Mariana Mata Lara

With an academic and professional background built in Europe and the Americas, I have shaped my career on environmental management, conservation and communication, with a specific focus and passion for the Ocean and Coasts.

I currently work as a Senior Project Manager for Sustainable Projects (s.Pro) and the SUBMARINER network, focusing on EU funded project coordination and proposal writing in the areas of blue economy, marine protected areas and marine spatial planning. I am also part of the management team at Surfrider Porto Chapter, focusing on ocean advocacy.

I have worked as project coordinator at Geonardo Environmental Technologies in Hungary, and carried out research on coastal management and environmental health assessments for the National Laboratory of Coastal Resilience in Mexico, worked as marine research assistant and technical consultant for two Universities and one governmental organization, and expanded my collaborations with other organizations as scientific diver, media content manager, proposal writer, communicator, advocate and lecturer. I collaborated for two years with the Spanish non-profit Nakawe Project on education, awareness and research projects on shark conservation, and I was the course coordinator and lecturer on Integrated Coastal Zone Management for the organization Mexico Sostenible.