Marisa Paige Butler, 27, of Standish, Maine, United States is Miss Earth-Air 2021. She succeeds Stephany Zreik, 25, of Valencia, Venezuela.

Hosted by James Deakin, the Miss Earth 2021 coronation ceremony was broadcast on the beauty pageant’s social media accounts on November 21, 2021. It was the 21st edition of the Philippines-based international beauty pageant that advocates for environmental awareness, conservation and social responsibility.

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Including Butler, 89 women competed for the Miss Earth 2021 crown, making it the edition with the highest number of contestants. It is also the second edition held virtually amid the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Butler is runner-up to Miss Earth 2021 Destiny Evelyn Wagner, 25, of Belize. Miss Earth-Water 2021 Romina Denecken van der Veen, 20, of Chile is second runner-up while Miss Earth-Fire 2021 “Baitong” Jareerat Petsom, 28, of Thailand is third runner-up.

Butler is wealth manager. Her father’s side is decedents of the Butlers of Ormonde, a prominent family in Ireland that resided in Kilkenny Castle for centuries, while her on my mother’s side, she is Native American and related to French nobility.

From 2015 to 2017, butler volunteered with the Shark Tagging Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She worked directly alongside biologists in the field collecting data on sharks in different parts of the U.S. including Massachusetts, Florida and Puerto Rico.

Through the program, Butler had the opportunity to work hands on with sharks daily. Their research was used to help protect dwindling shark populations.

As an American, Butler is proud of the U.S. for rejoining the Paris Agreement and working towards a more sustainable future. She is always proud when she speaks to the young Americans and their love for the environment and knowledge about climate change gives her hope for the future of their country and the Earth.

For Butler, the best way to promote ecotourism and climate change is through volunteerism. She explained that volunteering directly with an environmental organization allows people to see firsthand the problems and the beauty of the natural world.