For Women’s History Month we’re celebrating all of the women who have inspired us. Our first installment is from Esmerelda Ponce, who is inspired by Berta Cáceres.
Name: Esmeralda (Esme) Ponce
Title: Research Associate II
Inspired By: Berta Cáceres
Why?
I am inspired by Berta and the many environmentalists that have fought and continue to fight for the health and well-being of our planet earth and its inhabitants. Berta was a member of the indigenous Lenca people of Honduras. She led many grassroots campaigns that fought to protect natural resources and the livelihood of the people. In 2015 she won the Goldman Environmental prize after one of her grassroots campaigns led one of the world’s largest dam builders to pull out of a project in Rio Gualcarque. She received many death threats for her continued work in social and environmental issues, but despite this, she continued to fight until her assassination in 2016.
I believe that in today’s world that being an environmentalist, a marine biologist, a scientist… takes courage and passion. Courage to continue to speak out for those who cannot and passion to continue to help make the world a better place, whether that is by protecting natural resources or by continuing to research ways to help humankind live a healthy life without the burdens of health diseases. Mercaptor has both courage and passion. I truly believe that if given the opportunity to test our Captons in a clinic the benefit to humankind could be exponential.
