Marilyn Stephanie Valverde Salas

Marilyn is an award-winning ocean advocate and published author from Costa Rica, specializing in customs administration and foreign trade. She’s the founder of Mar y Comercio (Sea and Trade), an SME with a regional impact that consults ocean-based organizations and develops blue economy initiatives in Central America, the Caribbean, and the United States. She has worked on fisheries traceability, decarbonization of the maritime industry, community-led projects for invasive species management, sustainable fisheries, aquaculture development, and ocean literacy. She was the Ocean Youth Ambassador of Costa Rica twice, recognized by the U.S. State Department (2016) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama (2023). She was the primary host of the Latinoamérica Azul Youth Summit (2024).

She is a 2025 Global Landscapes Forum Ambassador and currently coordinates the Ocean Innovation Hub in Central America and the Caribbean (Oceano Hub CA+C), an IOC-UNESCO endorsed initiative that accelerates the research, investment, and deployment of nature-based ocean-climate initiatives, fostering a sustainable blue economy.