Catalina López-Sagástegui is a Marine Biologist from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur (2001) in La Paz, Mexico, and obtained a Masters degree on marine biodiversity and conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (2006). Although her initial interests focused on marine mammal ecology, her focus shifted to understanding how coastal communities adapt to changes in socio-economic realities when public policies aimed at protecting and managing species and ecosystems are implemented.
From 2006-2010 she worked at NOS Noroeste Sustentable A.C., where she coordinated an effort to create a common vision for the Upper Gulf of California with government, scientists, conservationists, and the fishing sector. Catalina joined UCMEXUS at the University of California Riverside in 2010 as a scholar in residence where she began to develop multidisciplinary research programs that incorporate resource users’ participation in collaboration with the Gulf of California Marine Program (GCMP), which she directed from 2017 through 2025. Together with the Centro para la Biodiversidad Marina y la Conservación A.C., she developed a multidisciplinary monitoring program to generate fisheries data through collaborations between scientists, fishers and other community members.
Catalina’s experience with conflict resolution helps her create opportunities for multistakeholder collaborations and has reinforced the importance of access to information to build trust and empower communities. In 2014, Catalina helped launch dataMares, a science communication initiative that promotes transparency in academia and provides a space where open access to scientific data is possible. In 2021, Catalina joined the IOA and directs the Marine Research Program, a programmatic component of the Environment Program. She continues to do research related to small-scale fisheries, climate change, and biodiversity conservation, and dedicates a significant portion of her time to promote binational research collaborations.