Mónica Franco Ortíz is the Mexico Director of WILDCOAST/COSTASALVAJE. Based in Ensenada, B.C. she helps oversee the organization’s conservation programs that protect mangroves forests, coral reefs, sea turtles, sandy beaches and coastal deserts in Northwestern Mexico, Oaxaca and Cuba. Monica earned her masters degree in Coastal Oceanography from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, working with elephant seals. Since then, her professional career has been largely focused on coastal ecosystems conservation projects on the Baja California Peninsula.