Ocean Ambassadorship Ripples in Roatan through Carolina Rojas’ Ocean Youth Program
The Inland Ocean Coalition’s Ocean Ambassador (OA) Training Program is a transformative initiative designed to inspire individuals to act as advocates for marine conservation, no matter their geographic location. We are so proud of what our Ambassadors accomplish, making waves in their communities across 38 U.S. states and just as many countries, from land to sea.
And while we believe that you don’t have to see the ocean to care about it, some of our Ambassadors are closer to the coast than others!
Carolina Rojas is an Inland Ocean Ambassador from our 6th Cohort who lives and works alongside the ocean. Carolina completed the virtual training in 2022, from her home on the beautiful island of Roatan, Honduras. Roatan is widely known for its crystalline beaches and excellent diving opportunities, where locals and visitors alike experience the wonders of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. Still, despite being so prized for its importance to the local ecosystem and economy, the Mesoamerican Reef faces threats from human activities: pollution, overfishing, and habitat destruction.
The Roatan Marine Park (RMP), where Rojas works as a Research Coordinator, has long been at the forefront of efforts to protect this precious ecosystem. RMP aims to protect the Bay Islands National Marine Park, through research, marine patrols, marine infrastructure and programming to engage the local community of islanders in marine conservation.
RMP aims to ensure the welfare of the marine habitat surrounding Roatan, through research and programming to engage the local community of islanders in marine conservation.
As part of the team at RMP, Rojas was already familiar with the pressing issues the ocean faces today, and the need for public engagement to address such issues. But it wasn’t until Rojas graduated as an OA that she had the idea, as well as the skills and tools, to further spread the ocean conservation movement in her own community through young people.
Inspired by expert guest speakers and the action-oriented framework provided by the OA Training Program, Rojas developed the Ocean Youth Program for teenagers in Roatan who want to make a positive change for the ocean. Teens enrolled in the Ocean Youth Program gain a holistic understanding of ocean advocacy, receiving dive certification courses, coral biology and conservation education, and training to analyze data in a wet laboratory setting.
Because the OA Training Program imparts such a robust and effective ocean advocacy education, featuring different points of view and an emphasis on actionable ocean protection methods, Carolina Rojas can share conservation leadership strategies within her own organization, and expand its programming to center the youth of Roatan, the next generation of stewards for the island’s unique natural reserve.
In Rojas’ own words, perfectly encapsulating the teachings of the OA program, “the ocean provides us with endless benefits, and it is everyone’s responsibility to opt for bluer oceans.”

This blog post was cowritten by Ocean Ambassador Carolina Rojas, leader of the Ocean Youth Program. Learn more about Carolina here or read more about the Ocean Youth Program.