Ana Luisa Moran Ahern, Executive Director

Originally from Washington, DC, Ana Luisa spent part of her childhood in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. In 2004, she returned to Honduras to co-found the Organization for Youth Empowerment (OYE), which provides education, leadership training, and capacity building to urban youth. In 2015, First Lady Michelle Obama awarded OYE the International Spotlight Award as part of the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards.

She holds a BA from Barnard College and studied socio-economics at the Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands and the Center for Development Studies in India. She completed a master’s degree in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California. Her contributions to social and environmental justice include supporting women’s movement building in Latin America, Africa and Asia, training indigenous youth in eco-tourism in Honduras, and conducting research in a genetics lab monitoring fish spawning activity in the Gulf of California.

Ada Recinos, Impact & Engagement Director

Ada was born and raised in Los Angeles to parents who emigrated from El Salvador. She moved to Richmond after graduating from UCSC with a degree in Global Information and Social Enterprise Studies. Before joining EcoViva as the Communications and Outreach Manager, she was the Financial Sustainability Director for Prospera, an organization that partners with entrepreneurial Latinas to build cooperatives.

She served as a Richmond City Councilor, after serving nearly two years as a Human Rights and Human Relations Commissioner. She is an Alumna of the Congressional Hunger Center Emerson Fellowship, Hispanics in Philanthropy Next Generation Latino Leadership and NALCAB Colegio programs. Ada’s work has centered around organizing immigrants, renters, and women to advocate for their rights & progressive legislation.  Her hobbies include playing extremely difficult sudoku, trying new foods and traveling.

Douglas Chica, Consulting Program & Policy Manager

A resident of San Hilario, El Salvador, Douglas first became involved in the Mangrove Association’s youth program when he was 18 years old. He went on to earn a degree in Social Work with a specialization in Local Development from the Salvadoran Lutheran University while continuing to take an active role in community affairs.

He has worked with youth groups, community development associations, cooperatives, and local Salvadoran NGOs designing and managing social, economic, and cultural projects in the Lower Lempa and Bay of Jiquilisco region and is active in local politics, having served on the municipal council of Jiquilisco for the 2015-2018 term. He is currently pursuing a second degree in environmental law from the Salvadoran Lutheran University.

Mallory McDaniel, Communications & Outreach Manager

Mallory spent her childhood in rural Alabama before moving to Auburn, AL to study agriculture and the environment. Her work at Auburn University was interdisciplinary, focusing on agronomy, hunger studies, philanthropy, and nonprofit studies. She worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant on various agricultural research projects, learning to develop and execute viable studies to ensure sustainable use of water, fertilizer, soil, and organic matter. Her interest in using environmentally conscious agriculture to help create stronger, more sustainable communities led her to pursue more policy and philanthropy based answers to food insecurity problems.

Mallory’s community based work includes direct service to food insecure families and collaboration with food-sharing projects, including expanding the reach of Auburn University’s Food Bank Garden to neighboring communities. She looks forward to fighting for a world where all people can thrive.

Luis Flores, Bookkeeper