Advocacy does not end when someone leaves public office, finishes a campaign, or steps away from a formal leadership position. For many Long Island leaders, it becomes part of how they continue to serve their communities.
Paul Tonna, Board President and Managing Partner of Praxis Public Relations, Inc., has built much of his career around that idea. In addition to his leadership at Praxis, Tonna has remained involved in volunteer, charitable, and advocacy initiatives focused on strengthening Long Island.
One of those commitments is his involvement with the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, an organization dedicated to marine conservation through research, education, response efforts, and community engagement.
The work offers an important example of what effective advocacy can look like when research, public education, government coordination, and community involvement come together around a shared mission.
A Commitment to Advocacy That Extends Beyond Public Office
Long before his work with AMSEAS, Tonna spent 12 years in the Suffolk County Legislature, including serving as Presiding Officer.
During his public service career, his advocacy addressed issues affecting some of Long Island’s most vulnerable populations, including people experiencing poverty and homelessness, as well as broader regional concerns such as workforce housing and environmental protection.
His environmental work included efforts related to non-smoking legislation and initiatives designed to preserve open space and farmland.
That experience reflects an important principle of advocacy: lasting change often requires people who understand how to bring different interests together around an issue and move from concern to action.
How Marine Conservation Becomes Community Advocacy
The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society demonstrates how that process can unfold around environmental issues.
AMSEAS conducts research and health assessment projects involving whales, seals, sea turtles, and other marine wildlife. Its work also includes aerial surveys, animal captures for research purposes, stranding response, and educational outreach.
But conservation is not simply about responding when an animal is in distress. It is also about understanding what happened, gathering reliable information, identifying broader environmental concerns, and helping communities better understand the ecosystem around them.
That combination of research and education turns conservation into a form of community advocacy.
What Happens When a Marine Animal Strands on Long Island
Long Islanders may encounter AMSEAS personnel on a local beach responding to a live stranded animal or conducting a necropsy, an animal autopsy, on a deceased marine mammal or sea turtle.
What the public sees on the beach, however, is only one part of a much larger process.
According to AMSEAS, an investigation begins as soon as its team receives a report through the New York State 24-hour Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding Hotline. Responders gather information about the animal, its condition, location, accessibility, weather, tides, and other factors that can influence the response.
The organization then contacts the entity with jurisdiction over the location. Depending on where the animal is found, the response can involve local municipalities, state or federal agencies, property owners, safety personnel, equipment operators, and other organizations.
For large animals such as whales, even conducting a necropsy can require significant logistical coordination, including heavy machinery, secured examination areas, and multiple agencies working toward the same objectives.
This behind-the-scenes coordination illustrates something that applies far beyond marine conservation: complex community challenges are rarely solved by one organization acting alone.
Why Necropsies Matter Beyond a Single Animal
A necropsy can provide researchers with important information about an animal’s health, biology, and life history.
During an examination, the AMSEAS team may collect measurements, examine external and internal anatomy, document injuries or other findings, and collect biological samples. Those samples can then undergo additional examination and laboratory testing by veterinary pathologists.
The process can take months, and a definitive cause of death is not always possible to determine.
But the information collected has significance beyond an individual animal. Marine mammals can serve as indicators of broader ocean health, meaning stranding investigations can contribute to a better understanding of what is happening within the marine environment.
That is where scientific research and advocacy begin to intersect.
Research Creates a Stronger Foundation for Environmental Advocacy
Effective advocacy begins with understanding the issue.
Environmental challenges can generate strong opinions, particularly when they involve wildlife, development, infrastructure, government policy, or the use of natural resources. Research provides a foundation for separating assumptions from what can actually be documented.
Organizations like AMSEAS collect information that can help scientists, government agencies, policymakers, and communities better understand marine ecosystems and emerging environmental concerns.
That same principle applies to advocacy across sectors. Research does not replace community voices, but it can give those voices stronger context.
The more organizations understand an issue, the better prepared they are to ask informed questions, communicate with decision-makers, and help communities understand what is at stake.
Education Turns Research Into Community Understanding
Scientific information only creates broader impact when people can understand why it matters.
AMSEAS extends its mission beyond field research through educational programs for schools, libraries, community centers, and other audiences. These programs give Long Islanders opportunities to learn more about marine wildlife and the environment surrounding their communities.
That educational component is another important lesson for organizations engaged in advocacy.
Awareness is not the same as understanding.
Effective advocacy helps people connect complex issues to their communities, their families, their businesses, and the future of the places where they live.
When organizations make information accessible, they give people a meaningful opportunity to participate in the conversation.
Collaboration Makes Complex Responses Possible
A marine wildlife stranding can require coordination among scientists, municipalities, government agencies, equipment operators, public safety personnel, property owners, and community organizations.
Each participant brings a different responsibility or area of expertise.
The same is true of many of Long Island’s most significant challenges.
Environmental protection, housing, infrastructure, economic development, healthcare, and community services cross organizational and municipal boundaries. Progress often depends on people who can connect those perspectives and create a framework for coordinated action.
Successful advocacy recognizes that no single organization needs to have every answer. It needs to know how to bring the right people and information together.
Advocacy Is a Long-Term Commitment to Long Island
For Tonna, involvement with organizations like the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society reflects a commitment that has continued throughout different stages of his career.
The issues may change. The role may change. The fundamental purpose does not.
Strong communities depend on people and organizations willing to understand complicated issues, ask difficult questions, share reliable information, and contribute their experience where it can make a difference.
Marine conservation provides a particularly visible example. What begins with a call about an animal on a beach can involve scientists, government agencies, municipalities, community organizations, and residents, all connected by a shared interest in understanding and protecting Long Island’s environment.
That is advocacy in practice: not simply raising awareness, but turning knowledge, relationships, and community involvement into meaningful action.
Praxis helps Long Island nonprofits, businesses, and organizations develop advocacy strategies that strengthen community engagement and advance important issues. Learn more about our advocacy and nonprofit services or get in touch.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society do?
The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society works to protect marine wildlife and improve understanding of marine ecosystems through research, education, conservation, and stranding response. Its work includes responding to marine mammals and sea turtles, conducting health assessments and research, and providing educational programs for communities.
What is a marine animal necropsy?
A necropsy is an examination performed after an animal dies, similar to an autopsy in humans. Researchers can use necropsies to evaluate an animal’s health, document injuries, collect biological samples, and investigate potential factors that may have contributed to its death.
What should I do if I see a stranded whale, seal, dolphin, or sea turtle on Long Island?
Do not approach, touch, or attempt to move the animal. Report the sighting to the appropriate marine wildlife response organization and provide information about the animal’s location and condition. The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society provides information about reporting stranded marine mammals and sea turtles in New York.
How does Praxis support advocacy organizations?
Praxis Public Relations helps nonprofits, businesses, associations, and other organizations develop advocacy strategies, strengthen community engagement, communicate complex issues, and build support around initiatives that matter to Long Island communities.
Read more about the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society’s mission here: https://www.amseas.org/