About

Martina works at the intersection of storytelling, science, and design. Her practice is led by her innate curiosity for the natural world and the relationship between people, land, and water.

Immigrating from South America to Florida as a child, she would dive in tropical waters and climb coconut palms. Growing up in the subtropical city of Miami impacted her as she witnessed a shifting coastline and skyline, and natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, and sea level rise, thus leading Martina to study both environmental sciences, urbanism, and design. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan (2019) and Florida International University (2023), where she has recently completed her Masters in landscape architecture with a focus on coastal resilience. As a Ratcliffe Art and Design Entrepeneurship Fellow, Martina is also the founder of Seedtalk, a science communication podcast amplifying climate resilience and environmental healing, particularly as it relates to vulnerable urban coastal cities like Miami.

As a storyteller, Martina integrates photography, data-visualization, and her background in design to tell multi-media environmental stories to elicit change and evoke emotion to protect our world.

Martina is currently researching nature-based adaptations for urban coastal cities and is producing visual stories about these challenges to develop awareness and resilience.

At FIU’s Sea Level Solutions Center, Martina is addressing the need for sustained sea level and other climate change-related responses for both the human and natural environments. She works with a team led by Dr. Troxler to engage in local to global solutions-oriented research, education, strategic thinking, communications and storytelling by organizing top scientists, educators, students, municipal leaders and policymakers to produce an accurate understanding of impacts of sea level rise and climate change.

Martina has been honored by the University of Michigan MLK Jr. Scholarship, the Miami Herald Silver Knight Award, the Landscape Architecture Foundation’s Innovation Award, Locust Project’s WaveMaker Award, among others. She is a UN Cop 15 Global Youth Biodiversity Network Delegate and Miami City Lead for Women and Climate.

On the side, Martina is a visiting educator at a STEAM summer camp in Miami for underprivileged students. She is a freediver, a community organizer, and an advocate for minority Hispanic women in both storytelling and STEAM.

Media and Features

The Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator at Florida International University presents “Tech Conversations”, talks with experts innovating at the intersection of technology, creativity, and entrepreneurship.

Martina presenting to students at GEN2050’s STEAM Summer Camp in Miami, Florida about sea level rise and the importance of mangroves in coastal resilience, as well as how they can become urban conservationists.

Martina is a Women and Climate City Lead for Miami and is a speaker on coastal resilience, visual storytelling, climate adaptation, and empowering youth to take action.

Martina was named a Locust Projects Wavemaker in August 2023 and was awarded with a visual artist grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation.

Martina was invited to speak on the STEAM FORWARD PODCAST to discuss living shorelines, the impacts of sea level rise, and environmental storytelling.