San Francisco Fleet Week, SonjaShin
 
Sonja Shin is the host of Fleet Week TV and Public Affairs Officer for San Francisco Fleet Week Association. She has reported news for NBC Bay Area and KPIX-TV as well as serving as a producer for The Today Show and NBC Nightly News in New York City.  Shin specializes in science and technology communication and has handled public affairs, business development, and IT at NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. She studied ceramic engineering and science journalism at Northwestern University and did graduate science communication work at UC Santa Cruz.
 
Sonia described the events of Fleet Week, which involves the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and other services. In addition, many other civilian emergency services participate in various parts of Fleet Week. San Francisco is considered by the sailors to be the “gold standard” of Fleet Week events around the world. The last live event was October 3-11, 2021; because of the pandemic, it was the only such event conducted.
 
San Francisco Fleet Week is considered to be the world’s largest humanitarian display. The event has been in existence going for 40 years in San Francisco and over 1 million people have attended the many free events. The main attraction is the Blue Angels performing in the skies over the City, but there are 45 other events as well, including the parade of ships, visits to ships, a baseball tournament, a veteran’s art exhibit, a first responder flyout, a seminar on Department of Defense support of civil activities, and much more. In addition to those attending live events, more than 24 million people attended online.
 
Watch Sonja's presentation here.