María Esther Leyva Ollivier is a marine scientist with a BSc in Oceanology and an MSc in Water and Coastal Management. She began her career at the Mexican Centre for Innovation in Ocean Energy (CEMIE-OCEANO) with CICESE and briefly lectured in Environmental Engineering at the Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC). With an ERASMUS+ studentship, she pursued a joint Master's across the Universities of Bologna, Cádiz, and Algarve. She later completed an internship at the University of Maryland in partnership with Future Earth Coasts. After her Master’s, she continued her scientific career and was subsequently awarded a Murray Foundation fellowship, which supported her research at CIMA-ARNET, University of Algarve. This work resulted in three scientific publications, two as lead author and one as co-author, and several conference and workshop presentations. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD funded by the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, in collaboration with CIMA-ARNET and Centro Ciência Viva do Algarve. Her research focuses on the sustainability of coastal lagoon socio-ecological systems and on making scientific findings accessible to diverse audiences, from children to policymakers. During her PhD, she has presented her work at national and international events, including academic conferences and science communication competitions, winning first place in the 3-Minute Thesis competition. She is also involved in outreach activities through Centro Ciência Viva, including school visits, summer schools, and public events. Research interests: social-ecological systems; land-ocean interactions; coastal sustainability; interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches; stakeholder engagement and participation. Expertise: sustainability assessment; adaptive management; holistic management; science communication.