Hometown Heroes: Encouraging Local Champions For Ocean Protection

Dr. Kathryn Mengerink leads a team of ocean experts in developing and implementing blue prosperity programs, including marine spatial planning and blue economy projects. She works in partnership with governments, NGOs, and ocean experts across the globe. Kathryn brings more than 20 years of ocean expertise to her work combining marine science, law and policy to inform decision making.

Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Texas A&M University, Ph.D. in Marine Biology from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a J.D. with a certificate in Environmental Law from University of California, Berkeley.

Weldon Wade is a Bermudian SCUBA diver, freediver, founder of Guardians of the Reef, and is also Communications Coordinator for the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Program. He is also a 5 Gyres and PADI Ambassador. Weldon is well known in Bermuda for his passion for the ocean, organizing beach clean ups, boat trips, and community outreach. Weldon holds more than 10 years of diving experience, serves on numerous boards and committees of Bermuda's conservation and ocean organizations, and was a speaker at TEDxBermuda in 2014.

Hana Amir is a Marine Biologist with the Maldives Marine Research Institute, having joined in 2019 after completing her Masters. She currently oversees all coral reef related research at the institute and leads the National Coral Reef Restoration and Rehabilitation Research program, which assess questions such as where, how and when to restore Maldivian reef to effectively improve reef resilience and resistance. In her work, she is actively involved in the designing research process, collecting relevant data in the field, and engaging with members of the local community through workshops and engagement programs that aim to foster better cooperation and understanding of issues related to the marine environment. Her research interests relate to settlement and reproductive growth of corals, GIS mapping, and community composition and interaction within the community as well as with environmental variables and human influence.

Yolanda Joab Mori is a community organizer and activist from the islands of the Federated States of Micronesia, and has been working on local climate adaptation while advocating for stronger climate action internationally since 2011. She has been a keynote speaker at the United Nations ECOSOC Youth Forum, UN High Level Political Forum and is an Obama Leader of the inaugural Obama Foundation Leaders Program for Asia Pacific. She is the Founder of Island PRIDE Micronesia and serves as the FSM President's Advocate on Climate Change.