Who will rescue our oceans? Daniela Fernandez, 26, is ready to try

Growing up in Ecuador, Daniela Fernandez regarded the Pacific Ocean as her “happy place.” Her favorite memories include playing with sandcastles and watching seagulls fly by. Today, she is chief executive of Sustainable Ocean Alliance, a 15-person non-profit in San Francisco with a $4 million annual budget. She is 26 years old.

Fernandez has quite a story to tell, and I'd like to share the highlights of our recent conversation. This is the second in a series of monthly interviews with LinkedIn members who hold really unusual jobs. She's got a fascinating perspective on the world's oceans -- and she's got just as much to say about how to engage effectively on a big social issue, and how to build a meaningful nonprofit organization from scratch.

The video above lets you see her in action on all these topics. If you prefer the back-and-forth of the actual interview, a lightly edited transcript is below.

ANDERS: I meet a lot of young people who are angry or depressed about the current state of the environment. What should they be doing?

FERNANDEZ: I tell them you can become an entrepreneur or take action in your day job. It’s not about pointing the finger at other institutions. It’s about looking yourself in the mirror and asking how you can make a difference. I felt that same frustration. I could have easily gone to a protest and yelled a bit. But instead I chose to become an entrepreneur and build something that didn’t exist before.

 ANDERS: You’re just a few years out of college. How can someone like you get this far, this fast?

FERNANDEZ: Any young person that wants to build something incredible should start by building a community. Find those champions that believe in you. That’s how I built Sustainable Ocean Alliance. I didn’t have a lot of experience as an entrepreneur. I just had a vision of what our world could look like. Building a community of people who believe in me and this larger vision has helped me find a way forward.

ANDERS: What does Sustainable Ocean Alliance do?

FERNANDEZ: We have two main programs. One is a leadership program that provides mentorship, resources and financing to young people from all over the world. We currently have young people in 165 countries that are working on everything from planting coral reefs to creating plastic awareness campaigns. Our second program is an accelerator program for entrepreneurs with market-based solution that protect the ocean.

ANDERS: What’s one of your favorite wins?

FERNANDEZ: At our convenings, young people from different countries meet and then create projects together. One example is three young leaders from The Gambia, Kenya and the United States, who are working together on a venture to develop seaweed farms in The Gambia.

ANDERS: You travel a lot. What’s the soothing image that helps you fall asleep at night? 

FERNANDEZ: When I drift off to sleep, I often think about the time I was snorkeling with penguins in the Galapagos Islands. It was amazing to see these majestic, very small creatures swimming underneath me – or above me. As a human, you feel like the stranger. It’s this prehistoric place where animals rule the world.

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This newsletter started as a co-publishing initiative with Delta Air Lines. Until last month, LinkedIn editors' rounds of "5 Minutes With" also appeared in Delta Sky, the airline's inflight magazine. With the Delta's magazine grounded for now, this newsletter remains as your way to keep learning about intriguing people, every month.