As the General Coordinator of the Venezuelan NGO “Working Group on Marine Turtles of the Gulf of Venezuela,” María José Petit Rodríguez has experience in community-based wildlife conservation & biology. During the fellowship, María José aims to learn about strategic partnerships for social and environmental ventures, effective approaches to merge economy and ecology, and innovative strategies to launch and project her NGO within her city and her country. Upon returning to Venezuela, María José plans to engage both city and coastal communities in conservation biology and sustainability by setting citizen science as the goal of her NGO and developing a strategic campaign to enhance public participation in scientific research.