For immediate release

Information request:
Mary LaPorte, EcoViva Board Chair
marylaporte53@gmail.com

November 15, 2018 – As the chair of the EcoViva Board of Directors, I am proud to announce that Ana Luisa Moran Ahern will transition to the role of Interim Executive Director after the departure of Karolo Aparicio. We extend our gratitude to Karolo, who so fiercely lead us through many years of growth and success.

Dear EcoViva supporters,

Please join me in extending a congratulations to Ana Luisa, EcoViva’s Interim Executive Director. Ana Luisa previously served as EcoViva’s Program and Policy Director since 2016 and currently lives in Columbus, Georgia with her partner and their adopted Honduran dog, Chimi Chewy. She has committed her personal and professional life to advancing women’s rights, youth leadership, and marine conservation. She is an advocate for social and environmental justice and is active in local and international community organizing initiatives and combating inequality in all its forms.

Ana Luisa is co-founder of the Organization for Youth Empowerment (OYE), which provides education, leadership training, and capacity building to low-income children and young adults in Honduras. She has also worked in a marine protected area off the north coast of Honduras training Garifuna youth in eco-tourism practices. In 2015 she completed a master’s degree in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and spent a year there as a researcher in a genetics lab on a collaborative project with the Gulf of California Marine Program monitoring fish spawning activity in a marine protected area. We are confident that Ana Luisa will make an excellent Interim Executive Director and lead EcoViva through its next phase.

We are excited to support Ana Luisa and the rest of the EcoViva team in this transition. If you have any questions about the changes at EcoViva please email me. Please find messages below from Karolo and Ana about the ongoing transition.

With gratitude,

Mary LaPorte
Chair, EcoViva Board of Directors

Message from Karolo:

November 9th was my last day as EcoViva’s Executive Director and next week I will join the staff at Grid Alternatives, supporting efforts to promote access to clean, affordable solar power. I will also continue to work with EcoViva as a member of the volunteer advisory board and continue supporting our outreach efforts, including organizing our year-end event (you’re going, right?)

I am also pleased to announce that Ana Luisa Ahern, who has served as our program director, will assume the role of Interim Executive Director. I am confident that Ana will build on the past several years of successes and take the work of EcoViva and our Central American partners to the next level.

These are just some of the accomplishments that I’m most proud of:

• In El Salvador we’ve built a nationwide alliance to promote research, education, and best practices in mangrove protection and restoration.
• We’ve supported local efforts to restore sea turtle populations and released hundreds of thousands of baby sea turtles.
• We’ve co-produced award-winning documentaries with filmmakers Avi Lewis and Jake Ratner.
• We provided funding for our partners in Honduras who have developed creative and effective responses to climate change including water storage systems, disaster preparedness, and campesino to campesino training in agroecological and organic approaches to food production.

We did all of that together and with Ana’s leadership we will build on those accomplishments. I have made a donation to EcoViva and our partners in Ana’s honor through EcoViva’s secure donation page and I encourage you to do the same. Thank you so much for everything that you do for EcoViva and our partners in Central America.

With gratitude,

Karolo Aparicio
Advisory Board Member, EcoViva

Message from Ana:

I am honored and excited to be selected for this position. I have the utmost respect for outgoing Executive Director Karolo Aparicio and I wish him the best in his next adventure. I am deeply committed to the mission and vision of EcoViva and I look forward to building on Karolo’s record of growth and impact as well as deepening my own relationships with our partners in Central America and with the global EcoViva family, who inspire me with their courage and commitment to environmental justice and human rights. I believe that through strong science, education, and civic engagement, communities can come together to protect our environment and improve the well-being of our planet. I believe building strong partnerships is the best way to create meaningful, lasting, and sustainable change and I will bring my experiences, along with my dedication and passion for the marine environment, to my new role as Interim Executive Director of EcoViva. I look forward to working with the Board, staff and supporters like you!

With gratitude,

Ana Luisa Moran Ahern
Interim Executive Director, EcoViva