Melina Soto is the Mexican Coordinator for the Healthy Reefs Initiative and is based in Puerto Morelos. She is responsible for the connection between the different HRI Mexican partners, organizes collaborative activities such as monitoring and eco audits, mobilizes resources, designs and gets involved in pilot projects, citizen participation and advocacy to improve conditions in which coral reefs, and the communities that depend on them, live. Influenced since her first steps by her parents, sailing around the Caribbean, Mélina grew up passionate about the marine environment. She first earned her Bachelor of Science in Marine Environment Sciences in a binational program between Wales and France at the University of South Wales and the National Institute for Marine Sciences. She obtained her Master’s of Science in Marine Biology at the Institute of Marine Sciences of UNAM, with an ecotoxicology project showing endocrine disruptive effects of sunscreens on the charismatic damselfish sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis). Mélina has been working in coral reef restoration programs with the National Fisheries Institute in Quintana Roo, rescuing damaged corals, collecting coral larvae and planting them back on impacted reefs. She has been the communications and development assistant for the Mesoamerican Reef Leadership Program, a dynamic leadership program of the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature. She is CMAS, AAUS and AGRRA certified for fish monitoring. When Mélina is not diving or involved with the TEDxCancún organization, she enjoys climbing, sharing quality time with friends, family and her animals, and reading, reading, reading.