Marcela Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, founder and executive director of Azul, an ocean justice organization working with Latino communities, was honored with the 2025 Latino Spirit Award for Achievement in Environmental Justice by the California Latino Legislative Caucus. The award was presented Monday, May 5, during the 23rd annual Latino Spirit Awards ceremony at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The event, held in conjunction with the state’s Cinco de Mayo observance, celebrates Latino leaders in advocacy, health, education, business, the arts and public service.
“I am profoundly honored and humbled to receive the 2025 Latino Spirit Award for Achievement in Environmental Justice, a recognition I share with the communities who have stood with us, organized with us and built power alongside us,” Gutiérrez-Graudiņš said. “It’s their work and perseverance that have made today possible.”
Gutiérrez-Graudiņš founded Azul in 2011 to ensure Latino participation and leadership in environmental policy and coastal conservation. After witnessing how traditional conservation efforts often excluded Spanish-speaking and immigrant communities, she created Azul to give Latino communities the power and platform to advocate for the ocean.
She has spearheaded Azul’s strategic campaigns, instrumental in securing California’s statewide bans of shark fins sales and single-use plastic bags, to the Biden-Harris White House incorporating ocean justice into its first-ever federal policy priorities to advance environmental justice, to coordinating global coalitions to push for a strong global Plastics Treaty; her strategies have activated Latinos throughout California and beyond.
According to Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, advancing environmental justice means protecting nature with people, not from them.
“At Azul, we know community power is at the heart of achieving true environmental justice. It’s our collective voice, our shared vision and our refusal to be left out that drives lasting solutions for our communities. This award is for all of us who believe that the ocean is not just a resource, it’s our connection and our future,” she said.
The organization is currently preparing a slate of programs and advocacy efforts for Ocean Month in June, continuing its mission to center Latino voices in the movement for ocean justice and sustainability.