Marie Diaz joined San Diego Coastkeeper in early 2019 and oversees the organization’s marine programs, including community cleanup and restoration initiatives. She works to protect our oceans and coastline by connecting San Diegans to hands-on environmental stewardship opportunities and advocating for the protection and expansion of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
Marie earned her B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of California, San Diego, where she developed a passion for marine conservation research and education. After graduating in 2016, she interned with the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) in Key Largo, Florida, where she honed her skills in outreach and scientific communication. She later became REEF’s Invasive Species Program Manager, leading efforts to remove invasive lionfish from South Florida waters and educate the public on invasion threats and mitigation strategies.
Beyond her work with Coastkeeper, Marie conducts research at the Smith Coral Reef Ecology Lab at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, using imaging software to analyze coral reef communities and their ecological dynamics. She recently defended her M.S. thesis, Optimizing Grazing Pressure: The Impact of Diadema antillarum Density on Benthic Coral Reef Community Structure, which explored population dynamics and the role of herbivory in coral reef restoration.
You can reach Marie at [email protected]
