Cecilia helps coordinate the Blue Action Grant Programme and manages part of its portfolio of grants. She also coordinates Blue Action’s Grant Programme on Ecosystem-based Adaptation to climate change, which is financed by the Green Climate Fund.

Prior to joining Blue Action Fund, Cecilia worked as a project manager overseeing the implementation of various EU-funded marine conservation and sustainable development projects in Europe and Eastern Africa. She also served as a programme specialist at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coral Reef Conservation Program, where she helped coordinate the agency’s efforts to understand and preserve coral reef ecosystems.

Cecilia earned a MS degree in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development from the University of Georgia, where she conducted research on Caribbean coral reef ecosystem health. She also holds a BS in Biology from Duke University.