By Elizabeth Nguyen, Oceanside Youth Coordinator
I’m excited to be joining the SanDiego350 community as the Oceanside Youth Coordinator. I am a first generation Vietnamese American born and raised in San Diego, CA. I enjoyed being outside, and I discovered my passion for marine conservation in high school as a volunteer at the Birch Aquarium. I loved learning about our oceans and sharing with others about how we can protect it from human impacts and the effects of climate change.
I studied marine biology at the University of California, San Diego, where I also joined the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. During undergrad, I gained a great appreciation for community-based programs and intersectional perspectives, especially when it came to serving members of the community. As much as I love the ocean and marine life, I equally cared about environmental justice and building access for BIPOC and underserved communities. This has been my purpose and led me to environmental education as well as the non-profit world. I’m excited to support SanDiego350’s students in Youth4Climate, engage more youth in North County, and work alongside the powerful young leaders to take climate action.
In addition to this role, I am a Community Engagement Specialist at the National Marine Mammal Foundation and educator at Paddle for Peace. In my free time, I volunteer as a surf instructor at Paddle for Peace and college mentor at Ocean Discovery Institute. I enjoy any time near the ocean and outside so hiking, tidepooling, and surfing are just a few of my current fixations.