Founder & Executive Director (U.S. Chapter)

Overview

I established the U.S. chapter of AquaMeridian, an international marine conservation initiative, building it from the ground up into a sustained, student-led organization over four years. I designed and ran programs spanning large-scale coastal cleanups, STEM education workshops, and community partnerships — engaging over 300 members across the chapter's lifetime. Beyond programming, I built the organization's funding infrastructure from scratch, developed a student leadership pipeline that continued operations independently, and established institutional partnerships with schools, libraries, and local organizations to extend our reach into marine education and habitat restoration.

Responsibilities

• Founded and scaled the U.S. chapter of AquaMeridian, growing it into a sustained operation over 4 years.
• Led a 12-person student leadership team across coastal cleanups, STEM workshops, and community partnerships.
• Directed strategic planning, fundraising, and operational management for all U.S. chapter programs.
• Organized large-scale beach cleanups with 150+ volunteers, submitting collected debris data to global ocean health databases.
• Hosted environmental education panels and STEM workshops reaching 200+ students across schools and libraries.
• Recruited, trained, and mentored a student leadership team with succession planning to ensure continuity.

Achievements

• Grew the chapter to 300+ community members and sustained operations across 4 years.
• Raised $8,500+ from corporate partners including Apple East Bay and individual donors.
• Collected 2,000+ lbs of marine debris submitted to global ocean health databases.
• Built a 12-person student leadership pipeline that continued running the organization independently.
• Formed lasting partnerships with local schools, libraries, and organizations to support marine education and habitat restoration.

Skills