CEDO Intercultural Center For The Study of Deserts and Oceans
Thriving communities, sustainable livelihoods, and healthy ecosystems
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Sustainable fisheries and Aquaculture. I+D Lab
Promote and advise the regional and national fisheries sector in the Northern and Upper Gulf of California, to promote sustainable fisheries and aquaculture by developing science, incorporating traditional knowledge and implementing frameworks and tools to protect ocean biodiversity to ensure a healthy and resilient ocean. Contribute to global food security. Protect livelihoods and communities that depend on fishing and seafood.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
IUCN 2021
Alliance of Arizona Non Profits 2021
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Catalyze community empowerment for well-being. CEDO Intercultural enables communities to increase control over the factors, decisions and actions that shape their lives by addressing social, cultural, political, economic and environmental determinants that underpin well-being. Our efforts focus on providing assistance, building capacity and facilitating partnerships with other sectors in finding solutions to their common challenges.
Empower communities to self-manage in order to achieve well-being. CEDO builds the capacity of our region’s most vulnerable communities to achieve well-being by securing their biocultural heritage in an orderly and legal manner.
Foster the sustainability of our region’s principle fisheries. CEDO Intercultural, together with the communities we work with, will consolidate local Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIPs) that link fair market incentives; outcomes will include increasing income generated by responsible fishing, completing social and environmental responsibility certifications, strengthening links in the value chain, expanding local and international partnerships in target markets, and fostering a culinary conservation approach.
Increase awareness and undertake actions for the protection, conservation and sustainable use of habitats and species. CEDO will work to strengthen conservation and restoration measures aimed at protecting our region’s ecosystems and biodiversity, by researching and applying tools such as citizen-science, sustainable economic development, responsible tourism, and best fisheries management practices.
Offer educational programs and learning-spaces for communities and regional partners. CEDO recognizes that education is a fundamental and transformational factor in creating progress, both when it comes to working with individuals and as a society. We will continue to work with schools to develop and implement environmental curricula, while consolidating a new program titled, “School of the Sea,” and launch a new range of competency-building courses with coastal communities in order to provide local people with specialized certificates.
Impact ecosystem management and decision-making at the local, regional and national level using the best available knowledge. CEDO will continue to bring students, researchers and diverse academic organizations together to build sources of interdisciplinary information that can be used to support decision-making and ensure the sustainable development of our eco-region.
Share information about our results to expand our impact. CEDO will forge new approaches to communicating the qualities, actions, and results of our collaborative work and promoting our region's biocultural values to a diverse audience through emails, social, and traditional media and high-quality publications.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Science: knowledge, science, and technology, to address sustainability. Promote strategic collaborations among local communities, regional organizations, academic institutions, businesses, and other organizations to generate knowledge and innovative solutions to improve the sustainable use of regional resources and take action for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The approach is designed to include traditional knowledge in finding science-based solutions that impact decision-making and can be supported by all stakeholders and sectors.
Citizen action for species and ecosystems conservation and monitoring. Consolidate voluntary citizen networks, trained and certified to monitor biodiversity, and to collaborate in restoring landscapes and protect priority species in the North and Upper Gulf of California.
Sustainable fishing and aquaculture. Promote and advise the regional and national fisheries sector so that a third of the annual regional products of commercial fisheries are produced and marketed according to the Fisheries Improvement Project framework, and the social responsibility approach.
Community well-being. We will strengthen communities in the Northern Gulf of California with the tools and practices that best enable them to identify problems and self-manage appropriate solutions for the common good. An integral part of this effort is developing case studies to test the effectiveness of community-based management, including fishing practices, legal frameworks, infrastructure improvements and the designing and developing of social and economic networks.
Education, outreach, and communication. Promote and implement updated environmental education and School of the Sea curricula, professional and specialized courses, and competency certifications with children, youth, producers, local professionals, and tourists, and share lessons learned to scale the impact
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
CEDO Intercultural Center For The Study of Deserts and Oceans
Board of directorsas of 01/18/2024
PhD Debra Colodner
Sonora Arizona Desert Museum
Term: 2023 - 2021
Kay Hoenig
Terranexus
Term: 2022 - 2024
James Harkin
Marjorie Cunninham
Donna Whitman
Richard McCurth
Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon; Biological Sciences
Hiram Hiram Pena Bonilla
University of Arizona
Kim Freida
Nicholas Matthews
Arizona Department on Environmental Quality
Garrett Smith
Ameriprise Financial Advisor
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/27/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.