I'm Maegan Storm Lillis, American by birth, global citizen by life experience, passion, and consistent commitment. My family spent my formative years living in Tokyo, Japan and traveling across Southeast Asia, where I learned the incredible gift and privilege of winning the birth lottery, and the intense responsibility that is my charge to use it wisely, positively.

That dedication propelled me to study Peace & Justice and Public Health, and launched the first part of my career in social entrepreneurship and philanthropy, where I believed I could use my proximity between power & resources and grassroots organizing to channel resources to impactful community-led initiatives. Throughout the last 15 years, I've spent meaningful time investigating, critiquing, and ultimately renouncing the principles of colonial international development. As a 'third culture kid,' I've grown in places like Nepal, Belize, London, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Indonesia, Singapore, and Australia - I speak bits and bobs of Nepali, Spanish, French, and Japanese. I'm a lifelong vegetarian, avid swimmer and all around ocean baby, [progressing but new] surfer, daily meditator, fiction reader, small space dweller, amateur knitter + painter, people and system-minded researcher, and entrepreneurial generalist.

Last year, I finally confronted my internal conflict and decided to make a massive change; I took some intentional time to get more experience inside startups, focus on moving outside of the U.S., and align with an industry I can commit my next career chapter to.

That brought me to spend three months in Indonesia, where my research partner and I launched Next Wave Collective, and began digging deeper into the ethics and economics of the emerging scuba and surf operations across the archipelago. This experience has convinced me that ocean innovation is urgent, optimistic, and compelling.

My resume shows what a wide breadth of experiences and roles I’ve held because I truly don't fit into a box. In my professional life I've organized and hosted more than 200 events; managed community relationships for ecosystems and member organizations; designed and produced community-led programs and research projects; co-founded a startup; advised diverse entrepreneurs and enterprises in how to be more impactful and sustainable; and developed an expertise in impact measurement and future forecasting (most recently regarding blockchain and web3). In my personal life, I travel 4-6 times/year and have experience producing music shows, community events, and promoting food security.

I offer my skills and time pro bono to emerging enterprises in the blue economy, and serve as a social impact advisor or fractional Chief of Staff or Business Development specialist to ventures with social and environmental benefits. Let’s collaborate!