MEET OUR AMBASSADORS
Wendy Marshall
As the current Director of the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, Wendy has embraced the partnership between the Mares Foundation and the Ocean Institute. She introduced the Ocean Literacy work from the National Marine Educators Association to our leadership and emphasized the value that this curriculum has to our work.
L.C.A. Israel Carpio Cambranis
LCA Israel is currently the Director of Museo Katsuo and the coordinator of the Ocean Literacy classes lead by volunteers. He is one of the individual that worked to get this project approved and launch. Today due to his leadership and hard work, Museo Katsuo and the Mares Foundation are education hundreds of Kids that are part of a culture in Baja California that promote a clean and safe ocean.
Pura Baja: Gary Wright
In 2022, Pura Baja became a partner and collaboration effortlessly. With the commonalities in our love for Baja and hopes of keeping the Ocean clean, Pura Baja will be our official clothing sponsor for our Volunteers as of our June 25th beach clean up in Mosquito Beach. For more information and to shop Pura Baja visit https://purabajaclothing.com/ !
Ocean. Roberto Calderon Villalba
Roberto the son of the director of the SCUBA and Lifesaving programs at the University of Baja California is one of the two founders of Museo Katsuo. He is an avid scuba diver, scientist and an amazing underwater photographer. Permanent collections of his underwater photography are displayed at Museo Katsuo, the headquarters of Mares Mortgage and at the conference center of the Ocean Institute. His leadership has helped made Museo Katsuo one of the best educational experiences for kids ages K-12 in Baja California.
Riffe International
The Riffe family business was the Foundation's first corporate partnership. They introduced us to their community and honored us at the 40th Annual Celebration of their business. It was an honor for the Mares Foundation to be acknowledged with the Founder of the business and receive a generous donation that allowed us to greatly expand our efforts during the early stages of our Foundation. We were able to triple our audience on social media because of their generosity and their recognition. We feel so lucky to share our passion for the Ocean with this extraordinary family.
Yacrim Ulises Cortez Medina
Yacrim has been one of our senior Ocean Literacy instructor at Museo Katsuo. He received training at Museo Katsuo and the Ocean Institute. He has led the efforts towards our shark exhibit at Museo Katsuo and is constantly leading beach cleanups in Baja California. Yacrim is an incredible example for what we stand for.
L.B.A. Fernando Castillo Sanabria
As an alumni of the Facultad de Ciencias Marinas/UABC/ Mexico he is currently one of the coordinators of virtual Ocean Literacy education that will go live September 2020. His passion for Our Ocean shows with his continuous support to Museo Katsuo and the Mares Foundation. In addition he is our liaison with the Red de Educacion Latinoamericana para el Oceano –RELATO.
Ana Sofia Gutierrez Chavez
Ana Sofia is an alumni of UABC and is currently part of AO latinoamerica, as a social media coordinator and Ocean literacy instructor of the virtual classes. She has received training at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point and has served countless service hours as a volunteer at Museo Katsuo and AO latinoamerica, as well as serving as an ambassador of the Mares Foundation.
Andres Luebbert
Andres is a graduate from UABC Ensenada where he majored in Communication Sciences. He is currently attending BUAP for his master's degree. Since summer 2020, Andres has been collaborating with the Mares Foundation and AO Latinoamerica being On-Screen and leading as Assistant Director with all Ocean Literacy classes.
Joselyn Limones
Joselyn is a student at UABC that has stood out for her valuable support in various activities at Museo Katsuo, AO Latinoamerica and Mares Foundation for over a year now. She received the 2021 Mares Foundation Excellence Award and continues to contribute to promote a safe and clean ocean in Mexico.
Eduardo Mendoza
From day one has been a promoter of our work in Southern California and a constant financial supporter. His love and passion for the ocean is contagious. Because of his support, we have been able to provide uniforms for our instructors.
Montserrat Mendoza
Montserrat is our social media assistant. Montserrat is attending Grand Canyon University where she is studying graphic design. She has proved to be an essential part of our team who consistently gives her input on social materials. These posts reach hundreds of people, including volunteers and supporters, who all share in the joy and excitement that the children experience while visiting Museo Katsuo.
Noche Adn
Noche Adn is an UABC alumni who has collaborated with our work by painting four mega-murals on the educational coridor of the Facultad de Ciencias Marinas de la UABC. In addition, he is the coordinator for the production of all virutal classes that are set to start in September of 2020.
Dr. Juan Vaca Rodriguez
While he was a Director of the Facultad de Ciencias Marinas he approved the use of the space for Museo Katsuo, the area was rehab to be able to present exhibitions with scientific information and historical pieces so the visitor learns about the marine sciences, history and culture of Baja California. Dr. Vaca approved the work at Museo Katsuo as social service hours for students of the oceanology and environmental sciences and approved a part time position for a coordinator of this work. He currently serves a one of the lead scientists at the UABC and continue supporting the programs he help start.
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