SOA Grantees and Where They Are Now—Ghana, Peru, U.S., & Canada

Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) is proudly a bottom-up nonprofit organization.?

We believe ocean restoration efforts should be informed by those on the frontlines of climate change, experiencing real impact within their communities.?

With this in mind, our approach is youth-led and science-backed.?

SOA’s Hubs Program works in tandem with our Grants Program to identify and undertake projects based on the local community’s needs that address one or more primary impact areas:

1. Greenhouse Gas Reduction: Blue Carbon & CO2E Removal or Avoidance
2. Pollution Reduction: Circular Use, Waste Removal or Avoidance
3. Ecosystem and Species Preservation and Restoration
4. Blue Foods: Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Seafood Alternatives
5. Ocean Data, Literacy, and Research

With 83 volunteer-based Hubs around the world and 320 grants awarded to date, the collective impact of SOA’s grassroots projects is quantifiable.

We’re proud to provide access, opportunities, guidance, and funding to action-oriented members of our network, helping them build resilient communities. Now, I am pleased to recognize a few of our many, inspiring hub leaders hailing from Ghana, Peru, and the U.S., with a BONUS spotlight of a Canadian grant recipient with a major new recognition.

But, before I dive into this newest installment, I wanted to give a big thanks to SOA Dream Team members Taylor Garrett and Rosalyn Kamp . Their input has been invaluable in pulling this evolving series together and I’m proud of their work supporting our hubs and grantees as well as monitoring and reporting on their impact. Thank you, Taylor and Roz!

Related reads: SOA Grantees & Where They Are Now (Pt. 1) and SOA Grantees & Where They Are Now (Pt. 2)

Protecting endangered sea turtles and advancing sustainable fishing with SOA Ghana

Project Leader: Gideon Sarpong

Gideon Sarpong is a Ghana-based media practitioner and policy analyst. He co-founded iWatch Africa and currently serves as the organization’s Policy & News Director. In addition to this important work, he also serves as the hub leader for SOA Ghana, heading up major impact projects with the Hub focused on ecosystem and species preservation.

One such project is safeguarding endangered sea turtles in Ghana. To date, this Hub has helped establish two turtle protection clubs and reached over 20,000 people through its digital action campaign.

Additionally, Sarpong oversees the hub’s efforts to promote sustainable fishing practices in Ghana. With the rising impacts of pollution, climate change, and rising ocean temperatures,? Ghana has experienced an 85% decrease in small pelagic fish catch.?

This is critical for a nation where the artisanal fishing sector directly employs over 200,000 fishers and provides livelihood to over 2 million people across the value chain.?

Together, the hub has successfully educated 120 fishers and community members across Cape Coast and Accra on embracing more sustainable fishing practices.

Elevating youth representation at global events with SOA Peru

Project Leader: Stefanie Torres

In 2023, Stefanie Torres proudly represented SOA as the President of SOA Peru at global ocean events like IMPAC5, Our Ocean Youth Leadership Summit 2023, Regional Conference of Youth Latinoamérica (RCOY), and COP28.?

At COP28, Torres helped organize five official side events in the Peru Pavillion:?

1. Addressing the effects of El Ni?o on artisanal fishing
2. Showcasing the proactive efforts of Peruvian youth in tackling the climate crisis
3. Championing a moratorium on deep-sea mining
4. Underlining the creation of the Mar Tropical de Grau Marine Protected Area (MPA)
5. Sharing experiences of young ocean leaders

Torres, who holds a bachelor's degree in Marine Biology from Universidad Científica del Sur , also worked in partnership with her alma mater alongside Oceana Peru and Seaumanoid to host a major event ahead of COP28 focused on youth education and advocacy.?

Attendees included more than 50 young people, authorities, and scientists. Thematic panels focused on marine ecosystems, private and public sector involvement, and youth education, among other topics. The event also drew two congressmen, representatives of the Ministry of the Environment, and the UAE Ambassador to Peru.

Accelerating ocean innovation with SOA NYC

Project Leader: Emelia Sulji?, MPH

Emelia Sulji?, MPH is the Hub Leader of SOA NYC and a Climate Resilience Specialist at ICF .?

Emelia’s passion for global health equity in the context of climate change is evident, given her higher education. She just completed her Master of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences at 美国哥伦比亚大学 after previously earning her bachelor's degree in Neuroscience and Environmental Biology at the same prestigious institution.?

Having previously researched hackathon design and utility for global health systems improvement at 美国哈佛大学 ’s Health Systems Innovation Lab, Sulji?’s intersectional expertise is now informing a hackathon initiative with SOA NYC focused on youth-led solutions.

The goal of the Wave Makers Impactathon??

To reach, uplift, and engage diverse stakeholder populations around local waterways and ocean conservation efforts, fostering effective, grassroots organizing skills to last a lifetime.?

This event, held on January 27 this year, provided young people with a formalized space for mentorship, ideation, and solutions-building, with the winning team receiving prize money to implement their idea with assistance from the SOA NYC team.

Monitoring seaweed farming with AI in Canada

Project Leaders: Kelly Zheng and Thomas Storwick

Last but not least, a final grantee spotlight, (unrelated to a particular hub) is the budding Canadian startup, Coastal Carbon . Just this year, co-founders Kelly Zheng and Thomas Storwick became recipients of Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science (North America).??

Months before, they secured $1.6M in funding from Canada's Ocean Supercluster for their “AI-Driven Sensors for Seaweed Measurement Project.” This work will benefit Canada’s greater seaweed farming community by helping quantify seaweed biomass to then claim carbon credits.

We’re proud to have supported the startup through SOA’s Grants Program in developing AI models over the past three years, aligned with Zheng’s PhD thesis work exploring deep learning for spatiotemporal modeling. Without these models, underwater data collection is more costly, time-consuming, and, at times, dangerous. Coastal Carbon is automating a process that once required extensive manual labor.?

And, according to Forbes, the promise we saw in this emerging AI company is now irrefutable and quantifiable. By the end of 2023, the nascent startup had projected $2 million in revenue.

Thanks for reading!

Learn more about SOA’s global network of youth-led Hubs here.

Explore additional SOA-funded grant projects here.