Daniela Macaya

Motivated by the mission to protect and restore our natural world, Daniela is a Costa Rican native with expertise in youth engagement, research, communications, storytelling, and project leadership. Her professional experiences encompass working at the National Geographic Society, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, and a local marine conservation non-governmental organization in La Paz, Mexico. She is currently working with the Global Environment Facility's Front Office.

Daniela is also a published author and illustrator of a children’s book on plastic pollution published by UNICEF in 2021, which was later adapted into an animated video and showcased at High-level United Nations events ahead of the Third UN Ocean Conference in Nice (UNOC3). Her environmental initiatives have been featured in over 40 media outlets.

Daniela earned her degree in environmental studies at Yale University, with distinction in the major, and a minor in energy studies. She is fluent in Spanish and English.