Marilu Cristina Flores is an award-winning filmmaker, coral researcher, and recipient of the 2021 Go Blue Ambassador of the Year Award.
Recognized as a Hispanic Ocean Conservation Hero in 2021, she holds a certificate degree from the University of Queensland in Tropical Coastal Ecosystem Resource Management and served the Surfrider Foundation as Regional Coordinator and then Manager from 2018 - 2022.
During her time with Surfrider, Marilu helped community activists pass over 50 ordinances to protect our marine and coastal ecosystems and in 2021, she was appointed to serve the Southeast Coral Reef Initiative (SEFCRI) as an NGO/nonprofit partner for five years.
Marilu is the Founder and Community Outreach Director of Conservation Key, a project-based, IRS-recognized nonprofit founded on the hope that with our intervention, coral reefs can and will survive for the next generation.
Whitney Wemett, Parrotfish Outreach Project Lead
Whitney holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Environmental Studies from Stonehill College in Massachusetts. Whitney’s passion for island communities led her to work with local NGOs and fishers in Madagascar to establish science-based regulations to protect local fisheries and subsistent fishing practices in the island chain.
Based in Islamorada, Whitney is a trained scientific diver and PADI Divemaster, a USCG Captain, and an environmental writer committed to communicating science to the public. Throughout the Keys, Whitney leads grassroots campaigns, advocacy, and community-based ocean conservation programs as part of the Surfrider Foundation's Florida Keys Chapter, where she currently serves as Chair of the Executive Board.
Kennedy Wall, Microplastics Lead
Originally from Ventura, CA, and residing in Jupiter, FL. Kennedy received a B.S. in Marine Science, Biology, and Spanish from the University of Miami and completed an undergraduate thesis investigating the effects of ocean acidification on staghorn coral.
After college, her passion for experiential education and research took her to the Bahamas, where she worked as a Research Technician and teacher with the Bahamas Coral Innovation Hub at the Cape Eleuthera Institute. Kennedy worked in the coral nursery, monitored disease, and observed coral spawning.
A trained PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and AAUS scientific diver, she is actively pursuing a Master's degree in Biology in the Global Field Program at Miami University of Ohio.
Currently, working as a Coral Disease Intern with Florida Sea Grant’s program to help spread awareness of the devastating impacts of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD).