Environmental scientist with a PhD in Marine Sciences interested in solving scientific and environmental issues through building bridges between science, society and politics. I am firmly convinced that scientists must play an essential role in the current context of global change in terms of advising, communication and policy/politics. Therefore, I believe that it is vital to connect science, politics and society to fight climate change, as well as mitigating its effects and adapting to the present and future environmental conditions. I am passionate about social communication of global change, the biggest challenge for humankind, and committed to its understanding and fight. Currently, I am a Member of the Cabinet of Ms Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Fourth Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge.
How I ended up here …
I was born (1990) and raised in Cartagena, Region of Murcia, Spain. Since I was a child I enjoyed nature, sports and science, which extremely influenced me when I was a teenager and I had to choose what to do for a living. Consequently, I studied a B.Sc. in Environmental Sciences, then I did a M.Sc. in Global Change and a M.Sc. in Social Communication of Scientific Research. Then, I completed a PhD in Marine Sciences at the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC) in Barcelona, focusing on the Antarctic Ocean, thanks to a grant from “la Caixa” Foundation and the Fulbright Program. Currently, I am enrolled in a Master Degree in Public Policy Management, for which I research society’s participation in climate action in order to develop public policies.
During my PhD, I participated in several research cruises and scientific expeditions along 4/5 of the world’s oceans (Atlantic, Antarctic, Indian & Pacific). Spending a total of approximately 5 months at sea. Furthermore, I also performed research stays in top universities and institutions from several countries: Spain (UMU, ICMAN-CSIC, IMEDEA-CSIC, ICM-CSIC), Canada (Takuvik – Université Laval), United Kingdom (University of Aberdeen), Switzerland (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology – ETH Zurich), and the United States of America at SCRIPPS (University of California San Diego, thanks to a Fulbright fellowship).
