Sylvia Earle

Sylvia Earle is a National Geographic Society Explorer in Residence, and is called "Her Deepness" by the New Yorker and the New York Times, Living Legend by the Library of Congress, and first Hero for the Planet by Time Magazine. She is an oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer with experience as a field research scientist and government official.

Sonja Fordham

Sonja Fordham founded Shark Advocates International as a project of The Ocean Foundation in 2010 based on her two decades of shark conservation experience at Ocean Conservancy. Her work focuses on publicizing the plight of sharks and advocating science-based remedies before fishery management and wildlife conservation bodies. She has been a leading proponent of landmark shark conservation actions, including U.S. and European protections, international fishing limits, various finning bans, and listings under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and the Convention on Migratory Species. Sonja is Deputy Chair of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group and Conservation Committee Chair for the American Elasmobranch Society, has co-authored numerous publications on shark fisheries management, and serves on most U.S. government advisory panels relevant to sharks and rays. Her awards include the U.S. Department of Commerce Environmental Hero Award, the Peter Benchley Shark Conservation Award, and the IUCN Harry Messel Award for Conservation Leadership.

Francesca Koe

Francesca is a dedicated champion for ocean conservation – as manifest by her instrumental role as a primary stakeholder in designing and implementing marine protected areas for Northern California during the CA Marine Life Protection Act Initiative, and by her volunteer service as board President of the Greater Farallones Association (2010-2016), where she currently continues to serve as Program Chair. A multi-agency diving Instructor (PADI, DAN, PFI) competitive freediver and certified AIDA Judge, Francesca is also the editor-at-large for Deeperblue.com. When she is not in the water Francesca works to advance equity & the clean energy economy through a series of climate & energy related campaigns.

Johann Mourier

Dr. Johann Mourier, Ph.D. is a scientist specializing in sharks' behavioral ecology. Since 2005, he has spent a large amount of time in direct contact with sharks and rays (including great white, basking, great hammerhead, lemon, grey reef or blacktip reef sharks, and stingrays and manta rays) to study their behavior using a set of advanced and non-invasive techniques such as social network theory, molecular analysis, biotelemetry, photo-identification, hormones and isotopes analyses. Johann has published his research in several peer-reviewed scientific journals, making him a worldwide recognized shark expert. He is the secretary and scientific advisor for a shark observatory in French Polynesia (Observatoire des Requins de Polynésie), which records and gathers all elasmobranch observations in the region, and is also a member and advisor of other shark associations. He has contributed to several documentaries and press articles in the perspective of contributing to public awareness and education about sharks. All his actions follow the same aspiration: to contribute to a better conservation efficiency of sharks and rays.

Marty Snyderman

Marty Snyderman is a still photographer, film producer, author, and speaker specializing in the marine environment. Marty's still photography and/or writing has been utilized by National Geographic Magazine, Skin Diver Magazine, numerous National Wildlife Federation publications, Natural History, Dive Training, Sport Diver, Time, Newsweek, Time Life, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the New England Aquarium, Sea World, and the Seattle Aquarium, and by numerous other publications and organizations worldwide. Marty serves as the Marine Life Editor and as a regular columnist for Dive Training magazine. He has been involved in underwater photography for 25 years and continues to produce compelling images of marine life in attempts to raise awareness and interest about many marine issues. Marty is an Emmy Award winning cinematographer, and his work has been used by PBS, Shark Week, Warner Brothers (Free Willy), the National Geographic Society, NOVA, the British Broadcasting Corporation, many major broadcast networks and many more organizations expressing interest in marine wildlife.

Tim Taylor

Tim Taylor is an accomplished ocean explorer and entrepreneur and Founder and CEO of Tiburon Subsea. He has spent more than thirty years working in the marine industry. Tim has spent his life working with innovative diving technologies and has a reputation for leading underwater expeditions that add to the scientific knowledge in the fields of oceanography, archaeology, biology, and geology. He has discovered and explored numerous reefs, including Sherwood Forest Reef, considered the centerpiece of the Tortugas Ecological Reserve, Pulley Ridge, the deepest hermatypic coral reef in the world, and Black Forest Run, the largest black coral tract in the United States. In 2008-2012 he developed pioneered and executed long-range specialized deployment of autonomous underwater vehicle mapping 4700 square Km of remote ocean bottom at 1500m.

In 2021 Tim was presented the US Navy's highest civilian award the "Distinguished Public Service Medal" for his discovery of 7 lost US Submarines and 288 men. He is a Fellow in the Royal Geographical Society, United Kingdom's learned society and professional body for geography founded in 1830, and was inducted as Fellow of the Explorers Club in 2004, and in 2008 he was the 40th person in the club's 104-year history to receive its prestigious Citation Of Merit award in recognition of his explorations. He is the recipient of the International Navy League's "Man of the Sea" award and the Brazilian Navy Honorary Submariner Medal and the Brazilian Navy League Medal of Honor for his work with the USS R-12.

Tim has been profiled in the London Financial Times, The New York Times, Bloomberg News and appears regularly on FOX, CNBC, BBC, CBC, and CNN as ocean technology and robotics expert. He has been profiled in the London Financial Times, The New York Times, Bloomberg News and appears regularly on FOX, CNBC, BBC. He is an on-air expert for CNN, BBC, CBC, FOX, MSNBC, and CCTV for ocean search, exploration, diving operations, sciences, ocean environmental issues, climate change, conservation, and advanced underwater robotics. He currently is CEO and President of Tiburon Subsea Inc., based in New York City, specializing in underwater autonomous robotic operations.

Jim Toomey

For the past 20 years Jim Toomey has been writing and drawing the daily comic strip Sherman's Lagoon, which is syndicated to over 150 newspapers in North America, including the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Toronto Star. It also appears in over 20 foreign countries, in French, Portuguese, Spanish, Norwegian and Swedish. Jim has just completed his eighteenth book, published by Andrews McMeel. Sherman's Lagoon combines two of his life-long passions: art and the sea. In addition to drawing his comic strip, Jim is active in marine conservation, and has been recognized by many organizations, such as the United Nations Environmental Programme, NOAA, NPR, TED, and Discovery Channel for raising public awareness of the oceans in a humorous way.

Rex Weyler

Rex Weyler is one of the founders of Greenpeace International, and sailed on the organization's first whale campaign. Rex is a well respected journalist, writer, and ecologist whose photography and essays have been published in the New York Times, Oceans, Smithsonian, Rolling Stone, New Age Journal, Conscious Choice, New Times, Shared Vision, National Geographic, and other publications.

Stephan Whelan

Stephan Whelan is the founder of DeeperBlue.com, a leading website and community for underwater enthusiasts of Freediving, Scuba Diving, and Spearfishing. A keen scuba diver since an early age and more recently a freediver, Stephan is a passionate ocean advocate and regularly provides support for various marine conservation groups around the world. Above water, Stephan has held senior positions in various IT organisations and lives with his wife in London, UK.

Sylvia Earle

Sylvia Earle is a National Geographic Society Explorer in Residence, and is called "Her Deepness" by the New Yorker and the New York Times, Living Legend by the Library of Congress, and first Hero for the Planet by Time Magazine. She is an oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer with experience as a field research scientist and government official.

Sonja Fordham

Sonja Fordham founded Shark Advocates International as a project of The Ocean Foundation in 2010 based on her two decades of shark conservation experience at Ocean Conservancy. Her work focuses on publicizing the plight of sharks and advocating science-based remedies before fishery management and wildlife conservation bodies. She has been a leading proponent of landmark shark conservation actions, including U.S. and European protections, international fishing limits, various finning bans, and listings under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and the Convention on Migratory Species. Sonja is Deputy Chair of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group and Conservation Committee Chair for the American Elasmobranch Society, has co-authored numerous publications on shark fisheries management, and serves on most U.S. government advisory panels relevant to sharks and rays. Her awards include the U.S. Department of Commerce Environmental Hero Award, the Peter Benchley Shark Conservation Award, and the IUCN Harry Messel Award for Conservation Leadership.

Francesca Koe

Francesca is a dedicated champion for ocean conservation – as manifest by her instrumental role as a primary stakeholder in designing and implementing marine protected areas for Northern California during the CA Marine Life Protection Act Initiative, and by her volunteer service as board President of the Greater Farallones Association (2010-2016), where she currently continues to serve as Program Chair. A multi-agency diving Instructor (PADI, DAN, PFI) competitive freediver and certified AIDA Judge, Francesca is also the editor-at-large for Deeperblue.com. When she is not in the water Francesca works to advance equity & the clean energy economy through a series of climate & energy related campaigns.

Johann Mourier

Dr. Johann Mourier, Ph.D. is a scientist specializing in sharks' behavioral ecology. Since 2005, he has spent a large amount of time in direct contact with sharks and rays (including great white, basking, great hammerhead, lemon, grey reef or blacktip reef sharks, and stingrays and manta rays) to study their behavior using a set of advanced and non-invasive techniques such as social network theory, molecular analysis, biotelemetry, photo-identification, hormones and isotopes analyses. Johann has published his research in several peer-reviewed scientific journals, making him a worldwide recognized shark expert. He is the secretary and scientific advisor for a shark observatory in French Polynesia (Observatoire des Requins de Polynésie), which records and gathers all elasmobranch observations in the region, and is also a member and advisor of other shark associations. He has contributed to several documentaries and press articles in the perspective of contributing to public awareness and education about sharks. All his actions follow the same aspiration: to contribute to a better conservation efficiency of sharks and rays.

Marty Snyderman

Marty Snyderman is a still photographer, film producer, author, and speaker specializing in the marine environment. Marty's still photography and/or writing has been utilized by National Geographic Magazine, Skin Diver Magazine, numerous National Wildlife Federation publications, Natural History, Dive Training, Sport Diver, Time, Newsweek, Time Life, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the New England Aquarium, Sea World, and the Seattle Aquarium, and by numerous other publications and organizations worldwide. Marty serves as the Marine Life Editor and as a regular columnist for Dive Training magazine. He has been involved in underwater photography for 25 years and continues to produce compelling images of marine life in attempts to raise awareness and interest about many marine issues. Marty is an Emmy Award winning cinematographer, and his work has been used by PBS, Shark Week, Warner Brothers (Free Willy), the National Geographic Society, NOVA, the British Broadcasting Corporation, many major broadcast networks and many more organizations expressing interest in marine wildlife.

Tim Taylor

Tim Taylor is an accomplished ocean explorer and entrepreneur and Founder and CEO of Tiburon Subsea. He has spent more than thirty years working in the marine industry. Tim has spent his life working with innovative diving technologies and has a reputation for leading underwater expeditions that add to the scientific knowledge in the fields of oceanography, archaeology, biology, and geology. He has discovered and explored numerous reefs, including Sherwood Forest Reef, considered the centerpiece of the Tortugas Ecological Reserve, Pulley Ridge, the deepest hermatypic coral reef in the world, and Black Forest Run, the largest black coral tract in the United States. In 2008-2012 he developed pioneered and executed long-range specialized deployment of autonomous underwater vehicle mapping 4700 square Km of remote ocean bottom at 1500m.

In 2021 Tim was presented the US Navy's highest civilian award the "Distinguished Public Service Medal" for his discovery of 7 lost US Submarines and 288 men. He is a Fellow in the Royal Geographical Society, United Kingdom's learned society and professional body for geography founded in 1830, and was inducted as Fellow of the Explorers Club in 2004, and in 2008 he was the 40th person in the club's 104-year history to receive its prestigious Citation Of Merit award in recognition of his explorations. He is the recipient of the International Navy League's "Man of the Sea" award and the Brazilian Navy Honorary Submariner Medal and the Brazilian Navy League Medal of Honor for his work with the USS R-12.

Tim has been profiled in the London Financial Times, The New York Times, Bloomberg News and appears regularly on FOX, CNBC, BBC, CBC, and CNN as ocean technology and robotics expert. He has been profiled in the London Financial Times, The New York Times, Bloomberg News and appears regularly on FOX, CNBC, BBC. He is an on-air expert for CNN, BBC, CBC, FOX, MSNBC, and CCTV for ocean search, exploration, diving operations, sciences, ocean environmental issues, climate change, conservation, and advanced underwater robotics. He currently is CEO and President of Tiburon Subsea Inc., based in New York City, specializing in underwater autonomous robotic operations.

Jim Toomey

For the past 20 years Jim Toomey has been writing and drawing the daily comic strip Sherman's Lagoon, which is syndicated to over 150 newspapers in North America, including the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Toronto Star. It also appears in over 20 foreign countries, in French, Portuguese, Spanish, Norwegian and Swedish. Jim has just completed his eighteenth book, published by Andrews McMeel. Sherman's Lagoon combines two of his life-long passions: art and the sea. In addition to drawing his comic strip, Jim is active in marine conservation, and has been recognized by many organizations, such as the United Nations Environmental Programme, NOAA, NPR, TED, and Discovery Channel for raising public awareness of the oceans in a humorous way.

Rex Weyler

Rex Weyler is one of the founders of Greenpeace International, and sailed on the organization's first whale campaign. Rex is a well respected journalist, writer, and ecologist whose photography and essays have been published in the New York Times, Oceans, Smithsonian, Rolling Stone, New Age Journal, Conscious Choice, New Times, Shared Vision, National Geographic, and other publications.

Stephan Whelan

Stephan Whelan is the founder of DeeperBlue.com, a leading website and community for underwater enthusiasts of Freediving, Scuba Diving, and Spearfishing. A keen scuba diver since an early age and more recently a freediver, Stephan is a passionate ocean advocate and regularly provides support for various marine conservation groups around the world. Above water, Stephan has held senior positions in various IT organisations and lives with his wife in London, UK.