THE SUSTAINABLE OCEAN ALLIANCE TEAM

At the age of 19, Daniela founded Sustainable Ocean Alliance as a college-room idea at Georgetown University. Five years later, SOA has created the world's largest network of young Ocean Leaders in over 150 countries and launched the world's first Ocean Solutions Accelerator to support developing technological solutions to address the greatest threats facing our planet.

Daniela has been recognized for her work by former U.S. Secretary John Kerry, U.S. President Bill Clinton, and E.U. Commissioner Karmenu Vella. She is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and a member of Friends of Ocean Action—a select group of leaders working to fast-track solutions to ocean challenges.

She was awarded the 2020 Rising Star Visionary Award by the Silicon Valley Forum and named a 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur. Other awards and recognitions include Glamour Magazine's College Women of the Year, Zula's Top 5 Ocean Heroes of 2016, the Peter Benchley Ocean Award, and the Bustle Upstart Award. Daniela is a contributor to National Geographic and Sustainable Brands, and has been interviewed by Voice of America, New York City TV, and Ocean Radio.

She has served as a keynote speaker at The Economist World Ocean Summit, the Global Climate Summit, The Global Convening of Mayors, The United Nations, U.S. Capitol Hill Ocean Week, Collision Conference, Sustainable Brands Conference, WE Day, and Davos 2019 - The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting.

At ReadWrite, Craig worked closely with 115 early-stage technology startups from a variety of industries including healthcare, agriculture, fitness, safety, cleantech, energy, and smart cities. Before entering the technology sector, Craig worked at the National Marine Fisheries Service and studied Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California Santa Cruz.

In his tenure at Sustainable Ocean Alliance, Brandon has carried his mission forth by supporting the next generation of ocean innovators with the training, resources and networks they need to build nature-positive solutions and reach their full potential as human beings. In this capacity, Brandon has built the Ocean Leadership Program, created a grant program that has funded grassroots projects in 60+ countries, spearheaded global leadership summits in collaboration with foreign governments, and provided integral coaching for young leaders worldwide. 

As a sought after public speaker, Brandon has lectured and led workshops on living systems theory, conscious leadership, climate technology, ecopsychology, & mindfulness at impact-oriented institutions and conferences around the globe (UN, NASA, Toniic, COP27, et al). On his world tour, he continues to inspire people to apply their creative talent, technological prowess, and stored reserves of capital in service of full-scale systems change. 

Outside of SOA, Brandon is a mentor for StartingBloc and sits on several boards for ecologically-focused projects (ÆRTH, AQUA MATER). During his tenure at New Energy Nexus, Brandon helped manage a funding and professional development program for innovators working to develop early-stage clean energy concepts. Additionally, he has co-founded an impact advisory firm, and has consulted for CalCharge, Alameda County, and 3Degrees respectively.

Having spent her entire life living on the Atlantic Ocean coastline, Melissa has a great love and appreciation of the ocean. Already an advocate and supporter of philanthropic work, she shares a passion to make positive changes locally, nationally and globally. An active member in children's health in her home state of Rhode Island, Melissa founded the Dorian J. Murray Foundation, is a leadership council member of Hasbro Children's Hospital, and spokesperson for the RI Blood Center.

Prior to joining SOA, Chandana was Associate Director at Acumen Academy where she led an international team to design and deliver globally-reaching online courses, leadership programs, and accelerators. She was also Director of Global Education Programs at National Geographic where she developed a strategic vision, cultivated partnerships, and designed programs for educators, National Geographic Explorers, and high-priority environmental conservation initiatives. Chandana also held roles in program management, curriculum design, program evaluation, and leading workshops for diverse stakeholders at the University of Illinois and Harvard University. 

Her ability to design strategy, drive program expansion, and cultivate partnerships has been instrumental in advancing the mission of these organizations. 

At SOA, Jeniffer connects change-makers, philanthropists, and environmental innovators to help deliver our mission. 

As a serial entrepreneur, Matt is a Co-Founder of Latin American climate tech VC fund, Savia Ventures, and was the CEO of EnVest—a climate and ocean investing membership organization. For six years Matt was the Director of the Ocean Initiative at the XPRIZE Foundation which provided $10M in prizes to 50 ocean health companies and further supported their pilot testing and commercialization. He has also worked as a marine scientist at ocean conservation group Oceana, a lab researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, marketing for a residential energy efficiency software tool, and as a leader on congressional and environmental campaigns.

He has lived in various developing countries, traveled to all seven continents, led four scientific expeditions to Antarctica, was the grand prize winner of the first Con X Tech Prize for conservation technology prototyping, and is a Fellow at the Explorers Club. His work has been featured in various media outlets including the Washington Post, New York Times, National Geographic, TechCrunch, and BBC.

Matt is passionate about reducing diversity gaps in environmental funding, supporting ocean health startups, and creating tangible results for reducing pollution. He holds a Master’s in Marine Biodiversity & Conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies from Miami University. 

Liza has worked at agencies like Ogilvy & Mather and produced content at publishers like BuzzFeed. Most recently, she spent 6+ years at Google working with Youtube Creators as well as serving as the Global Creative Strategist across Google products like Android, Chromebooks, and Google AI.

Liza believes in the power of effective, authentic marketing that strives to connect with consumers in an ethical and value-driven way. She loves to collaborate with individuals and teams with a shared vision that reaches new boundaries. Most importantly, she believes the process should feel just as rewarding as the end result. Liza is thrilled to jump in with the SOA team and apply her experience to SOA's critical mission.

Originally a Pacific Northwest native, Liza has lived in New York for nearly a decade and spends a chunk of her year in Mexico City. If she is not in either city, you can hopefully find her somewhere else in the world, taking in new places (and all of the food) they have to offer!

He believes that saving the planet in the next 12 years will require bringing forth a world where young people feel the possibility—and moral responsibility—to create a life aligned with both their values and a thriving ocean. Taylor graduated summa cum laude from the University of Colorado with a concentration in environmental and indigenous policy. He has held positions at National Geographic, Americorps, and land and ethnic conservation NGOs in New York City and San Francisco.

Prior to joining SOA full-time, Ben worked for the innovation studio of BNP Paribas in San Francisco. In this tenure, he would provide advisory services to the Bank and large European corporations on their open innovation and startups engagement strategies.

She spent the past two years working with Centro Community Partners helping over 300 local underrepresented entrepreneurs gain access to $500K in funding and resources. She is passionate about helping others and creating a future for everyone that involves caring for the planet, our ocean, and each other. 

His career path includes impactful roles at a Big Four Accounting firm, spearheading a significant US expansion for an international retailer, and developing an IoT solution to minimize waste in office buildings. This journey inspired Jon to launch his own consulting firm focused on operational efficiency and event management, with a mission to enhance the wellbeing of life on Earth.

Jon is a skilled leadership coach and an adept digital community organizer. He excels in creating and nurturing digital communities, leveraging his deep understanding of technology and operational systems to foster engagement and drive collective action towards sustainable and holistic wellbeing. Jon's approach is guided by the interconnectedness of personal wellness, environmental stewardship, and technological innovation, making him a visionary in integrating these elements to make a tangible impact.

At heart, ki is an extreme generalist who is creating conduits toward (b)righter futures. Leon leverages deep expertise in Life-Centered Design, Nature-Inspired Creativity, Emerging Technologies, and Justice|Equity|Diversity|Inclusion (JEDI) to amplify change agents to create and evolve more optimal and well-adapted solutions for our planet.

In the last 6 years, Leon has engaged deeply in diverse doings with trailblazing organizations like Sustainable Ocean Alliance, Buckminster Fuller Institute, One Point Five, Singularity University, Biomimicry 3.8, StartingBloc, Playground of Empathy, and RETHINK are all thought leaders in the impact space. Leon is a Certified Biomimicry Professional with an M.S. in Biomimicry from ASU and a B.S. in Bioengineering from UCSD.

Leon operationalizes and delivers SOA's Oceans Solutions Accelerator, advancing solutions of global entrepreneurs and organizers to heal our oceans and create a more sustainable future for our planet. In our collaborative dream team, they design, build and advise the operating systems (tools and culture), virtual four-week program, network development, mentorship program and ongoing, global network engagement and programming.

Leon is bravely shifting our dreaming, knowing, being and doing in this world to be more People Positive, Complexity Conscious and Life Liberating. As an Anti-Bias Anti-Racist Intersectional Environmentalist, they also strive to bring awareness to critical (un)learning of systems of oppression. In radical brave spaces, ki invites attention, intention, and repetition toward active shaping of more just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive (JEDI) futures for All Life.

Before joining SOA, Samanta built a decade-long career in management consulting, specializing in Strategy and Operations within the energy, utilities, cleantech, and environmental industries, followed by leadership roles in the non-profit sector.

Her work has been instrumental in developing ecosystem infrastructure that nurtures innovation and supports sustainable economic growth.

Samanta has a lifelong passion for the ocean and marine life and has been recognized for her contributions to advancing the cleantech industry, receiving accolades in the field of economic development.

 Born and raised in coastal California, Sabrina has experienced firsthand the impacts of climate change on her community. From wildfire and drought to debris flow and coastal flooding, she has witnessed the rapid changes to our planet that are stressing the resiliency of our global ecosystems. Motivated by hope and action, she firmly believes that humanity is both the problem and the solution to the climate crisis.

She loves strategic business planning, inspiring and empowering teams, removing barriers so that programmatic experts can do their best work, and injecting levity while solving complex problems. Prior to working with SOA, Caroline worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for over 15 years leading and supporting global grantmaking teams to achieve success and meet ambitious strategic goals.  Caroline is an eager learner in the ocean health and climate space and excited to use her skillset to translate strategy into execution and ultimately impact. 

Jessica is deeply committed to leveraging policy mediation and participatory design to strengthen the capacity of mission-driven organizations and global movements.

At SOA, Jessica designs and leads experiential learning programs that equip the next generation of ocean and climate leaders with the tools they need to create lasting change in international policy forums and locally-led community initiatives.

Her previous work has taken her to over 40 countries, collaborating with renowned organizations such as WWF, MIT D-Lab, UNDP, and WEF, driving impact on a global scale. 

She has worked with governments, communities, non-profits, academia, and the private sector. She is passionate about catalyzing innovation and collaboration to drive sustainability and impact, building a bridge between people and the environment.

Leveraging her previous account management experience, she is dedicated to ensuring that youth-led initiatives have a voice and receive sufficient funding to incite positive change in the marine environment. Fascinated by the complexities of the ocean ecosystem, Rosalyn's work is fueled by a passion for sustaining the beauty and vitality of our blue planet.

Over the past 10 years, Eugénia had an active role in several environmental volunteering projects, from national to international organizations. With a core focus on science communication, she organized community events such as beach cleanups, informative talks, screenings, debates, and art exhibitions in order to involve different elements of our society in the ocean revolution that our planet is asking for. Eugénia was the Portuguese Delegate at the Youth Advisory Council from World Oceans Day (2016-2018). Now she also works as an All-Atlantic Youth Ambassador with the support of Ciência Viva.

Daniel has been an ocean adviser for presidential candidate Veronika Mendoza, and currently is trusted personnel for the Peruvian Congress where with Congressman Ed Malaga and the climate change commision are proposing the first deep seabed mining moratorium bill in Latin America. 

Daniel has been a youth delegate for Our Ocean 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, and has been part of the official peruvian delegation for COP 22, 23, 25 and 26. In 2015 he was the youngest divemaster in the country, in 2016 he won the Hreljac medal for being the young person with the most impact in the sustainable development of the country and in 2017 he won the agent of change award by Scientific University of the South. 

Last year, Mark interned with NOAA at the the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument where he composed a science review on translocation as a conservation tool for species threatened by climate change. He is an active Ocean Leader with Sustainable Ocean Alliance, which has taken him to Malta, Alaska, and Norway. He holds executive leadership positions with College Democrats of America and Florida College Democrats.

As a marine biologist, she worked at LAMAVE, a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of marine megafauna and the marine environment in the Philippines. Initially, her focus is on the elasmobranch mainly the life history and reproductive biology Mobula ray fishery in the Bohol sea. She then went on leading a team of multicultural researchers studying the sea turtle population at Apo Island Philippines and building the National Turtle Catalog.
While putting effort into the conservation of marine life MJ notice the lack of economic opportunities faced by women in the coastal communities. Hence, she founded Tagpi-Tagpi-Tagpi (a Filipino word for patching things together) a circular economy initiative that will grow women-led business in coastal communities in the coral triangle through personal initiative training. Since its pilot in February 2020, she has trained (3 )coastal communities and upcycled more than 4000 pieces of jeans and clothes. MJ received grants that provide more opportunities for women in times of pandemic notably Experential Professional Development Fellowship and Grants by East-West Center and Ocean Solutions Microgrants by Sustainable Ocean Alliance.

MJ is passionate about organic gardening, women empowerment, mentoring youth leaders, and mindfulness. Her family already accepted that she have develop gills with her craziness about life under the sea.

His  passion for the environment started out with a love of the natural world and evolved in an elaborate network of beliefs about the importance of environmental protection and of reversing some of the harm that we humans had done to the Earth. Perise has led several community projects, and is plastic pollution Activist   He is popularly known as the “plastic man" due to his efforts to raise awareness on the issue of plastic pollution.  He acknowledges that youth can bring remarkable change to their community if they are given opportunity and can  work together. It is his  aim to share his passion with others in his community and in the continent of Africa. 

As a climate and ocean specialist, Joshua aims to support country-driven climate action in line with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the UN Paris Agreement.

Joshua first joined Sustainable Ocean Alliance in 2021 to assist the launch of the Unmasking Plastics Program and provided strategic research and policy solutions to aid in the development of the ‘Global Blue New Deal.’

He has also developed profiles of Pacific Island Countries (PICS) with the UNDP to provide inputs and recommendations on blue economy sectors to inform the Blue Pacific Continent Strategy for 2050.

In 2023, Joshua served as a COP28 Delegate for the FSM in Dubai, UAE, covering topics and supporting negotiations on climate finance. He was also selected as a Youth Delegate under SOA to attend the 2024 Our Ocean Conference in Athens Greece, where he participated in a high-level roundtable event with country leaders to discuss marine spatial planning activities and youth participation in the blue economy. Joshua was also selected to participate in the Ocean-Climate Dialogue at the UN 60th Subsidiary of Bodies (SB60) in Bonn Germany as part of the SOA Delegation.

Currently, he works with the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) where he focuses on Article 2.1(c) and Article 13, promoting and strengthening climate finance transparency through the use of tracking methodologies and taxonomies in the country context to help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.

As a futurist and modern-day entrepreneur, Ryan has forged a unique path in his current and previous roles, evolving teams of creative mavericks in every way possible with a goal of deepening the value, accuracy, and service that technology is bringing to our daily lives within the attention economy. Prior to co-founding InGoodTaste, Ryan was driving a creative agenda at Dentsu, Nike, AKQA, and Razorfish through ideas, advanced concepts, world-building, data, and technology.