Communications Officer
Sea Around Us Program
About Valentina
Valentina Ruiz Leotaud is a Venezuelan-born multimedia and multi-platform journalist. She started her career in 2005 covering local and international news for different media outlets and platforms. She holds a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the University of British Columbia and was a fellow of the International Reporting Program. Since 2016, she has been the Communications Officer of the Sea Around Us initiative led by Dr. Daniel Pauly and headquartered at UBC’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries.
At the Sea Around Us, Valentina is in charge of the media outreach to bring public attention to the project’s research and her job involves several tasks, from writing press releases and reports to organizing events and producing video stories, among other things. She’s also proficient in all things social media.
At the IOF, Valentina is the staff representative at the Faculty Meetings and is part of the Open House Committee and the Larkin Award Committee.
At UBC, she is part of the Triple C for communicators working group and participates in a number of initiatives with/for IBPOC staff and faculty.
In her spare time (and especially if it’s warm outside), she loves going for bike rides or to the beach.
Contact Information
Email: v.ruizleotaud@oceans.ubc.ca
Phone: (604) 827-3164
Office: Rm. 334
Website: Sea Around Us