Making a lasting difference: Our new strategic plan

Since opening 40 years ago, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has helped people experience and appreciate the living ocean, deepen their understanding of its complex and fragile nature, and take action to protect its future. We know now that healthy ocean ecosystems are critical to enabling life on Earth to exist, and that our very survival depends on them.

There’s much to celebrate in the progress we’ve made over the past 40 years, but we’re losing time. Winning the race to slow the pace of climate change and other human impacts on the ocean demands more of us. We must step up to the challenge. Using the trusted voice and strong brand we’ve built over time, the Aquarium will now harness our momentum to transform public understanding and action.

To do so, we’ve just completed a new strategic plan that will shape our work over the next five years. I’m excited by the clarity of our vision and how we’ve identified priorities where we can make a real difference for the future of the ocean. You can read the details for yourself in a new section we’ve added to our website.

The plan is anchored in a strong set of values embodying the core principles that have guided our work from the beginning: Have an impact. Act with integrity. Advance through innovation. Commit to equity. And stay immersed in hope.

It frames a new vision that centers human well-being as both a critical goal and a central driver to achieve our mission: to inspire conservation of the ocean. It builds on our strengths as a beloved place to visit connected to a vast virtual community of ocean lovers and learners; a trusted source of science-based information; a powerful voice in ocean conservation; and a place of joy and renewed hope for humanity and nature.

The plan centers our work around four strategic commitments, each with accompanying objectives.

First, we’ll invest in our core strength as an aquarium – creating innovative experiences that inspire, connect, and promote action. We’ll invest in digital engagement, exhibit innovation, early learners and youth leadership, and long-term maintenance of our facilities.

Second, we’re committing to cultivating an equitable and thriving organization with people at the center, guided by a new equity roadmap developed by a broad team over the past year.

Third, we will catalyze financial growth to advance our mission, because we recognize that revenue growth is imperative to sustain our mission. We will look beyond visitation for new sources of earned revenue, manage our assets wisely, and evolve our technology systems.

Finally, we’ll activate our communities around climate resilience and approach our conservation work through the lens of environmental justice – advocating for both a healthy ocean and healthy communities worldwide.

Our new plan highlights and elevates our commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in all areas of our work. As in the past, the talent, creativity, and conviction of our amazing Aquarium teams will drive our success. We’ll be aiming for a new level of collaboration as we become fully integrated as an aquarium and a global conservation organization.

This plan was not developed in a top-down fashion. It is strong because it embodies insights, ideas, and advice from hundreds of people – staff from all levels and every work group, community stakeholders, thought leaders, and experts from beyond our walls, with guidance from our Board of Trustees. The final product benefited enormously from the deep knowledge and diverse perspectives contributed by everyone who shared their time with us, and by the staff who spent so many hours crafting the plan.

I’m excited to see how the Aquarium moves forward with this new framework to guide and bring focus to our work. Stay connected – and join us! I look forward to sharing our progress as we create a future where the ocean flourishes and people thrive.