Our marine conservation instructor and instructor trainers come from a wide range of backgrounds and interests, but all share a common passion of marine conservation education and practical applications. All of our instructors undergo several months of training before being able to call themselves Conservation Diver Trainers.
Below you can meet some of our team from around the world.
Conservation Diver Board Members
Spencer Arnold
Spencer Arnold has been working with Conservation Diver since 2014. His primary interest is in coral restoration through the design and construction of artificial reefs and underwater sculptures. His works include the Sculpture gardens on Koh Tao, including Depair, Hope, and Fight for the Last Life.
George Bevan
George Bevan joined the Conservation Diver Team in 2015, having previously spent 4 years working as a Strategy Consultant. He has since combined his business acumen and studies of Marine Science to expand operations to both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Nicaragua and in the Azores. He is the Program Director of Azul Conservation, Sea Turtle Rescue Nicaragua and is currently developing new Whale Research and Shark Monitoring courses in the Azores as well as the tour operator Conservation Divers Excursions, to help encourage divers to partake in Marine Conservation and Scientific expeditions at various CD training platforms around the globe.
Elouise Haskin
Elouise 'Elle' Haskin Joined the Conservation Diver team in 2016 after her studies in Conservation Science. She has a love for surveying and specializes in the monitoring and identification of coral diseases.
Kirsty Magson
Kirsty Magson joined the Conservation Team in 2014. She is the manager at the NHRCP in Thailand. She specializes in the study of Elasmobranchs and Sea Turtles and is the founder of Thai Whale Sharks and is the stranding liason for Koh Tao Marine Life.
Chad Scott
CEO
Chad Scott is the president and CEO of Conservation Diver. He originally started the New Heaven Reef Conservation Program in 2007, and has developed many of the courses that Conservation Diver teaches. Currently he is living in Colorado, USA while recovering from illness. He is still involved in the adminstrative aspects of Conservation Diver, and assists in the development of new conservation training enters around the world.
Pau Urgell Plaza
Pau Urgell Plaza Joined the Conservation Diver team in 2014. Other than specializing in the study iof marine fishes, Pau is also a graphic designer and is respoisble for many of the training materials published by CD.
Leon Haines
Leon Haines joined Conservation Diver in 2019 and manages Conservation Diver Indonesia on Gili Air. Leon has Bachelors of Science in Coastal Resource Management from the University of Leeuwarden.
Conservation Diver Master Trainers (those able to teach and certify students in all of our offered courses)
Alyssa Allchurch
Alyssa joined the Conservation Diver team in 2019 and worked at the New Heaven Reef Conservation Program as one of the head instructors. With a passion for understanding the ecology of these ecosystems thoroughly, she is currently in Canada completing a degree in Marine Biology
Kaitlin Harris
Kait Harris became a Conservation Diver Master Trainer in 2014, and worked at the New Heaven Reef Conservation Program as one of the head conservation instructors for two years. Focused on enabling people to love the ocean by understanding it, she's currently in Australia studying a Masters Degree in Conservation, and will be starting a Conservation Diver centre on the northern Great Barrier Reef in 2020.
Ploy Macintosh
Ploy Macintosh Joined the Conservation Diver team in 2012, and was one of the head instrucotrs at the New Heaven reef Conservation Program. Currently she is living in Chaing Mai, Thailand and running a community organization there.
Rahul Mehrotra
Master Instructor
Dr. Rahul Mehrotra was a staff member at the NHRCP from 2013-2019. He was intrumental in startign up COnservation Diver, and has now opened up his own program, ATMEC
Chloe Wilms
Chloe Wilms Joined the Conservation Diver Team in 2015 and taught at Marine Conservation Nicaragua until 2018. Currently she is residing in Portugal.
Conservation Diver Specialty Trainers (those able to teach several of our courses)
Dylan Brown
Dylan is certified to teach most of the Conservation Diver courses. With this knowledge, Dylan will be starting his own center in Hawaii, under the Ocean Alliance Project.
Tiago Castro
Tiago is the co-owner of Dive Azores and a CD instructor since 2020. Tiago studied Marine Biology at the University of Algarve.
Raphael Cosson
ADROP Conservation
Raphael complted and extensive internship and extra volunteer time with our Program in Thaialnd before becoming a CD trainer. Later he started the ADROP Conservation program in Costa Rica, where he is currently based.
Yanitza Grantcharska
Save The Plastic
Yanitza completed a series of training programs with Conservation diver as a student, intern, and then volunteer. in 2017 she started the marine debris research and education group, Save The Plastic.
Supatcha 'Ploy' Japakang
Ploy is an instructor at ATMEC, Thailand, and gained her certification in 2022
Claudia Marcellucci
Claudia completed her internship and was certified to be an EMP instructor at NHRCP in 2019. She has participated in various research and conservation projects and has since become a specialty instructor at ATMEC where she is able to certify on coral spawning, taxonomy and ecology courses.
Maurizio Martinelli
Maurizio complted an entensive internship and volunteer period with our training cetner in Tailand before setting his sights on becoming a CD instrucotr.
Steve Minks
Steve has been diving since 1986, professionally since 2016. He is now pioneering the new conservation program at Black Turtle Dive.
Carlos Molina
Innoceana
Carlos has worked hard to develop his own conservation program Innoceana, and in 2018 trained to become a CD instrucotr to increase the education opputunities he is able to offer his studnets and guests
Molly O'Connor
Instructor at Azul Conservation
Molly is teaching Conservation Diver courses at Azul Conservation in Nicaragua
Aiara Ponce De Leon
Specialty Instructor
Aira completed her instructor training course at the New Heaven Reef Conservation and is also certified by the DMCR to undertake coral restoration activities within Thailand
Tommas Real
Assistant Instructor-ATMEC
Tommy completed his instructor training alongside his research internship at ATMEC in 2021. He has since joined the ATMEC team as an instructor where he specialises in teaching the EMP, Giant Clam and Sea Slug courses.
Joel Rohrer
Joel completed an intensive internship and volunteer period at the CD Training center in Thailand before becoming a CD instructor.
Joana Vaz Pereira
Joana is the co-owner of Dive Azores and a CD instructor since 2020. Joana studied Marine Biology at the University of the Azores and has specialized in cetacean research.
Elliot Young
Elliot completed his internship at the New Heaven Reef Conservation Program in 2019, and then was asked to work there as an Instructor
Ecological Monitoring Program Instructors (those able to teach the EMP and Marine Ecology Courses)
Jennifer Dowling
Jennifer has been one of the directors and head conservation instructors at EcoKoh Tao for many years before co-founding Coral Tribe. She has lead and participated in many community projects on the island, and contributed greatly to the progress of marine conservation on Koh Tao. She added EMP instrucotr to her extensive list of qualifications in order to help continue data collection efforts on the island.
Simon Dowling
Simon has been one of the directors and head conservation instructors at EcoKoh Tao for many years, and also an avid videographer before founding Coral Tribe. He has lead and participated in many community projects on the island, and contributed greatly to the progress of marine conservation on Koh Tao. He added EMP instructor to his extensive list of qualifications in order to help continue data collection efforts on the island.
Katarina Grepp
Caroline Lueba
Koh Exist
Caroline has been involved in teaching marine conservation since 2009, and is also highly involved in community based projects on the island of Koh Tao, Thailand. She started and is the owner of Koh Exist, a marine conservation training program for professional divers and the general public.
Francesco Martini
Claire Naylor
Madixx Russell
Manuel Segal
Graham Stenvenson
Master Divers
Advisors, Collaborators, and Friends
Nancy Gibson
Love Wildlife Foundation
Nancy runs the NGO Love wildlife Foundation and has recently opened a hub in Bangkok to enable collaborations between non-profits, NGO's and other folks doing good work. Her program protects local wildlife, and also has educational outreach and field based trips for local youth.
Wayne Phillips
Mahidol University International College
Wayne Phillips helped to develop the origninal Ecological Monitoring Program Protocols and indicataor species, with the CPAD Foundation. He know runs and environemtnal program on the island of Koh Sak, Thailand.
Robert 'Bob' Sevenster
Coral Aid
Bob is an electrical engineer who has deveoloped severl new technoligies regarding mineral accretion devices. He has electrifed several strcutures throughout Thaialnd and the Maldives, and continues to rapidly eveolve the technolgoy in new and exciting ways.
James True
In addition to having eztensive expreince in coral reef research and restroation, James True was instrumental in Developing the Conservation Diver Coral Spawnng and Larval Culturing program, James Led the first few years of this program in thailand, and continues to advise on related topics.
Want to become a Conservation Diver Trainer? Please see this page first before contacting us.