“If You Want To Build Something, If You Want To Make A Change, All You Have To Do Is Start & Keep Going!” An Interview With Dolphin Defenders Founder & Aspiring Marine Biologist Sabine Castro
- The Persaud Catalog
- Aug 5
- 7 min read
Recently, we were truly fortunate to speak with Sabine Castro, the Founder of Dolphin Defenders & an Aspiring Marine Biologist.
Sabine Castro founded the ocean education organization "Dolphin Defenders" in January of 2025. Since then, her team has grown to over 20 dedicated & hard-working individuals, who have built partnerships with organizations such as the UN & the Manta Trust.
In today’s interview, we sit down with Sabine to discuss her lovely organization, ideas for & efforts in ocean conservation, & advice for young people who are looking to make a change, in a comprehensive 13-question interview. Before delving into today’s interview, please note everything said has been edited for clarity, & that the opinions of our interviewee do not necessarily reflect the views & values of our organization. With that being said, let us delve into the contents of the interview!
The Contents Of The Interview
Questions About Her Passion:
1. What sparked your passion for marine biology & ocean science?
I’m fairly young; however, last summer I was lucky enough to work with the Central Park Zoo. In that role, I dedicated quite a lot of hours, over 200. It was very enjoyable to teach people about conservation, & about what the zoo does. As a part of the zoo, I began advocating for the Hudson Canyon, which is a marine canyon 100 miles southeast of New York, to become a marine sanctuary. I wanted to get involved, which inspired me to create something bigger, & somehow I ended up here!
2. Was there any particular place, person, or moment that assisted in the sparking of your passion?
Apart from my time at the Central Park Zoo, I would say that I have always been interested in animals. I have always been interested in paleontology & veterinary studies, & I enjoy it when people come to me & ask about conservation or about what they can do to help. It truly makes me feel satisfied & fulfilled, & makes me feel as if I’m doing something in this world. It’s not necessarily one person or place, but the entire community that inspires me to continue empowering youth to join conservation.
3. What is your favorite marine or terrestrial animal & why?
From a young age, my favorite animal has always been the orca! They’re black & white, however, they are far more complex than that appearance-wise, ironically. They are very misunderstood creatures, & are incredibly intelligent. As a species, they have very few human fatalities linked to them, however, there is still this fear circulating about them. I feel that encourages people to try & get a deeper understanding of them, as well as their personalities.
4. What inspired you to take action in the form of your organization?
It all started when I was offered the position of ambassador at the Manta Trust, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to Manta Ray education, research, & conservation. During the initial interview process, my advisor told me that we were allowed to create a project. Right from the get-go, I began thinking about what I could do to make lasting change. I’d been a part of conservation conversations for a long time by this point, & I wanted to create a place where youth could join & all youth could start their projects to contribute to a moment of greater ocean understanding. In wanting to create something that would last, with or without me, I created Dolphin Defenders.
Questions About Her Organization:
5. When did you begin your organization, Dolphin Defenders, & how? How large is your team now, & where can people looking to volunteer with you apply?
I founded the organization in January 2025. As for current team sizes, our official team recently surpassed 20 members, however, I would say that we have impacted over 500 individuals so far through our various events. If you do wish to check us out, we are currently most active on Instagram, & are preparing to launch our website.
6. Do you mind walking me through the various programs of your organization?
One of our most prominent recent programs was our Echoes of the Deep poetry contest, sponsored by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences & Sustainable Development. It was a creative writing contest in which individuals could submit their ocean-inspired poems, stories, or similar works. Along with this, we recently hosted the Global Environmental Youth Forum, which was a forum that brought together youth from around the world in a debate-style stage to discuss various environmental issues. Although we did not agree on everything, everyone was very polite, civil, & formal.
In addition to these, we also have our environmental ambassadors program where we empower youth financially, or through advertisements on our social media, & we empower them to create their projects. One of our ambassadors recently won the EarthEcho prize, which offers a year-long mentorship, along with a few thousand dollars. We hope to continue empowering youth to create their projects, & create not just a localized, but a nationwide effect.
7. You recently hosted an Oceanic Poetry Competition titled “Echoes Of The Deep”, in collaboration with the Aldrich Anthology, a Poetry Magazine. Do you mind my asking what inspired you to hold this poetry competition & what insights you & your organization gained from holding it?
One way to get youth involved is through art. Art is a huge way to inspire not only creativity, but to inspire community solutions, & form a community of change-makers. We had submissions from individuals who were 17, 16, 15, 14, & the youngest submission was even 8 years old! It wasn’t formal, was very welcoming, & in that way, we can experience how everyone’s ideas come together to form a greater movement of ocean understanding.
One of the primary goals in hosting it was to bring youth together from around the world & hear their perspectives as well as relationships with our oceans, & their connections with the water.
Due to the fact that it was our first event, we had much organizing & infrastructure to build as an organization, which did make things more difficult due to the amount of trial by error, however, it did work out in the end. About the UN, we have a lot of partnering organizations, which gradually led us to a partnership with the UN.
8. What are your organization's primary goals for 2025 & 2026?
Even though we’ve been around for just six months, we have some incredible ideas already. I would say that one of our main goals is to create lasting policy change, particularly through our Marine Bill of Rights, which is a framework for marine protection on a local level. Hopefully, we see permanent change through that framework, & set a precedent for future oceanic protections. In addition to this, we have two in-person events planned, one in collaboration with Sea Shepard as a beach cleanup, & one as a planned marine biological youth summit at the New York Aquarium in August or September.
9. Now, you may not have an answer to this yet, or you may not wish to answer, which is perfectly reasonable & understandable; however, do you intend to pursue marine biology as your career path?
I feel that I have a very strong background in marine biology & conservation, from an entrepreneurial perspective, a sustainable finance perspective, & a conservation perspective. It is a massive interest of mine, & I am interested in pursuing it.
I’d like to make a lasting change in marine conservation, it’s a balance of individual biology & understanding what is going on in the ocean, & finding innovative solutions to its problems.
10. What has been your biggest triumph or proudest moment concerning your organization so far?
This is a very good question. I have had a multitude of proud moments in the organization's history. We have a team of over 20 individuals now, however, we have impacted many more. I think that creating a community is an achievement in it of itself. I think my proudest moment would be winning the National Call for Kindness fellowship, which is a very prestigious fellowship, & allowed me to network with people to create social & environmental change. It was an incredible boost to our organization.
With this fellowship, we won 5,000$, which will be used to fund a new program of ours, Mission Manta, & we get 1-on-1 mentoring from their representatives.
11. I’m sure that you have faced just as many challenges & setbacks as you have leaps forward. What has been the biggest hurdle that you have faced in your running of Dolphin Defenders? Additionally, what was the biggest challenge that you faced & how did you overcome it?
We’re already at a disadvantage being young, without experience, & formal credentials. It’s difficult for adults to take us seriously, & one of the major problems that we wish to solve. We hope to show that youth will be the ones to bear the burden of all actions related to the environment & climate, so we should have a seat at these tables & a place in these discussions.
12. Do you have any advice for new organizational founders, aspiring marine biologists, young scientists, & those with a passion?
I would say that my greatest advice for young people starting to build something is to just start. Start without question, without instruction booklets, all you need is a vision & persistence to keep going. Every startup started somewhere & was built around a vision. If you want to build something, if you want to make a change, all you have to do is start & keep going.
13. Do you have any final words about your organization, marine biology, science communication, or young people making an impact?
Stay tuned! Follow our Instagram, & keep updated on what we are up to because we’re going to make a change whether people see it coming or not.
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