Marina Melanidis (she/her) is a Greek-British-Canadian settler on the unceded, unsurrendered territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (currently known as Vancouver, BC). She is the Founder and Partnerships Director of Youth4Nature, a youth-led, international organization empowering young people around the world to mobilize for nature and climate and hold our political leaders to account on both the climate and ecological crises. Previously, Marina has worked on conservation and climate change at home with the BC Provincial and Canadian Federal government, abroad as a research exchange fellow in India, and with the United Nations as an intern with the UN Environment Programme. She is currently pursuing an MSc, with a research focus on how the idea and practice of 'nature-based solutions' is shaping and re-shaping aspects of conservation governance Marina holds a B.Sc. in Natural Resources Conservation from the University of British Columbia. She is a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholar, a Students on Ice alumnus, and has recently been named as one of Canada’s Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders and Top 25 under 25 Environmentalists. She loves 70’s rock, good vegan food, and the BC coast, and is (attempting) to learn modern Greek.

Find Marina on Twitter: @marinamelanidis

Email id: marina@youth4nature.org