Almudena Fernandez International Model, Oceana Supporter

Who could have predicted that 17-year-old Almudena Fernandez’s first trip to a modeling agency in Madrid would set in motion a series of events that years later resulted in her receiving an invitation to attend President Obama’s 2009 inauguration? Starting with a career in fashion defined by collaborations with the world’s most renowned de-signers, photographers, and media, and evolving into socially conscious partnerships with former Vice President Al Gore and other icons of global change, Almudena Fernandez is working to capture humanity’s imagination in exciting and impactful ways.

After growing up in Madrid, Almudena began working in fashion, and soon began to grace the covers of GQ, Biba, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, Vogue, and other prominent magazines. She has also been featured in Glamour and Harper’s Bazaar. Almudena eventually became the face of Cartier, L’Oreal, Revlon, Cover Girl, Clairol, Elizabeth Arden, Lacoste, Givenchy, and Hermes. She has rounded out her portfolio as one of the most in-demand models in the fashion industry through shoots with photographers such as Michael Thompson, David Bailey, Walter Chin, and Mario Testino.

The more that Almudena traveled the world and developed her presence as one of the industry’s most preeminent international faces, the more she saw the need for awareness in the area of ecology and environmental change. In 2007, she began collaborating with other investors and visionaries to revitalize Madrid’s city center and to re-build the community through the use of sustainable materials and technologies. The new area, now known as Triball and resembling New York City’s Tribeca, is intended to merge ecological friendliness with fine urban living. In 2009, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce awarded Al-mudena and the Triball team with the Pemma award in recognition of their commitment to environmental causes.

Since March 2008, Almudena has been collaborating with former Vice President and Nobel Prize winner Al Gore to spread his message about the environment and sustainability. She is Mr. Gore’s official spokesperson for Spain, and in March of 2010 became the Climate Project Director of Ambassadors in Spain and Latin America, an affiliated organization. Almudena has also been named goodwill ambassador to the Spain and Portugal incarnation of the Rock in Rio music festival, a festival that spans seven days while producing its own energy through solar and hybrid technologies; Rock in Rio is the biggest music festival in the world.

Almudena has worked on many other projects to promote eco-friendly and humanitarian messages. In September 2009, Almudena launched the Sweet Rock Eco shoe line, and recently joined forces with Lupo to fight hunger in Africa through the proceeds earned by a bag made from ecological and biodegradable materials. She has lent her image to Greenpeace to help foster awareness for their fight against the destruction of the seabed as well as other environmental projects. Spanish Elle awarded Almudena with their ecology and environmental prize, and she collaborates annually with the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United States on various projects related to fashion and ecology. In 2010, she was awarded the “Best Steward Prize” by the Sustainable Planet Film Festival for all her recent work in the area of ecology, environment, and sustainability.

Almudena’s travels, in combination with the work she has done in both a sustainability and a humanitarian capacity, has taught her the importance of honoring mother nature’s many gifts. In the end, all human beings are the same, and her work reminds us that we all deserve a healthy world in which to celebrate our lives.