Special Staff Spotlight: Marilou Inzunza
Marilou Inzunza, Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust’s new operations manager, didn’t sign up for a love of seafood. That was simply how her family raised her.
“Ever since I was a baby, my family exposed me to seafood,” she says. “I remember always really loving it.”
She remembers an early childhood father-daughter date with her dad. The outing took them from Watsonville, where she was born and raised, to the edge of Monterey Bay.
“I remember walking on the docks and I’m wondering, ‘What are we doing here?’ but my dad’s confidently marching along, and clearly knows what he’s doing,” Inzunza says. “Then he’s paying the fisherman, getting a bag of fresh fish and we’re going home and cooking it up!”
She joins the Trust after time as an operations leader at various nonprofit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area advocating for human rights and LGBTQ+ equality. Before that, Inzunza earned her bachelor's from Santa Clara University and launched her career in operations. She followed that with a master's in business administration from California State University East Bay.
“Every job I've had has helped me build and expand my knowledge and skills,” she says. “All the positions I've taken fit in line with the position I'm in now.”
Her passion for locally sourced seafood and operations skills represent two reasons of many the Trust is thrilled to have her on the team—and is eager to introduce her by way of this Q&A:
MBFT: What inspired you to want to work with the Trust?
Inzunza: The driving force for wanting to join the team at MBFT is the work we do to increase community access to healthy, local, sustainable seafood. I was born and raised in Watsonville. As the years have passed, finding local and sustainably caught seafood has been difficult, or at least knowing where to get information for it, making it so we don't eat as much as we used to. Knowing that we are educating and providing information to the community about where to get local and sustainable seafood makes me happy especially because it is the community I grew up in.
What is among your goals for the Trust in the coming months and beyond?
One of the main goals for me is to do more outreach to the Spanish-speaking community. As the Trust continues to grow and create more partnerships with community organizations like Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County and Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes, we need to make our resources available in Spanish. It's important to me that—if we are going to serve the Spanish speaking community through our partnerships—I want them to be empowered to know where to get local, sustainable seafood and nutrition information.
When do you feel most alive in your work?
I love the work that I do. I am very much an operations nerd. Everything from the administrative side to human resources, finance and accounting and doing the day to day makes me happy. I very much enjoy improving on any processes to help the organization run efficiently and effectively - that’s my personal mission. I like to make things happen. I love working with people who have the idea—I'll ask a million and one questions and we’ll make it come to life.
How do you like to interact with the ocean?
One way I interact with the ocean is by using it as medicine. I'm lucky enough to live about 10 minutes from a beach, and when I feel stressed, overwhelmed or just want to clear my head I will go to the beach and feel the ocean breeze on my face, listen to the waves and let everything go. It has always been my sanctuary, a place where I feel safe and at peace.
Speed round! Here come a bunch of rapid-fire questions. #1: If you could be any sea creature in Monterey Bay, what would you be?
I would want to be a humpback whale. They travel great distances every year—an estimated 3,000-5,000 miles—and I've always loved to travel and see new places.
What surprises people about you?
I was in a sorority and I am an Internet-ordained minister. People who know me often wonder how I ended up in a sorority. (Laughs.)
What's your earliest memory of the ocean?
My earliest memory is when I was about 3 or 4 when my family went to visit my dad's side of the family in Culiacán, Mexico. I remember going to the beach, playing around and having fun. I also remember enjoying freshly cooked seafood right on the beach right as it was caught.
What's your favorite local seafood? How do you cook it?
I would have to say salmon. I like to cut an opening in it and stuff it with onion, jalapeño, tomato and cilantro, then cover it in some Valentina, wrap it in tin foil and put it in the oven to bake. It is absolutely delicious—it's making my mouth water just thinking about it.
What's one (semi) secret and weird talent of yours?
Not many people know I can play the clarinet.
Who's your charismatic little furball in your profile pic—and how does he/she feel about the ocean and seafood?
My little fur baby is Aphrodite, Aphro for short. She has been my ride or die for the last 13 years and I wouldn't have it any other way! She is not a fan of the ocean, but will tolerate getting her little paws wet every now and then, when I take her to the beach. She will sometimes dine on salmon, but that's the extent of her seafood tastings.
And if Aphro was a sea creature...which would she be?
My little fur baby would be a seal. When she is near me and at home, in her comfort zone, you can find her cuddled up by my side and snoring, nothing can wake her. However—when we are out, although she will nap, she is on high alert and any movement or noise will wake her. Similar to the seal when it sleeps in water, it is on alert, and when it is on land it knocks out completely.
Who are some of your ocean heroes?
Everyone who does their part to take care of the ocean. People who opt for reusable bags, metal straws, those who seek out sustainable seafood and voluntarily clean up the beaches.
Marilou with Executive Director, Melissa Mahoney, and Director of Development, Kelley Johnson
Marilou’s fur baby Aphrodite (aka Aphro)!