Founder
Women and Climate
📍New York, US

Michelle is the founder of Women and Climate, a non-profit organization that inspires climate action by creating a joyful and safe space. She launched her career in Silicon Valley where she worked for some of the biggest names in tech including Salesforce. A proponent for accelerating climate action, Michelle aims to activate more women to start their climate journey and provide a platform for those already working on climate solutions. She created the Women and Climate Speaker Database which now represents over 600 climate professionals and is used by small and large events alike. Michelle is a TEDx, SXSW, Bloomberg, and COP28 speaker and is also a United Nations content contributor.

Senior Policy Advisor for Gender, Climate Change, & Innovation
U.S. Department of State
📍 Washington, DC, USA

Dr. Aubrey Paris is the Senior Policy Advisor on Gender, Climate Change, & Innovation in the Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues (S/GWI) at the U.S. Department of State, where she leads foreign policy and public diplomacy efforts related to the nexus of gender equality and climate change. Most recently, she was responsible for the development of the first-ever U.S. Strategy to Respond to the Effects of Climate Change on Women. At the State Department, she launched the Innovation Station initiative to amplify the impact of woman and girl innovators developing translatable solutions to climate-related challenges. Dr. Paris received her Ph.D. in Chemistry and Materials Science from Princeton University (2019), M.A. in Chemistry from Princeton University (2017), and B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from Ursinus College (2015).

Founder & CEO
Sustainable Ocean Alliance
📍 San Francisco, USA

Daniela Fernandez is a visionary nonprofit leader and social entrepreneur, who has made it her life’s mission to restore the health of the ocean. She founded Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) in her dorm room at Georgetown University when she was only 19 years old, after attending a United Nations meeting on climate change and realizing she was the only young person in the room. Even then, Daniela knew political and business leaders were not moving fast enough to prevent disaster. Since 2014, she has catapulted SOA into the global spotlight – creating the world’s largest network of young ocean leaders, establishing a presence in 165 countries, and accelerating more than 270 solutions to heal, protect, and restore our ocean.

President & Co-Founder
Global Choices
📍 Aspen, USA

Sally Ranney, President of Global Choices, is an environmental visionary with 45 years of experience in natural resource, climate and renewable energy policy. Sally is President and Co-founder of Global Choices, President Emeritus and Co-founder of the American Renewable Energy Institute/AREDAY Summit and an Advisor to the Getches-Wilkinson Natural Resources Law Center at the University of Colorado. She served as a resource policy analyst for The Wilderness Society and has worked with three US Presidents, with a Presidential Appointment by R. Reagan. Ranney has worked in many countries around the world protecting biodiversity and wild areas. She serves on the Board of the National Wildlife Federation and founded Corridors of Life, a satellite GIS project identifying and advocating for a network of wildlife corridors throughout the Rocky Mountains of the US and Canada. Sally has been recognized with numerous awards, including the prestigious Horace Albright Award and the International Conservation Award

President & CEO
Ocean Networks Canada
📍 Victoria, Canada

Kate Moran is the President & CEO of Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), a position she has held since 2012. She first joined the University of Victoria in September 2011 as a professor in the Faculty of Science and as Director of NEPTUNE Canada. Her previous appointment was Professor and Associate Dean at the University of Rhode Island. From 2009 to 2011, Moran was seconded to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where she served as an Assistant Director and focused on Arctic, polar, ocean, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and climate policy issues. She is active in public outreach on topics related to the Arctic, ocean observing, and climate change. Professor Moran co-led the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program’s Arctic Coring Expedition which successfully recovered the first paleoclimate record from the Arctic Ocean. She also led one of the first offshore expeditions to investigate the seafloor following the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Professor Moran is a registered professional engineer, an Officer of the Order of Canada, a fellow of the Canadian Society of Senior Engineers, and was selected as an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow for the class of 2022.

President
The Oxygen Project
📍Atlanta, USA

Vasser Seydel is the President of The Oxygen Project, an organization on a mission to ignite a community of climate champions and accelerate collective action through campaigns, training and storytelling to create a conscious, regenerative and climate-resilient reality. She serves on the board of directors for Dr. Sylvia Earle's, Mission Blue, the National Center of Family Philanthropy, and the Turner Foundation. Vasser is an Arctic Angel for Global Choices and serves on the Advisory Board for One Earth and the University of Georgia’s Sustainability Certificate.

Independent Journalist, Photographer & Documentary Filmmaker
📍Hong Kong, China

Laurel Chor is an Emmy-nominated journalist, photographer, documentary filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer from Hong Kong. Her work examines the relationships between people, nature, and society, and how they’re affected by transnational issues, in particular conflict and climate. Chor is directing a film on the war in Ukraine, and was an EP for "Tigre Gente”, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival and features her undercover investigation on the illegal jaguar trade. She was an honoree for the 2020 IWMF Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism award and her work has been included in TIME's Top 100 Photos of the Year. She has a masters in biodiversity conservation from Oxford University and represented Hong Kong in the 2017 Rugby World Cup.

Director and Freelance Consultant - Ocean and Climate Solutions
Blue Climate Initiative - Tetiaroa Society
📍San Francisco, USA

For the past four years, Jeanne Everett has been the Director of Programs and Operations at the Blue Climate Initiative, a global program that accelerates ocean-based solutions to climate change, operating out of the San Francisco Bay Area and French Polynesia. Deep Sea Mining was an issue that rose to the top of the Blue Climate Summit which BCI organized in French Polynesia in May of 2022. Jeanne has since steered BCI to become an active member of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, working with others to raise the alarm and inform the public about the imminent and irreversible threats to the environment this industry poses, the affront it will represent to indigenous cultures with an intimate relationship to the ocean, and the false rationales it is based upon.

Jeanne has civil engineering and MBA degrees, and has worked for over 17 years on various international development projects across multiple countries in the Asia /Pacific, focusing primarily on rural development: infrastructure, agriculture, with a growing emphasis on climate change and the environment. She also worked for private sector energy production companies - such as rural solar - out of the UK and California.

Executive Director
Peace Boat US
📍New York, USA

Emilie McGlone has been working with Peace Boat since 2004 and currently is the United Nations liaison and Executive Director of the New York-based office of Peace Boat US, a non-profit organization working to promote peace, sustainable development and respect for the environment through educational programs organized onboard the Peace Boat, a chartered passenger ship that travels the world on peace voyages. Peace Boat holds Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and works in partnership with UN representatives, Nobel Peace Laureates and community leaders from around the world to create opportunities for international cooperation focused on environmental sustainability, cultural awareness and peace education.

Emilie works to foster youth education and develops specific programs to learn about important global issues onboard the Peace Boat. In June of 2023, Emilie founded the “Youth for the SDGs” scholarship program for the United Nations Ocean Decade, which was officially endorsed by IOC UNESCO as a ‘Contribution’ to the Decade. This program will continue to educate and provide experiences for youth leaders working towards ocean and climate action around the world until 2030.

Ocean and Climate Youth Ambassador
Peace Boat
📍 Victoria, Seychelles

Nathalia is a young Environmental Advocate from Seychelles who started

volunteering at a very young age. Through her advocacy for Climate change and the Oceans, she has led numerous initiatives on behalf of various non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This includes multiple beach clean-ups, intercepting plastic pollution, and working towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: ‘Life Below Water’. Coming from an Ocean state, being an Ocean advocate is of second nature. Being part of different NGOs, she was involved in campaigning for a successful plastic ban in Seychelles. Nathalia was part of the first cohort of the Blue Economy Internship Program in Seychelles and was a participant in the Civic Leadership programme for the Young African Leaders Initiative-Cohort 12. In 2019, the then eighteen-year-old, journeyed from Malta to New York City with seven other youth advocates from Small

Island Developing States (SIDS) onboard Peaceboat, championing for the Oceans as part of the Ocean and Climate Youth Ambassador Programme, sharing her knowledge of her home country in various ports and onboard.

Nathalia has spoken at numerous events including COP26, COP27, EXPO

2020 and the UN Ocean conference on the issues Seychelles faces especially those related to climate change and environmental degradation, as well as her volunteer work. In October 2019, Nathalia

organised events for World Disabilities Day as part of the SIDS Youth AIMS Hub (SYAH)-Seychelles programme in collaboration with the Seychelles Vocation Training Centre (VTC) and other private organisations. Nathalia chose to pursue her studies in the field she is most passionate about. She is currently studying for a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics and Climate Change at Aberystwyth University.

Ecologist and CEO
Econox Laos
📍Vientiane, Laos

Valy Phommachak is an ecologist & environmental journalist specialized in Landscape Ecology and Nature Conservation. In 2018, She founded Econox Laos, a social enterprise for the protection of the environment and sustainable local community development. Ms Phommachak has an experience of over 8 years of training and coaching in the area of environment and child’s rights - youth empowerment from both her career and as a community change maker of Global Shapers Community Vientiane, under the World Economic Forum. By seeing inclusivity as a core, Econox Laos under Valy’s leadership has involved government, private sectors and public, especially local communities in its focal projects. She has led projects to protect about 200 hectares of watershed forest and wetland in Laos which is estimated to contribute to 1,600 tons of carbon sequestration per year. Moreover, Valy Phommachak is a well-known host and moderator in Laos as it is her talent-development avocation. She also founded Econews Laos, the first and only environmental news platform in Laos, and she is currently working as an environmental journalist & mentor for 15 young environmental journalists to contribute to amplifying youth’s voices on environmental & social issues.

Sector Manager, Oceans
CREO Syndicate
📍 Boston, USA

Aly Rose is the Oceans, Seafood, and Aquaculture Sector Lead at CREO Syndicate, a nonprofit organization collaborating with a network of wealthy family offices to invest in climate solutions with private capital. Aly aims to connect investors who are interested in the regenerative blue economy with investment opportunities that align with their goals. Before joining CREO, Aly worked at SeaAhead as a Sustainability Analyst, where she was actively involved in the organization's Bluetech angel investment group, served on due diligence committees, and contributed to several reports on investment trends. Aly holds a bachelor's degree in Comparative Policy, Environmental Studies, and Spanish from Bowdoin College, a master's degree in Spanish Linguistics from Middlebury College, and a master's degree in Climate Change and Sustainability Policy from Northeastern University.

Managing Director
S2G
📍San Francisco, USA

Kate Danaher is a Managing Director of the Oceans Investment Team. Kate has worked at the intersection of impact investing and sustainable food and oceans for the last 12 years, specializing in US food systems, fair trade supply chains, and consumer-facing brands. Kate believes that business can catalyze the positive social and environmental shifts we need in this world, but that the right capital partners and ecosystem are critical to their success. As Managing Director, Kate's efforts are focused on making investments, managing portfolio companies, and serving on various portfolio company boards, with particular focus on structuring capital, facilitating syndications, and providing wraparound resources to enable oceans businesses to scale while preserving their mission. Prior to joining S2G, Kate was the Chief Lending Officer at RSF Social Finance, where she oversaw the capital deployment strategy to evaluate products, investment sectors, and growth objectives in alignment with the organization’s strategic plan. Kate received her MBA through the Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise program at Colorado State University.

Managing Partner
Narwhale Ventures
📍 Singapore

After 10+ years in hedge funds, M&A, and VC, I currently focus on investing in early-stage OceanTech innovations that can accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy, and provide substantial environmental and social co-benefits, especially in Asia.

Executive Director
Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA)
📍 Washington, DC, USA

Karen has worked on ocean conservation, law and policy for the past three decades. Karen previously served as CEO of Ocean Unite, co-founded with Sir Richard Branson and José María Figueres. Previously, she held senior roles at The Pew Charitable Trusts and Greenpeace International. Karen has spearheaded global campaigns to secure a new UN high seas biodiversity treaty, establish large marine reserves and end illegal fishing and high seas bottom trawling. She initiated the Global Ocean Commission. Karen is originally from South Africa and now lives in the United States. Karen is also the President of ORRAA Inc.

Founder
NatureMetrics
📍Guildford, United Kingdom

Kat is a biodiversity scientist and founder of UK-based NatureTech company NatureMetrics, which has pioneered the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) for measuring and monitoring biodiversity at scale, including in coastal and offshore marine ecosystems. Kat also sits on the board of trustees for Kelp Forest Foundation and is gearing up to row around Great Britain this summer - for the second time.

Director
International Alliance to Combat Acidification
📍Washington DC, USA

Jessie Turner is the Executive Director of the International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification (OA Alliance). A voluntary initiative of national and subnational governments, the OA Alliance works to raise ambition for climate action and transform the global response to climate-ocean change.

As Executive Director, Jessie sets the strategic direction of the OA Alliance and develops and carries out annual programming, including contributions to international convenings. She also establishes partnerships across a variety of disciplines and coalitions, deploys communications strategies across multiple scales, and supports members in the development of practicable ocean acidification adaptation and resilience strategies.

Jessie served as lead facilitator to the Pacific Coast Collaborative (PCC)’s Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Working Group between 2014 and 2023. The PCC is a collaboration between the U.S. states of California, Oregon, Washington, and the Canadian Province of British Columbia working together on climate issues that impact the North American West Coast region.

Jessie has 15 years of experience working in public policy development, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement at local to international scales. She has worked on wide-ranging issues, including affordable homeownership, healthcare, energy efficiency, food waste, climate, and marine policy.

Senior Director, Climate Services
CarbonBetter
📍 Brooklyn, USA

Sarabeth B. Brockley is a climate and carbon market expert with over 12+ years of experience in carbon management, corporate sustainability, climate risk planning, and ESG consulting for financial markets.

Her background encompasses corporate strategies for net zero planning, scenario analysis, and carbon portfolio guidance in the Voluntary Carbon Market. As the former Head of Carbon Strategy and Lead ESG Advisor at Nasdaq, she led initiatives for over 4,000 corporates, enhancing their ESG and climate strategies. She is a frequent keynote speaker at major global conferences such as Greenbiz, WEF, UNFCCC and Biodiversity COP events. Sarabeth held various Senior Consultant positions at the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development, K2 Integrity, and the World Bank’s Climate practice, among others, working on climate risk assessments and decarbonization projects.

She holds a BS in Environmental Chemistry from Moravian University, an MA/MS in Climate Change from Lehigh University, and is a credentialed expert in the CFA UK certificate in ESG Investing and a certificate in Climate and Sustainability Bonds from CBI, with further credentials in SASB, TCFD, CDP, and GRI standards. In her personal time, she is the Appalachian Mountain Club’s chair of the NY/NJ rock-climbing committee, a strategic advisor to Women and Climate and spends her time in Brooklyn, NY with her two pups Chaco and Canyon.

Co-Founder & CTO
Gigablue
📍Auckland, New Zealand

Sapir Markus-Alford, co-founder of Gigablue, spearheads the development of innovative mCDR technology, guided by a commitment to environmentally positive outcomes. With a background as an oceanographer and environmental scientist, she expertly integrates robust scientific principles into designing methods of carbon removal that work harmoniously with natural systems. Sapir's distinguished career is marked by prestigious awards acknowledging her contributions to technology and environmental science. At Gigablue, Sapir leads the formation of strong partnerships with governments, policy-makers, and local communities, aiming to craft effective and sustainable carbon management strategies. This aligns Gigablue’s strategies with the environmental and regulatory goals of their partners for a greater impact on sustainability.

Lead Oceanographer
Ebb Carbon, Inc
📍 New York, USA

Mallory is the Lead Oceanographer and Head of MRV (measurement, reporting, and verification) at Ebb Carbon, which is pioneering an electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) method to enhance the ocean’s natural ability to store carbon dioxide. She holds a PhD in chemical oceanography from MIT/ Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where she worked on the development of autonomous dissolved inorganic carbon sensing methods for coastal and deep sea environments.

Director of Partnerships and Ocean Policy
SeaLegacy
📍 Global Citizen

I studied Marketing and Communications and thought I wanted to work in the Luxury industry. Once there, I quickly realized it was not for me!

One of my main passions has always been sports, so in 2016 I joined adidas at the Global HQ in Germany. I first joined the adidas Women Business Unit and worked on empowering women through sports. Then, I transitioned to the Newsroom, still for adidas Women, and specialized in Social Media. At last, I entered the adidas Running team and managed Communications and Marketing for the adidas Runners teams worldwide. Amazing job, but my conscience kicked in and I was feeling bad working for such a big company that produces so many things, so I resigned.

By then, I wanted to use my expertise to support NGOs/organizations/sustainable companies. But first, I headed to India (a country I already knew and cherished) for 3 months and became a yoga teacher.

In the meantime, a former classmate told me about Coral Gardeners and the fact that they needed someone to lead Communications, Marketing, PR, and Awareness. I grabbed the opportunity and moved to French Polynesia. I worked with them for a year and discovered that to work in Ocean Conservation, you don't need to be a Marine Biologist! I was hooked.

In January 2021, I joined SeaLegacy. For a year, I worked as Marketing Director and then focused on our different communities (Scientists, Storytellers, Ambassadors, and Enterprises) and the Impact/campaigning aspect of our work. In 2023 I became the Director of Partnerships, Communities, and Ocean Policy Campaigns.

My goal is to use my expertise for good and I have a true passion for people, communities, and networking. I also work on short-term missions for other NGOs, mainly in Ocean Conservation.

Fashion Environmentalist
Fashioning Social Environmental Justice
📍 Half Moon Bay, USA

Runa Ray is a Fashion Environmentalist and interdisciplinary designer, who uses fashion to educate and advocate for policy change. Having worked extensively with sustainable development goals at the United Nations, her designs encompass nature based solutions.

She specializes in circularity, revival of ancient indigenous techniques, design exploration, re-creation of wealth from waste in fashion involving the cross over and collaboration with other industries


As an educational member of the IUCN and the UN ocean decade, her prime focus lies in advocacy and design intelligence.

Directing SME’s on CO2 abatement, and addressing of fashion’s waste for a social cause.

Founder & CEO
Positive Fibers
📍 Rotterdam, Netherlands

Marije de Roos, aka The Circular Fashion Detective is a Dutch circular economist on a mission to dress people healthier while restoring coral reefs. She furthermore consults SMEs and startups on circularity and is the author of the forthcoming book Farm-to-Fashion which launches in December 2024.