2026 Big Blue, Green Tomorrow: Connecting the Dots

Day 1 brought to you by Beacon Marine Construction

View/download Day 1 Program here

9:00 AM Registration Opens. Coffee, tea and water will be available all day.

9:00 - 10:30 AM Networking and Conference Expo

10:30 AM: Welcome by Katy Acheson and Emcee Renee Lett. 
Programming begins. Morning talks include:

• The Wind in Our Sails Educational Passages and Falmouth Public Schools, featuring:
  • Cassie Stymiest of Educational Passages
  • Carmela Mayeski, Cheryl Milliken and Sonia Tellier from Falmouth Public Schools
• A presentation by Falmouth High School Students
• A presentation on Eelgrass Monitoring by Massachusetts Maritime Academy

11:45 AM - 12:45 PM: Enjoy networking and lunch provide by Anejo Food Truck. (If you have special dietary needs, please consider packing a lunch)

12:45 PM: Programming continues. Afternoon talks include:

• Impact of Recreational Boating by Randall Lyons of the Massachusetts Marine Trades Association
• Tides Go Both Ways by Patrick Clarke, Cape Clasp
• Science of Art by Mike Palmer of Waquoit Bay Fish Company
• How to Heal a River by Rick Bishop, Executive Director of the Friends of Bass River
• WaveMakers Employers Forum Panel Moderated by Rachael Kittelson, Senior Manager of Employer Engagement and Workforce Partnerships at Cape Cod Community College, with panelists:
  • Rachel Hutchinson, Marine Resource Specialist at Barnstable County Cooperative Extension
  • Joyce LeBlanc-Kramer of Allen Harbor Marine
  • Christina Silva, Program Director of Y Achievers at YMCA
  • Tricia Teixeira Santoianni, Instructor/Facilitator of Cape Cod Community College's Center for Corporate and Professional Education
  • Catherine Wilson, Business Services and Marketing Manager, MassHire Cape & Islands Career Center
  • Learn more about Wave Makers
• Special guest Doug the Quahog
• Keynote: John Pappalardo, CEO of Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, will make his Big Blue debut to share his perspective on how the Blue Economy and Green Economy are connected through what he calls the “Aqua Economy."

4:00 - 4:30 PM: Day 1 wrap up

To see the full list of speakers/bios, and to purchase conference passes, please scroll down this page.

Day 2 brought to you by Veregy

View/download Day 2 Program here

8:30 AM Registration Opens. Coffee, tea and water will be available all day.

8:30 - 9:30 AM Please join us for breakfast and a fireside chat sponsored by MassHire Cape & Islands Workforce Board, featuring:

• Kara O'Donnell- Galvin, Executive Director of MassHire CIWB
• Lee Moynihan, Special Education Lead/Transition Coordinator, Sturgis West Charter School
• Michael Looney, Director of CTE at Mashpee Middle-High School
• Janet Rocha, CTE Department Head, Falmouth High School

9:30 AM: Welcome by Emcee Jeni Wheeler, Executive Director of the Family Table Collaborative

Morning talks include:

• How Falmouth is a community that CARES, panel moderated by Michael Kasperian and featuring:
  • Jess Kowal, Executive Director of Farming Falmouth
  • Jim Murray, Jim's Clam Shack
  • Haley O'Neill, CARE for the Cape and Islands
• Not a Climate Scientist: A Conversation with Heather Goldstone, Senior Fellow and Executive Producer at Woodwell Climate Research Center
• Innovating at the Local Level: Smarter Energy for Stronger Communities by Stephanie Madsen, Sustainability Specialist for the Town of Falmouth
• Grow a Damn, panel discussion moderated by Stephanie Viva and including students from Mashpee, DY and Falmouth High Schools

12:35 - 1:15 PM Networking and Lunch featuring oysters provided by ARC, Smoked Mackerel snacks by Chatham Harvesters Fishermen's Cooperative, and more from Family Table Collaborative. (If you have special dietary needs, please consider packing a lunch)

1:15 - 1:30 PM:  A special film screening of the InkLine Project, a collaboration by multimedia artist Jackie Reeves and author Lauren Wolk.

1:30 PM: Afternoon programming continues and includes:

• Art of the Climate Commons, panel discussion moderated by Alex Richman, Executive Director of Climate Beacon, and including:
  • Rajji Desai, Lead Researcher, Urban Design Team at CBT Architects
  • Timothy Geers, Co-Producer/2nd Unit Director, "Call of the Dolphins"
  • Jackie Reeves, Multidisciplinary Artist and co-founder of The InkLine Project with Lauren Wolk
  • Lauren Wolk, Poet, Artist, Filmmaker and co-founder of The InkLine Project with Jackie Reeves
• Fresh Look at Fresh Water, panel discussion moderated by Kim Comart, Founder of Falmouth Pond Coalition, and including:
  • Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director of APCC
  • Tara Nye Lewis, Water Resource Analyst for the Cape Cod Commission
  • Trish Corey from OLAUG (Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage)
• Connected Communities, by Brian Braginton-Smith

4:00 PM: Closing Remarks by Paul Niedzwiecki and Katy Acheson

To see the full list of speakers/bios, and to purchase conference passes, please scroll down this page.

Tuesday, April 28: 9 am - 4:30 PM
Wednesday, April 29: 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Whether you're joining us for one day or two, be sure to check out the conference expo, which will feature blue- and green- organizations and industries, as well as a chance to be creative! This year’s Expo will feature a community mural project with AFCC 2026 Artist of the Year Jackie Reeves, as well as letters to the environment with Boston-based artist Rajji Desai to accompany her postage-stamp themed art series, and some small creations you can take home too.

Conference exhibitors:
Armada Marine Robotics
Association to Preserve Cape Cod
Black Earth Compost
Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce
Cape Cod Community College
Cape Light Compact
CARE for Cape & Islands
Falmouth High School Robotics
Family Table Collaborative
Friends of Bass River
Green Energy Consumers
Hyannis Whale Watcher Cruises
Jackie Reeves Big Blue Community Mural
MassHire Cape & Islands Workforce Board
Rajji Desai Letters to the Environment
Resilient Woods Hole
Town of Falmouth Sustainability Program