Mark P. Martin-Bras is a community leader, environmental educator and a researcher on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. He works as the Director of Community Relations and Chief Field Investigator for the Elizabeth Langhorne Lab at the Vieques Conservation & Historical Trust. His main field of research, education efforts and advocacy for environmental policy focuses on the bioluminescent bays of Vieques and Puerto Rico. He also coordinates with other research institutions on marine research. He is part of a Cetacean research team for the Wise Laboratory of Environmental and Genetic Toxicology as a Captain and a biopsy archer. Participated in two missions with Sea Shepherd as part of a collaboration for the Ethical Research trips. He is one of the EPA’s 2017 Environmental Champions; he is an advanced open-water diver and a lover of the sea. He co-created the Environmental Educational program MANTA, which has won multiple local and 2 EPA awards for innovative environmental education and several nontraditional education recognitions. Along with Jose Mendez created the smallest Aquarium in the World, and interactive educational aquarium with ecological practices and recovery components. Martin-Bras is the governmental liaison and emergency operational director for Vieques Love, a community organization working on recovery from disasters and community empowerment. He led the Hurricane Maria response effort on the Vieques ground operations. He is a lead member of the CERT team and trained in Wilderness First Aid and CPR and holds a First Responder certification. He is an experienced community organizer who is the most trusted negotiator between all levels of society, the nonprofit community, and the various organized governments. Mark is fully bilingual and serves as a translator for all-important meetings on the island, including translating for defendants in the legal system, facilitating and mediating between community, government and NGOs. Immediately after Hurricane Maria, Mark, who had lived through the hurricane, started organizing a team on Vieques and cofounded ViequesLove by connecting to Kelly, the head of the then off-island team. He dedicated a year volunteering in relief efforts as a liaison and translator for Tesla and a crucial team member of the group advocating for better power solutions on the island as a municipality liaison and Department of Energy community advisor for the PR100. He is now under contract to ViequesLove and is the community organizer and coordinator. One of his projects includes the Solar Access program of the DOE, facilitated with help from the Hispanic Federation. In 2024, Martin-Bras was awarded the Non-Profit Program Leader of the Year by the Disaster Relief International Organization, for his work in Hurricane Maria, COVID-19, and his recovery and resiliency-building work for his island.