Supporting a Healthier Coastline for Palos Verdes and Beyond
Chris Adlam is proud to sponsor Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles, an organization whose work is deeply connected to the coastline, wildlife, and natural beauty that make Southern California such a special place to call home.
Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles, also known as MMCC, is the only year-round organization in Los Angeles County authorized by NOAA to rehabilitate sick and injured marine mammals. Since 1992, the Center has cared for more than 11,000 marine mammals, including sea lions, elephant seals, fur seals, and harbor seals. Their patients arrive for many reasons, including malnutrition, illness, entanglement, algal toxins, injuries caused by human interaction, and other environmental threats.
A Mission Rooted in Rescue, Education, and Ocean Conservation
MMCC’s mission is to inspire ocean conservation through marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation, education, and research. Their vision is a healthy ocean ecosystem where people and marine life can thrive together.
That mission feels especially meaningful here in Palos Verdes, where the ocean is such an important part of daily life. From the coastal views and beaches to the wildlife that depends on this ecosystem, our community has a close connection to the health of the Pacific.
Marine mammals are often considered important indicators of ocean health. When these animals are sick, injured, or struggling to survive, it can point to larger environmental issues affecting the ocean, wildlife, and even human communities. MMCC’s work helps protect individual animals while also supporting broader research and awareness around the challenges facing our marine environment.
The Important Work of MMCC
MMCC’s work focuses on three key areas: rehabilitation, rescue and response, and education.
At its rehabilitation hospital, the Center provides care for hundreds of marine mammals each year until they are healthy enough to return to the wild. Their team develops treatment protocols, works with scientists and conservation partners, and contributes to research that helps improve the understanding of marine mammal and ocean health.
MMCC also responds to marine mammals in distress along the Los Angeles County coastline, including Catalina Island. Each year, their team receives hundreds of reports involving stranded or injured marine mammals. They are also part of NOAA’s National Large Whale Entanglement Response Network, helping respond to whales that become entangled in fishing gear as they travel through local waters.
In addition to rescue and rehabilitation, MMCC plays an important role in education and community engagement. Their programs serve students, community groups, conservation partners, and the public, helping people better understand marine mammals, ocean health, and the everyday actions that can help protect our coastal environment.
Education and Community Engagement
Beyond rescue and rehabilitation, Marine Mammal Care Center also serves as an important educational resource for the community. Visitors can explore the Center’s updated visitor experience, view seal and sea lion patients, and learn from volunteer docents about marine mammals, ocean health, and the rehabilitation process.
MMCC also offers hands-on learning opportunities for families, students, and community groups. Programs such as Family Science Sundays, S.E.A. Lab, ArtLab, field trips, and LAUSD’s Day of Discovery help connect people of all ages to marine science, conservation, and environmental stewardship. Through interactive exhibits, patient observation, STEM activities, and creative workshops, MMCC makes ocean conservation approachable, memorable, and inspiring.
These programs help educate the next generation of ocean advocates while giving the public a deeper understanding of the marine life that shares our coastline.
Interested in visiting? Make a reservation to visit Marine Mammal Care Center here.
Why This Work Matters in Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County has more marine mammal rescues per mile of coastline than anywhere else in the country. At the same time, the region has limited remaining critical shoreline habitat, making safe resting and recovery areas harder for marine mammals to find.
As these natural spaces become more limited, sick or injured marine mammals are more likely to come ashore on busy public beaches. This creates unique challenges for both the animals and the people who encounter them.
Our coastline is also vital to the local economy. Beaches and coastal recreation help support tourism, while the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach play a major role in national and global commerce. MMCC’s work highlights the importance of balancing a vibrant coastal economy with the responsibility to protect the marine wildlife that shares our shoreline.
Proud to Support Changing Tides
Chris is honored to support MMCC and its upcoming biannual fundraising gala, Changing Tides, which will be held on September 26, 2026, at a private residence in Palos Verdes Estates.
The event brings together community members, local leaders, and supporters who care about marine life, ocean conservation, and the future of our coastline. Sponsoring this event is a meaningful way to support MMCC’s life-saving work and help ensure the Center can continue rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing marine mammals for years to come.
How to Support Marine Mammal Care Center
For those who would like to support Marine Mammal Care Center’s life-saving work, there are several meaningful ways to give. Contributions help provide care for sick and injured marine mammals, support rescue and response efforts, and fund education programs that inspire ocean conservation throughout the community.
Supporters can make a one-time gift, set up a monthly donation, symbolically adopt a past patient, give in honor or memory of someone special, or explore corporate partnership opportunities. Additional giving options include legacy gifts, stock or IRA contributions, donor advised fund gifts, employer matching programs, in-kind supply donations, vehicle donations, and purchasing an item on their wish list.
Every gift helps MMCC continue its important work rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing marine mammals along the Los Angeles County coastline.
If you're interested in giving to MMCC, you can do so here.
Protecting the Coast We Call Home
For Chris, supporting Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles is about more than sponsorship. It is about investing in the coastline, wildlife, and community that make Palos Verdes and the greater South Bay so extraordinary.
The ocean is one of our region’s greatest treasures. By supporting MMCC, Chris is proud to help protect the marine life that depends on it and the coastal environment that so many of us are fortunate to enjoy every day.
