Conservationist. Dancer & Pianist.
About Marissa Ng
Marissa is an interdisciplinary conservationist focused on protecting and restoring coastal marine ecosystems. She is interested in advancing nature-based solutions and innovative models, informed by Indigenous and Western scientific approaches, that reconcile conservation with economic development and social justice. Her current work at Ocean Wise focuses on the regeneration of underwater kelp forests in the Pacific Northwest, in collaboration with partnering First Nations.
Over the last five years, Marissa has worked and studied at the intersection of climate change and biodiversity loss in North America, East Africa, and Europe. Marissa recently completed a dual-degree Master of Science in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management and MBA at the University of Oxford as an Oxford Pershing Square Scholar. Her research and entrepreneurial projects centered on deepening our understanding of kelp forest change and building models for regeneration to help reverse the global decline of these important marine foundation species. Her previous work supported innovative forest conservation models in East Africa, where she led a team to develop an extension strategy for Partnerships For Forests, a program funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. She has also developed decarbonization strategies and researched gender equality as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company in their sustainability and public sector practices.
At age 19, Marissa graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of British Columbia. She has also studied at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po). Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Marissa has lived in Oxford, Toronto, Addis Ababa, Paris, and Shenzhen.
In addition to her passion for the environment, Marissa has a deep love for exploration. Some of her most memorable adventures include sailing along the coasts of Cornwall (UK), field visits in Tanzania and Madagascar, solo hitchhiking across Iceland, and solo backpacking in Arizona (US) and Australia. She has travelled extensively in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania.
Marissa is also a swing dancer and classically-trained pianist with a background in competitive figure skating and ballet. She speaks conversational French and broken Mandarin.
