a bill about microfiber filters in washing machines. In her free time, she loves to construct crossword puzzles, learn about chemistry and practice tae kwon do.
