About Us
Saving the Seas is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to ocean education and conservation through arts and entertainment. Our nonprofit organization aims to raise awareness of the importance of preserving our oceans and therefore, our planet.
A Bigger Impact
From #SavingtheSeas to saving our planet. At Saving the Seas we believe that helping protect our oceans helps the entirety of Planet Earth. By #SavingtheSeas, since our oceans are 71% of our planet, we can help nature on a global scale.
A Global Community
With an online community of over 4 million supporters, Mermaid Elle® and SavingtheSeas Corp reach many homes and many hearts to inspire people across the globe to be conscious of our nature, think about how their daily actions affect our environment and how they can take action to improve our oceans health and our overall global collective.
Our Philosophy
We believe that through fun, play and entertainment children are more inclined to absorb information, ask questions, learn more and retain valuable information such as protecting our planet.
Events & Education
Taking action for our oceans can be as simple as diving into one of our monthly events, whether it may be a spectacular fundraiser filled with incredible art exhibits and performance acts, a dive day for certified divers to support our mission or an organized beach clean up. We are currently working on creating fun and interactive educational programs for children at schools, museums and community events.
Video & Film
At Saving the Seas, we also create educational films featuring Mermaid Elle who teaches children and people of all ages about our oceans. Mermaid Elle #SavingtheSeas can be enjoyed on Elle’s YouTube channel with over 1+ million subscribers. We also create incredible nature imagery, featuring underwater photography and landscapes to help our supporters connect deeply with the environment.
Start them young.
The action of #SavingtheSeas is an ocean conservation awareness action that can be taught from an early age so our children grow caring for our oceans, our planet and help protect them as they grow up.
Our Mission
Saving the Seas' mission is to educate the public on the importance of ocean conservation and inspire them to take action. We offer educational programs for families and individuals, schools, public events, and creative media like underwater photography, films and art to raise awareness and promote change.
Our Vision
Our vision is to create a world that values and protects our oceans and all marine life. We strive to empower individuals and communities to take action towards ocean conservation for a positive global impact. Together, we can make a difference #SavingtheSeas for generations to come.
Board of Directors
Our board of directors are a team of caring humans with array of backgrounds in various industries coming together to protect that which they love most: Mother Earth. Combining many different skills our team is able to plan events, formulate educational programs and continue #SavingtheSeas.
Elle Jimenez, Founder & President
Elle Jimenez, also known as Mermaid Elle, is an world-renowned professional mermaid entertainer, professional diver, and filmmaker, born and raised in the island of Puerto Rico. With a background in film and performing arts, she graduated from the Motion Picture Institute of Michigan in 2010. Later, she became a certified PADI Mermaid Instructor Trainer, Freediver, NASE Open Water Diver and SSI Marine Ecology Diver. Elle's deep love for the oceans through her mermaiding career propelled her to found Saving the Seas, fostering a sustainable future. Her work in ocean conservation, diving safety, and filmmaking has earned her the YouTube Creator Awards for her professional mermaid content and the Saving the Seas YouTube series with ocean conservation educational videos that are part of our Ocean Literacy program and STS Kids Club.
Darren Joshua Leonardi is a professional diver, PADI Freediver and published underwater photographer with a Bachelor's Degree in Fine and Applied Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign. Working in Lanscape Architecture for over a decade and looking to fulfill his deep love for nature, Darren began his journey as a professional diver and underwater photographer capturing marine life on photo and film. He believes that the oceans are essential for humanity and it is imperative that humans of all ages learn about it, its marine life and how to preserve our nature. Darren has also experience as a dedicated voluteer for multiple charities and cares deeply about making the world a better place through love and kindness.
Darren J. Leonardi, Vice-President
Jeri Lynn Vizzi, Secretary
Jeri Lynn is a mother of three, published writer, portrait photographer, healing coach, and advocate for the vulnerable. For over 30 years, Jeri has been active in South Florida’s natural health, spiritual, and birthing communities, inspired by the home birth of her third child after two cesareans. After losing her young daughter to cancer in 2003, Jeri began volunteering with Make-A-Wish Foundation and Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, supporting grieving families through photography and storytelling, and created a website to connect individuals with healing resources. Since 2016, she has supported Elle Jimenez’s Saving the Seas initiative and has been deeply involved her ocean conservation efforts.
Melanie Arias-Lopez, born into a British-Panamanian nature-loving family, with a spider monkey named Bella, instilled in her a deep appreciation for wildlife. Her experiences exploring Panama's diverse environments and living in different countries gave her a global perspective and strengthened her commitment to marine preservation. Fluent in English, Spanish, and conversational French. Melanie received the Bronze President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2016 for her community service in Miami. She is a certified PADI Advanced Mermaid, lifeguard, and serves as a board member for Saving The Seas, driven by her passion for eco-art and ocean conservation.
Melanie Arias, Board Member
Enid N Figueroa Roque, Ed.D.
Board Member
Dr. Enid N. Figueroa Roque holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Teaching of Spanish from the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), Río Piedras Campus, as well as a Master of Arts in Hispanic Studies and a Bachelor of Education in Teaching Spanish, both from UPR. She taught language teaching and technology integration courses for future elementary-level teachers as a professor in the Department of Programs and Teaching at UPR. Currently, she collaborates with the Department of Graduate Studies at UPR, offering distance learning courses to teachers interested in integrating technologies and working on teleprojects. Since 1985, she has been the co-founder and co-coordinator of the De Orilla a Orilla (From Shore to Shore) teachers' network. Dr. Figueroa Roque deeply supports the Saving the Seas mission and contributes greatly to the Ocean Literacy Program.
Our Ambassador
Mermaid Elle®
Mermaid Elle® is a mermaid character our founder created in 2016, when discovering that through entertainment and this mermaid performance character, children are more open to learn about difficult topics like pollution and other threats to our planet. Mermaid Elle® has one job: #SavingtheSeas , and now you can be a part of it! With over 4 Million fans across the globe, Mermaid Elle® promotes awareness for ocean conservation to children during event performances, on her YouTube series and more. Mer-mazing, right?
