Melanie González was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico and is the daughter of an agronomist, civil engineer and fishing charter boat captain. Her involvement with the ocean life since a young age shaped her passion for nature’s conservation through a scientific approach.

She completed her BS in Environmental Sciences at University of Puerto Rico - Río Piedras Campus where she published her thesis: Spatial Variation in the Natural Recovery Patterns of Shallow Coral Reefs.

She went on to study her MSc in Environmental Management with a Waste Management specialization in Glasgow Caledonian University in London Campus. There, she completed her thesis: Development of Household Food Waste Management Framework: A Case Study of Puerto Rico.

As a life long learner, she is constantly conducting research on innovative technologies to help mitigate negative environmental impacts and achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

González is distinguished by her unshakeable moral compass that emphasizes transparency, integrity, and sustainability ethics.