A healthy and vibrant coral reef at the Palmyra Atoll, one of the Northern Islands located roughly one-third of the way between Hawaii and American Samoa (Credit USFWS)

Last month, a group of people you’d never expect to see in the same room—religious leaders and scientists, investment managers and non-profit leaders, Indigenous peoples from Alaska and Guam and Black Americans from Baltimore and Atlanta—came together at the National Museum of Natural History with one common goal: To push our national leaders to think critically about how to address the crisis affecting the health of our oceans.

Read the full story on Smithsonian's Torch site.