Naveducando
Who We Are
Who We Are
Catalyst for Change
Catalysts are everywhere! Our cars use platinum as a catalyst to break down toxic gasses into harmless water vapor and carbon dioxide. In the kitchen, the yeast in bread dough contains enzymes that act as a catalyst to aid fermentation. Even inside the body there are catalyst enzymes to help digest that bread. People can be catalysts too when they facilitate change.
Naveducando strives to be a catalyst for conservation and sustainability in Galapagos by investing in educational programs that will facilitate change. These programs will provide students with knowledge, support, and tools to help them to protect the archipelago now and in the future. Our aim is to instill a deeper appreciation for the natural world, inspire and motivate them to be thoughtful stewards, and safeguard this unique, fragile, and precious ecosystem for future generations.
Our Mission
Guarantee access to the ocean for
Galapagos children, inspiring curiosity,
deepening connections and cultivating
environmental stewardship.
Like a chemical reaction that needs only a tiny amount of the catalyst to cause dramatic results, we believe that every action our students take is meaningful, no matter how small, because it indicates a shift in mindset in favor of conservation. If our students care about protecting Galapagos, we believe that these first small steps will mark the beginning of a lifetime of positive choices, both big and small, the cumulative effect of which cannot be underestimated.
In our role as catalyst for change, Naveducando will reduce the time it takes to impact conservation efforts by focusing on small steps that our students can implement easily and swiftly.
Our Vision
The young people of Galapagos feel a
connection and deep love with their
natural heritage as a result of
transformative immersive experiences that
they had when they were boys and girls.
Naveducando is also looking to the future. We believe it is imperative to build a strong foundation for both our students and our alumni. We will continue to strengthen and expand our educational programming to include learners of all ages. We will welcome alumni into the Naveducando community, and we will nurture those relationships to engage and connect with them throughout their lives.
With our continued encouragement and support, these thoughtful and caring individuals will continue their educational journey and eventually assume leadership roles. Their deep love and respect for Galapagos and the environment will guide their choices as decision makers and guardians of this very special place.
Your generous contributions are what make all of our work possible. Donate now and help us make a bigger impact.
What Defines Us
The values held by the Naveducando Foundation represent our priorities and passions. They reflect our character, shape our organizational culture, and guide our conduct in every aspect of the work we do to fulfill our mission.
Inclusion, diversity, equity & social justice
We are committed to creating spaces where all people feel welcomed, respected, and valued. We celebrate diversity as a source of collective strength and work toward equitable opportunities, active participation, and social transformation grounded in dignity, empathy, and justice.
Inspiration, open mind, open heart, open will
We believe learning begins with curiosity and grows through meaningful human connection. By cultivating open minds, compassionate hearts, and the courage to act, we create experiences that inspire personal transformation, collective learning, and conscious leadership.
Place-based education
Every place has stories, knowledge, culture, and wisdom to share. Our learning experiences are rooted in the local environment and community, connecting participants with the ecosystems, traditions, and realities of each territory through direct experience and meaningful relationships.
Regenerative tourism
We promote forms of travel that give back more than they take. Through regenerative tourism, we support local communities, protect natural ecosystems, and foster experiences that create lasting positive impact for people, culture, and the planet.
Help Support our Programs in the Galapagos
Your donation makes a difference, helping bring our programs to the children of the Galapagos. Every contribution, big or small, fuels positive change. You can also subscribe to our mailing list for hear more about our programs throughout the year.
Naveducando Leadership Team
Our senior leadership team drives the strategy and direction of our work to deliver impactful educational programs to the Galapagos community. Noémi leads program development, execution, and financial oversight ensuring strategic and operational compliance of Naveducando’s programs. Naveducando’s team builds strategic relationships with individuals, organizations, sponsors, and government entities to assure the success of our Foundation’s initiatives and engagement with actors within the local community.
Noémi d’Ozouville
President
Emiliano Rodriguez
Director
Ana Maria Andrade
Secretary
Sophia Cooke
Treasurer
Alegria Norris
Vocal
Founding Members
Juan Manuel Salcedo
Pablo Valladares
Stuart Banks
Roberto (Roby) Pépolas, Founder
Our dear friend and colleague, Roby, passed away in November 2021. His passion and vision remain intact and serve as a guiding light in the fulfillment of our mission.
Naveducando's Guardian Angels
The Galapagos Infinito Program and Fundación Naveducando are guided and inspired by three extraordinary guardian angels.
Together, these three angels illuminate our path, guiding us to inspire the next generation of ocean stewards. They embody the heart and soul of a movement that empowers Galapagos youth to become protectors of their unique marine home.
Roby Pepolas, the visionary founder of Naveducando, planted the seeds of these initiatives with his boundless passion for connecting children to the ocean. After a decade of working in all four corners of the archipelago as a diver and logistics coordinator, and seeing his own two boys grow up with the opportunities to develop a deep connection to the sea, he turned his focus on the local children.
He carried out surveys to inform the baseline situation of 7th graders in the province, partnered with Juan Manuel on the Samba to develop the first pilot trip. And knocked on all possible doors to make sure the program got visibility and attention and traction to grow and achieve the goal of reaching every 7th grader every year.
Godfrey Merlen. A lifetime dedicated to Galápagos, from the helm of his research boat Ratty, diving beneath the waves at Wolf and Darwin amongst schools of hammerheads, trampling up active volcanoes, to sharing his love for nature with his young son, Moz. Gone too soon, before his stories could fill the pages of our blog. His legacy lives through his artwork, his vision and his unwavering believer in the program’s mission, provides wisdom and encouragement that keep its sails steady.
Hugo Andrade. Hugo grew up on the island of San Cristóbal and was a fisherman. Along with his brother Leonardo, he was an early pioneer of Galapagos tourism transforming the fishing boat and then building a wooden boat locally, Angelito I. His son Samuel learnt to walk on the beaches of Española amongst the sealions. Hugo left an indelible legacy through the albatross monument on the Puerto Ayora boardwalk, a symbol of conservation and reflection of the connection between Man and Sea. We take children to visit this iconic statue, where they read the inspiring poem that continues to connect the community to its natural and cultural roots.
Why the Nautilus?
The story behind our logo
The Naveducando Foundation logo was inspired by a sea creature called a nautilus. Its name is the Latin form of the ancient Greek word ναυτίλος, meaning sailor. We chose it to represent our organization because to us, it is a fitting visual metaphor for our aspirations.
The beautiful, logarithmic spiral of its shell and the progression of increasingly larger chambers that comprise its graceful whorl symbolize the evolution in perspective that we seek to inspire in our learners as they grow in their discovery and appreciation of this precious archipelago.
This incredible animal has existed in our oceans for hundreds of millions of years. We admire its tenacity and work every day to emulate its example in growing and strengthening the Naveducando Foundation to pursue our mission with a passionate determination.
Why Naveducando?
The story behind our name
For thousands of years, sailors have used the stars to navigate and find ‘true north.’ North Star, also called Polaris or Polestar, guides them on their journeys. No matter where a sailor is in the northern hemisphere, they can count on being able to find their way by locating that star on a clear night, by finding true north.
The phrase “finding true north” has also come to represent the process of discovering a purpose in life by finding your own guiding star.
We believe education is the key.
We asked ourselves, “What is our true north? What is the guiding purpose of our foundation?”
Conservation of the Galapagos ecosystem for future generations is our true north, the shining star that drives and inspires us to continue our work.
Then we asked ourselves, “How will we accomplish this? How will we get where we want to go?”
We believe education is the key. By educating our learners, stirring in them a deep love for our archipelago, we can achieve our purpose.
Naveducando’s first program, Galápagos Infinito, takes school children into areas of the Galapagos National Park that are only accessible by boat. While there, they enjoy lessons about wildlife, science, history, ecology, geology, conservation, water sports, personal development, and more. Students are even invited onto the bridge of the boat where they learn about principles of naval navigation.
The decision for our name was simple – combine these themes: education, teaching, navigation and finding our true north. We combined two Spanish words, navegación, which translates to navigation and educando, which means teaching. “Naveducando,” the name of the foundation we all know and love.
Each student in our programs is warmly invited to become a fellow traveler, joining us on the journey to our true north – Galapagos conservation. Together, we make our way towards conserving these precious islands, and protect them for future generations. We cordially invite YOU to join us on this journey to our true north.
