Never Quit winner is passionate about protecting Puerto Rico’s environment

Ángel Dieppa knows it’s everyone’s responsibility to care for our environment, and he takes his own very seriously. An oceanographer with Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, his job is to study the marine ecosystem.

“It is important to study the environment because it is our home,” he says. “It is the support of all living beings.”

Among other things, Dieppa and his team monitor the quality of the water, the flora and the fauna, and larger organisms such as sharks, including nurse sharks that breed along the coast. They also monitor the mangroves — groups of trees that live on the coast — and have been running a program since 2019 to restore them.

“Their root systems serve as a nursery for many species, fish, plants,” he says. “The rise of the sea level is affecting the mangroves, forcing them to migrate inland from the coast.”

For his service to his community, Dieppa, a member of Servidores Público’s Unidos de Puerto Rico (SPUPR/AFSCME Council 95), is a winner of our union’s Never Quit Service Award. The award recognizes public service workers who go above and beyond the call of duty to make their communities better.

Dieppa’s job is not without risks.

“When we dive, there are strong currents that can drag us and take us away from the boat,” he says. “We can get lost.”

But he is motivated by the knowledge that he is making a difference.

“I love the environment, I love nature,” he says. “Since I first saw this place, I was astonished by the beauty of this ecosystem. I look back and remember that moment when I thought that I would like to work in this place. Now that I’m able to do it, it continues to motivate me.”