Erin Tharp is an impressive young woman; and I found her to be cool, smart, well spoken and passionate about her pursuits.

From USC undergrad to her masters at UC Irvine, and playing water polo at both universities; she is now pursuing her PHD in marine biology in Florida. Add in a NCAA championship win and becoming a yoga instructor on top of them all; she has accomplished a ton already, at only 24 years old.

She is an admitted lover of education, the environment, and making a difference in our oceans.

Her passion for coral reefs and shining a light on the challenges we are facing as a planet when it comes to our oceans has resulted in her creation of her non-profit organization, Coralated (www.coralated.org)

The opening sentence of Coralated’s mission is “to promote the conservation and restoration of coral reefs and ocean ecosystems through innovative research, inclusive collaboration and adaptive management strategies.”

I love to see young, smart and passionate advocates for our environment. This is the generation that will be (and really, already is) saddled with the responsibility to solve the world’s environmental issues that we have sadly left for them.

Having people like Erin Tharp pursuing this makes me very happy, proud and provides confidence for the future of our planet.