Annamari Arrakoski-Engardt

Picture: Tomi Edwards

Annamari Arrakoski-Engardt, Ph.D, is the Chief Executive Officer of the John Nurminen Foundation (JNF), a leading Finnish non-profit dedicated to protecting the ecological health and cultural heritage of the Baltic Sea. She has led the Foundation since 2014.

With a background in senior leadership within Finland’s cultural and publishing sectors, Arrakoski-Engardt brings a distinctive combination of cultural insight and strategic leadership to marine conservation. Under her direction, JNF integrates science, policy advocacy, public engagement, and cultural initiatives. As a public speaker she systematically pays attention the most critical threats to the Baltic Sea such as nutrient loading, eutrophication, biodiversity loss and emissions from maritime traffic. Arrakoski-Engardt is a strong proponent of the idea that safeguarding the Baltic Sea requires seeing it not only as a fragile ecosystem, but as a shared cultural space that connects societies, histories, and futures. She offers a holistic and interdisciplinary perspective on sustainability, the Blue Economy, and our shared responsibility towards the seas. She will be a featured speaker at the A'Pelago Initiative 2026.