Christina Janulis currently works for the Marine Conservation Action Fund (MCAF) at the New England Aquarium, where she supports the Fund’s evolution in locally-led ocean conservation and trust-based philanthropy. Christina also plays a key role in MCAF’s outreach and communications, helping to amplify the voices of conservation leaders around the world.

Christina earned her degree in Integrative Biology from Harvard in 2021. She then spent time caring for penguins at Lisbon’s Oceanário, becoming a divemaster in San Diego, assisting underwater photography projects in the Red Sea, and conducting fieldwork in Papua New Guinea. Now in Boston, she has written for the Arnold Arboretum’s quarterly magazine and collaborated with researchers at the Harvard Herbaria to integrate plant biodiversity into an art exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts.

As an active member of The Explorers Club, Christina has spent the past four years developing Blue Generation—an early career initiative that brings a group of emerging ocean professionals from around the world to New York City during World Oceans Week for programming focused on careers, community, and innovation in the ocean space. She is also the Explorers Club New England Chapter’s membership chair, bringing young people into the fold and re-engaging members across the region.

Beyond her passion for making science more accessible, inclusive, and impactful, Christina is also a landscape history enthusiast, occasional ukulele player, and painter.

Favorite SFS Memory:

Having been a part of the inaugural Patagonia semester, there are so many great memories to choose from! I think my favorite would be the time spent in Patagonia Bagual—a beautiful private protected area within Torres del Paine National Park. We all slept in tents in an open field and saw the most mind-blowing sunrises and sunsets. After collecting data for our final research projects all day, my friend Sam would break out his mandolin and play for everyone.

I’m so grateful for all the ideas I was introduced to during that semester, particularly around the political and social dimensions of environmental conservation. It was a life-changing experience!