Sophie Thayne manages several grants within the Blue Action Grant Programme.

Before joining Blue Action Fund, Sophie worked as project coordinator at the Coastal and Marine Union Germany on integrated coastal zone management focusing on stakeholder involvement, change management and capacity development. Prior, she worked for the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) where she supported project teams in several African countries as project manager. She started her career as an advisor for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Democratic Republic of Congo. The main focus of her work was to support the Congolese institutions in their reform ambitions to better manage the country’s natural resources.

Sophie holds a master’s degree in Coastal and Marine Management from the University of Akureyri (Iceland). For her thesis, she researched participatory management of small-scale fishery in Fiji and sustainable management of local marine protected areas. She also earned master degrees in Management as well as International and European Studies at UPF Barcelona (Spain) and the European Institute in Nice (France).