Middlebury Institute of International Studies presents a free lecture by Marce Gutierrez-Graudins entitled The Role of Latinx Communities in Coastal Protection on October 9, 6pm-7:30pm in the McGowan Building, Room 102, on the campus of MIIS.

We know the ocean conservation field needs to diversify. In California, Latinxs are particularly important voices missing from the majority of conversations. What is the urgency, why is this a problem, and how do we fix it?

Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš used to sell fish, now she saves them. An environmental justice advocate who began her career in the commercial fishing and aquaculture fields, she is the Founder and Director of Azul, which works with Latinos 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."

Gutiérrez-Graudiņš 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). She’s 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 on the advisory board for the Ocean Foundation. A native of Tijuana, Mexico; she now makes San Francisco home.