Melissa Cristina Marquez

Known as the "Mother of Sharks", Melissa Cristina Marquez is the marine biologist everyone is talking about! While Melissa studies sharks, she became a household name when she was bitten and dragged by a crocodile on Discovery Channel's Shark Week. In 2019, she was hailed as "everything that's right with Shark Week" for her enthusiastic performance as a TV presenter. She doesn't only just share her science on television--she writes, too! Melissa is not only a freelance wildlife write (her articles get close to 1 million views) but is represented by Alexandra Weiss of the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency for her novels.

Keep your eyes peeled for Melissa's first book series, "Wild Survival!" set to print in Spring 2021 with Scholastic. Melissa's research and outreach efforts have been featured in various media outlets, like the BBC's 100 Women Tribute, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Popular Science, BBC Wildlife Magazine, various book, and more! Fun fact: did you know Melissa helped create the #BillMeetScienceTwitter hashtag on Twitter? It made 1.2 billion impressions in less than a week! Bill Nye, the American science communicator, made a Netflix segment dedicated to the hashtag and thanked Melissa on his show!

As founder of The Fins United Initiative program (TFUI; www.finsunited.co.nz), Melissa introduces audiences to the diverse sharks and scientists who study them via the program's site. She's a well-regarded thought-leader, and has been invited to speaking engagements around the world. Want to see her in action? Check out her 2017 TEDx talk on YouTube!

Like many millenials, Melissa is on social media and uses her numerous platforms to talk about inclusive science communication, intersectional environmentalism, conservation, sustainable wildlife management and share her love of sharks! Follow along her journey on Twitter and Instagram.