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. Born in Ecuador, she spent her early childhood surrounded by the incredible natural wonders of her home country. She immigrated to the United States at age 7 and grew up in Chicago.

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, Daniela helped create the world’s largest network of young ocean leaders, establishing a presence in 186 countries, and accelerating over 420 solutions to heal, protect, and restore our ocean.

Daniela is dedicated to inspiring and empowering youth to fight climate change. She knows it is critical to accelerate real-world solutions and policies that can make an impact right now, rather than set lofty goals for some distant future when it will be far too late to make a difference.

Daniela is a Forbes 30 under 30 social entrepreneur, a LinkedIn Top Voices in Social Impact creator, and thought leader who has dedicated her life to empowering young leaders as they create a sustainable future.