Adriana Vergés is a marine ecologist whose research integrates rigorous science and novel ways of regenerating marine ecosystems with the help of local communities. She is a Director of the Kelp Forest Alliance and co-founder of Operation Crayweed and Operation Posidonia, two projects that have been restoring missing seaweed forests and seagrass meadows over the last ten years. Operation Crayweed was awarded the NSW Green Globe Award in 2017. Adriana received the UNSW Emerging Thought Leader Prize in 2019. She holds a PhD from the University of Barcelona, an MSc in Science Communication from Dublin City University, and is a Professor at UNSW Sydney and the Sydney Institute of Marine Science.