Marce  used to sell fish, now she saves them. An environmental justice advocate who began her career in the commercial fishing and aquaculture fields, Marce is the Founder and Executive Director of Azul, which works with Latinxs to protect coasts and oceans. Through her work, she has helped design and implement a statewide network of marine protected areas as well as a sustainability and marketing program for local California fisheries. As a leader in the campaign to ban single-use plastic bags in California, she has worked to reduce marine pollution and protect ocean wildlife. Recently, she participated in the first Congressional roundtable on Environmental Justice on Capitol Hill, and was the principal author of a white paper on Latino Environmental Leadership lauded as “a blueprint for diversity in the Environmental Movement” by Representative Raul Grijalva, the ranking member of the House Committee of the Natural Resources.

Marce is a founding member of the Latino Conservation Alliance, a proud graduate of the HOPE’s (Hispanas Organized for Political Equality) Leadership institute 2013 class, and currently serves as a mentor for the RAY Marine Conservation Diversity Fellowship as well as the advisory board for the Ocean Foundation. She has been a speaker at Stanford University, UCSB, UC Davis, The Explorers Club and the UN in Geneva. She has been recognized as an “inspiring Latina working for a cause” by Latina magazine (2014) and as a Aspen Environment Forum Scholar by the Aspen Institute (2012). A native of Tijuana, Mexico, Marce now makes San Diego home.

Celia is the Senior Director of Operations at Azul, where she brings a wealth of knowledge and skills to day-to-day operations and sustainability. She is a senior executive with over 15 years of experience in corporate and nonprofit administration, human resources, information technology,  marketing,and organizational and community development.

Previously, she served as the Director of Human Resources and Administration for RioPort and as the Operations and Development Director for the New Americans Museum. She serves on the non-profit board for California Communications Access Foundation / Ability Central, as an advisor for the San Diego Filipino Cinema, and as a commissioner for the Catholic Diocese of San Diego. A daughter of immigrants and an immigrant herself, she emigrated from the Philippines and hails from a civic-minded family.

Jessica is the Digital Manager at Azul. With almost a decade of experience delivering digital communications solutions for nonprofits and businesses, she has worked on various policy campaigns, including education, healthcare, immigration, criminal justice, racial equity, LGBTQ equality, tax policy, and tribal sovereignty.

Her work has focused on using digital tools to amplify the work on the ground, from direct actions in the halls of Congress to teacher walkouts at the state legislature. Jessica was born in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico and calls Oklahoma home. She currently serves on two nonprofit boards: Dream Action Oklahoma and El Centro in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Priscilla is the Chief of Staff at Azul and works directly with the Executive Director to facilitate day-to-day operations and organizational logistics. She has been a supporter of Azul since its inception and brings to the team many years of experience working as an administrative assistant.

Priscilla currently serves as Chair of the Chula Vista School District’s English Learners Advisory Committee. She grew up near the ocean and enjoys kayaking with her family, spending as much free time as she can at the beach.

Katherine joined the Azul team as a RAY Fellow, a two-year fellowship aimed at increasing and facilitating conservation career pathways. At Azul, Katherine provides support for the policy team researching ocean policies at the state and federal level. Katherine is a first-generation graduate of Wellesley College, where she received her bachelor’s in Environmental Studies with the goal of fostering conservation efforts that are inclusive and collaborative. 

In her free time, Katherine enjoys spending time outdoors, traveling, and learning about cultures through food.

Tomas is Azul’s California Policy Associate, responsible for representing Azul with decision-makers to amplify Azul’s mission in California. Prior to joining Azul, he worked in the office of U.S. Senator Alex Padilla and was a vital member of his district staff in Fresno, California. Through his work with the Senator, he gained extensive experience working directly with communities, especially those historically excluded and marginalized. His background in government, along with his long-standing passion for environmental justice and ocean conservation, has enabled him to be an instrumental member of the Azul team.

In his free time, you can find Tomas riding one of his many horses along trails with his dog, Kramer, following closely by his side. 

Richelle joined the team as an Operations Associate. With a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, 10+ years of experience in administrative support, accounting/finance, and experience working with various levels of management, from C-level executives to department management within corporate companies – and small businesses on a personal level – she understands the importance of providing excellent support to executive management and fellow team members alike. As Azul’s Operations Associate, she works alongside our team’s Senior Director of Operations.

Richelle enjoys spending time with family, learning the art of photography/videography, and being actively involved in volunteering with her church as Multimedia Director for the San Diego region.

Founder and CEO, Atipica.

Laura I. Gómez has worked in Silicon Valley in companies like Google (YouTube), SearchRev (acquired by AKQA) and most recently, Twitter.

Gómez joined Twitter in 2009, where she was the only Latina among the founding members of the international team member. She started solely responsible for the expansion of Twitter en español then moved on to lead international product and localization of Twitter into nearly 50 languages.

Prior to leaving Twitter, Gómez reported directly to the VP of International and Growth Product and managed a diverse team of product managers, project managers, language specialists, and support agents responsible for the majority of international initiatives such support, content, communications, market development and marketing.

Gómez was key in the implementation of unique community localization agile management of Twitter products: web, monetization, marketing microsites, product marketing materials, native clients, mobile web and SMS

Gómez has appeared in dozens of publications as Harper’s Bazaar Spain, GQ México, Gente México, La Nación, El Mercurio, Chile, El Universal México, El País in Spain and the book “Lost in Translation.”

Gómez was recognized by the Department of State and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her involvement in the TechWomen Program.

She is on the advisor board of Interesante, an interest-based network for U.S. Hispanic and Latin Americans.

Living Cully Coordinator, Verde.

Tony DeFalco is the Living Cully Ecodistrict Coordinator for Verde, coordinating the nation’s first equity driven ecodistrict designed to re-interpret sustainability as an anti-poverty strategy. His expertise in community economic development, environmental protection and sustainability spans 15 years of working locally and nationally in environmental advocacy, coalition building and policy advocacy. DeFalco’s current focus includes redevelopment of a landfill into a park in a low-income neighborhood in Portland and strengthening communities of color and low income communities in deriving economic benefit from environmental investments.

Marine Biologist, Conservation Advocate.

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert, conservation strategist, and Brooklyn native. She is founder of Ocean Collectiv, a strategy consulting firm for conservation solutions grounded in social justice. She teaches at New York University as an adjunct professor, and volunteered as co-director of partnerships for the March for Science. As executive director of the Waitt Institute, Ayana co-founded the Blue Halo Initiative and led the Caribbean’s first successful island-wide ocean zoning effort. Previously, she worked on ocean policy at the EPA and NOAA, and was recently a TED resident and Aspen Institute fellow. She blogs and tweets about how we can use the ocean without using it up on the National Geographic blog and @ayanaeliza.

Director of Partner Engagement, NRDC – San Francisco.

Quintero started as an attorney in NRDC’s Environment and Health program litigating working on pesticides, toxic chemicals and safe drinking water, clean air, environmental justice, and US-Mexico border issues. Currently, she runs NRDC’s partner outreach and engagement efforts.

Quintero launched NRDC’s Latino outreach efforts in 2004 with the report, “Hidden Danger, Environmental Health Threats in the Latino Community,” which highlighted how environmental pollution impacts U.S. Latinxs. In 2011, she updated her research with an emphasis on air pollution in “U.S. Latinxs and Air Pollution: A Call to Action.”

Quintero founded and leads Voces, a national coalition of Latino business, health, community leaders and organizations representing millions of Latinxs, joined together to advocate for action on climate change and the development of our country’s renewable, clean energy sources. Voces engages key Latino stakeholders to create a national echo-chamber of political, policy and cultural influentials to weigh in alongside decision-makers in support of climate action.

Directora de Voces Verdes y Directora de Asociaciones, NRDC (Consejo para la Defensa de Recursos Naturales)

Adrianna Quintero fundo y dirige Voces Verdes y el equipo de asociaciones para el Natural Resources Defense Council (Consejo para la Defensa de Recursos Naturales) el cual trabaja para incluir una gama diversa de personas y comunidades sobre temas ambientales. Adrianna comenzó como abogada con NRDC trabajando en cuestiones relativas al agua potable, pesticidas y sustancias tóxicas en el aire.