Mario Ordóñez-Calderón: The Ocean as a Place of Belonging

Mario Ordóñez-Calderón is a Maya Indigenous leader, U.S. Navy veteran, surfer, and Founding Executive Director of Un Mar de Colores, an Indigenous-led nonprofit advancing ocean access, youth wellbeing, and coastal resilience. His work sits at the intersection of coastlines and culture, using environmental education, eco-therapy, and youth leadership to position the ocean as both a learning environment and a place of collective care. Mario also serves on the Environmental Justice Advisory Board of the California Ocean Protection Council and has helped bring Un Mar de Colores’ work into regional and international conversations about ocean health, climate resilience, and equitable coastal access.

This Episode

San Diego County is shaped by the ocean. But living near the coast doesn’t necessarily mean feeling connected to it.

Mario Ordóñez-Calderón didn’t learn to surf until adulthood. Once he did, he recognized water as a throughline connecting his family’s roots in Yucatán, his own sense of identity, and a growing belief that young people deserve the opportunity to build their own relationship with the places around them.

That belief is at the heart of Un Mar de Colores, where surfing becomes an invitation into something deeper: connection with water, place, and community.

In this conversation, Mario and Grant explore what access really means when getting to the beach is only the beginning. Mario shares how his grandfather’s teachings shaped his understanding of reciprocity with nature; how young people and their families experience healing and confidence at the water’s edge; and why helping someone feel that “this is your shoreline too” can change their relationship with themselves and their community.

They also get into the systems behind that work. Mario recounts helping advance legislation that reduced barriers for outdoor equity programs, then discovering that passing a law was only the first step. His experience working with lifeguards and public officials in Oceanside offers another lesson from the episode: meaningful access often depends on persistence, partnership, and people willing to rethink how public spaces work.

Key Moments:

[8:17] Why an invitation can change whether the shoreline feels accessible [9:42] Navigating the barriers that led to new outdoor access legislation [24:14] How Mario’s Indigenous Mayan heritage shapes his relationship with place [32:09] What healing through nature can look like for a child and their family [44:38] Why Mario is choosing depth, sustainability, and returning youth leaders over traditional ideas of scale

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Un Mar de Colores – Connecting youth with the ocean through surfing, environmental education, mentorship, and community AB 2939 – California legislation that reduced permitting barriers for qualifying outdoor equity programs using public parks and beaches Outdoor Outreach – a San Diego based nonprofit that utilizes the outdoors to inspire youth to see possibility and opportunity in their lives. Healing Through Arts and Nature – Supporting community-based approaches that use arts and nature to strengthen wellbeing

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