Board Members
George Bevan
George Bevan, a vital member of the Conservation Diver Team since 2015, leverages his strategic expertise honed over 5 years as a Strategy Consultant in the UK. The visionary force behind our Caribbean, European and African expansion, our Whale Conservation arm, as well as developing Conservation Diver Excursion programs; George's passion for ocean conservation knows no bounds. He's also one of the founders of Daughters of the Deep, championing environmental justice, equality, and empowerment. At Conservation Diver, George plays a crucial role in business development, training new instructors, integrating new training centers and forging new relationships within the scientific and conservation community in order to widen the portfolio of courses that Conservation Diver provides. He manages much of the day-to-day organizational aspects of the company, ensuring smooth operations and consistent impact. Currently residing in the Azores, George remains a beacon for ocean stewardship, traveling extensively to support and expand our centers around the globe.
Chad M. Scott
Chad Scott, the visionary founder and executive director of Conservation Diver, initiated the groundbreaking New Heaven Reef Conservation Program in 2007. With his leadership, many of Conservation Diver's courses were conceived and developed, setting standards for marine conservation education. Despite facing health challenges and currently residing in Florida, USA, Chad continues to be actively involved in the administrative functions of Conservation Diver, assisting in the development of new conservation training centers globally. His ongoing commitment is evident in his work on online courses and his enduring influence on the overall vision of the organization.
Spencer Arnold
Spencer Arnold, a core member of the Conservation Diver team since 2014, blends art and science to make artificial reefs that have been shared around the world. Specializing in the design and construction of underwater sculptures, his works can be found from the reefs of Thailand all the way to Madagascar, and include inspiring pieces such as "Hope and Despair," "The Colony", and "Fight for the Last Life." Both an established artist and a knowledgeable marine biologist with a unique passion for sea slugs, Spencer's expertise enriches the organization in multiple ways. At Conservation Diver, he not only builds artificial reefs and sculptures but also plays a vital role in developing learning materials and training new instructors. Spencer's blend of creativity and scientific acumen brings a distinctive and valuable perspective to marine conservation efforts.
Dylan Brown
Dylan Brown, a dynamic addition to the Conservation Diver board, is driven by a profound passion for marine education and conservation. Holding a Master's Degree in Marine Biology from James Cook University, Dylan's academic foundation enriches his practical endeavors. He founded Ocean Alliance Project, a marine conservation nonprofit on Oahu, and later trained with our team in 2022 to become an instructor in our programs. His program now teaches many of Conservation Diver's courses, including long term research internships. Dylan has also been instrumental in writing and developing courses for our online learning platform, the Conservation Campus. With his blend of academic prowess and innovative thinking, Dylan is an invaluable asset to Conservation Diver, helping to deepen our impact both in Hawai'i and beyond.
Vincent Dubois
Vinny initially joined the New Heaven Reef Conservation Program as an intern back in 2022, where he initiated the development of a new database solution for our survey data collection. With an engineering background in Computer Science he is now part of the Conservation Diver team, focusing on IT and data-science related subjects.
Non-Executive Directors
Elle Haskin
Elouise 'Elle' Haskin, has been an invaluable asset to Conservation Diver since 2016. She holds a rich background in Conservation Science, and has specialised in coral taxonomy and diseases. With a Master's degree exploring coral recruitment dynamics in Western Australia, and ongoing marine survey volunteering in her spare time, Elle's passion for marine life shines through her work and into her life. As one of the founders of Daughters of the Deep, a charity specialising in extending opportunities in marine careers to underprivileged women, she extends her commitment to conservation beyond the organization. Elle authored the coral disease manual, providing vital knowledge to the community, and has lent her talents as a former social media manager and outreach director. Though now working with WWF-Australia, Elle continues to support Conservation Diver on select projects and training, embodying a lasting dedication to ocean protection.
Kirsty Magson
Kirsty Magson, an integral part of the Conservation Diver Team since 2014, serves as the program manager at the New Heaven Reef Conservation Program in Thailand. Her specialization in Elasmobranchs and Sea Turtles, combined with her innovative founding of Thai Whale Sharks, underscores her dedication to marine life. Kirsty's collaborative work with the community of Koh Tao and the Thai Department of Marine and Coastal Resources exemplifies her commitment to protecting and enrich the island's ecosystem. As an adept instructor trainer and Conservation Diver's accountant, Kirsty's multifaceted skills contribute to the organization's educational and operational excellence.
Pau Urgell Plaza
Pau Urgell Plaza, a member of the Conservation Diver team since 2013, is marine conservationist and nature guide with an artistic flair as a skilled graphic designer. Responsible for creating the striking branding, designing manuals, and crafting captivating graphics for slates and learning materials, Pau's talents have helped shape the visual identity of Conservation Diver. Now based in Barcelona, he runs his conservation program. While leading his initiatives, Pau continues to support Conservation Diver's mission, assisting with excursions and training new instructors.
Conservation Diver Master Trainers
Alyssa Allchurch
Alyssa joined the Conservation Diver team in 2019 and served as one of the head instructors at the New Heaven Reef Conservation Program. Driven by a passion for gaining a thorough understanding of ecosystem ecology, she is currently in Canada pursuing a degree in Marine Biology.
Spencer Arnold
Spencer Arnold, a core member of the Conservation Diver team since 2014, blends art and science to make artificial reefs that have been shared around the world. Specializing in the design and construction of underwater sculptures, his works can be found from the reefs of Thailand all the way to Madagascar, and include inspiring pieces such as "Hope and Despair," "The Colony", and "Fight for the Last Life." Both an established artist and a knowledgeable marine biologist with a unique passion for sea slugs, Spencer's expertise enriches the organization in multiple ways. At Conservation Diver, he not only builds artificial reefs and sculptures but also plays a vital role in developing learning materials and training new instructors. Spencer's blend of creativity and scientific acumen brings a distinctive and valuable perspective to marine conservation efforts.
Dylan Brown
Dylan Brown, a dynamic addition to the Conservation Diver board, is driven by a profound passion for marine education and conservation. Holding a Master's Degree in Marine Biology from James Cook University, Dylan's academic foundation enriches his practical endeavors. He founded Ocean Alliance Project, a marine conservation nonprofit on Oahu, and later trained with our team in 2022 to become an instructor in our programs. His program now teaches many of Conservation Diver's courses, including long term research internships. Dylan has also been instrumental in writing and developing courses for our online learning platform, the Conservation Campus. With his blend of academic prowess and innovative thinking, Dylan is an invaluable asset to Conservation Diver, helping to deepen our impact both in Hawai'i and beyond.
Leon Haines
Leon Haines joined Conservation Diver in 2019 and went on to establish Conservation Diver Indonesia on Gili Air. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Coastal Resource Management from the University of Leeuwarden. Leon is now the co-founder of the reef engineering company Reefy and serves as an ambassador for the Blue Marlin Conservation program.
Andrew Hewett
Andrew Hewett is the founder and owner of The Adventure Club on Phi Phi Island, Thailand. This center provides eco-friendly diving and snorkeling programs aimed at educating visitors on coral reef protection. Since 2006, Andrew has managed the Phi Phi Island Coral Nursery and Artificial Reef program. This initiative, part of REEFRES 'Developing Ubiquitous Restoration Practices for Indo-Pacific Reefs,' is supervised by the Phuket Marine Biology Center (PMBC).
Ploy Macintosh
Ploy Macintosh joined the Conservation Diver team in 2012 and served as one of the head instructors at the New Heaven Reef Conservation Program. Currently, she resides in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where she is leading a community organization.
Rahul Mehrotra
Dr. Rahul Mehrotra was a staff member at the New Heaven Reef Conservation Program (NHRCP) from 2013 to 2019. He played a crucial role in starting Conservation Diver and has since established his own program, ATMEC.
Conservation Diver Specialty Trainers
Cakra Adiwijaya
Cakra, hailing from Bogor, Indonesia, has harbored a passion for conservation and diving since a young age. He completed both his undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Marine Science, with a particular focus on the socio-economic and biophysical aspects of nudibranch research.
Matilde Baruffaldi
Mattie joined Conservation Diver in 2021 after completing her master's degree in marine biology and an internship at the New Heaven Reef Conservation Program. Her research focuses on the interactions within coral reef ecosystems, particularly diseases, and strategies to minimize the impact of diving underwater.
Susanne Baumeyer
Sue, a Master Instructor, has been teaching professionally on Koh Tao since 2017. With a passion for underwater photography, she now serves as one of the Program Managers for the Black Turtle Conservation program.
Zach Boakes
Zach, a marine biologist and co-founder of North Bali Reef Conservation, established this non-profit NGO in 2017. Its mission is to collaborate with local fishermen and international volunteers to restore a previously degraded coral reef by constructing artificial reefs. Zach is also nearing the completion of his PhD, during which he is assessing the restoration of ecosystem services associated with coral reef conservation programs in Indonesia.
Celicia Cordes
After completing a variety of conservation diver courses, Celicia led the team at school that designed and deployed their own artificial reef site with ATMEC in Thailand. She has gone on to train as an EMP instructor and start her formal marine science education at James Cook University, Australia.
Solomon Davida
Solomon joined the Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute (MRCI) team in 2022. As a marine biologist, he harbors a passion for marine ecosystems, reef surveying, and sea turtle conservation.
Maisy Fuller
Maisy earned her degree in Marine Biology from the University of Southampton, UK, and the University of Western Australia. Since her graduation in 2016, she has been involved in various tropical conservation projects worldwide, serving both as a researcher and an educator. Maisy also pursued a second university degree to qualify as a high school science teacher and has worked as an environmental adviser for the UK government. She is deeply passionate about environmental conservation and committed to reducing the anthropogenic threats it faces.
Ann Nielsen
Ann certified as an instructor at NHRCP and has previously worked with marine conservation in the Seychelles, Australia, and Denmark. She aims to use her masters degree in environmental engineering to study marine health.
Kyle Obsborne
Kyle is the manager of Bali Conservation Diving and has been working with local communities in North Bali to construct and deploy artificial reefs in areas of degraded coral reefs since 2017. Since joining Conservation Diver, Kyle will be developing further monitoring efforts in the region.
Aris Putra Oli
Aris is a passionate and driven marine biologist who achieved his degree in 2022 at the Sam Ratulamgi University. Although he is passionate about all the underwater creatures, his studies focussed on coral restoration and recruitment.
Aiara Ponce De Leon
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
Sandra Rubio Salas
Program coordinator at Black Turtle Conservation on Koh Tao
Joel Rohrer
Joel completed an intensive internship and volunteer period at the CD Training center in Thailand before becoming a CD instructor.
R. Basak Sevil
Basak is a PADI MSDT who has been teaching professionally on Koh Tao. After she has accomplished the CD internship and instructor training program, she is actively involved in the Black Turtle Conservation program. She has an immense passion for preserving the environment.
Adam Stoddard
Adam is a coral ecology enthusiast and nerd, with a love of corals and the molluscs that use them. Having completed his internship with ATMEC, Adam now teaches the fundamentals in marine science and conservation, including the EMP.
Nalin Thirapratheep (Looknam)
After participating in various ATMEC marine ecology courses and excursions over the years, Looknam has taken the next step as a SCUBA instructor to teach the Ecological Monitoring Program. She is actively able to teach in English and Thai and is based out of Thailand
Gigi Torras
Gigi is one of the newest additions to the Conservation Diver team. She is a Marine Biologist and owns her own dive center in Mallorca. Her love for the ocean, conservation and science has lead her to join Conservation Diver. Gigi is one of the four founders of Daughters of the Deep.
EMP Instructors
Matt Bolton
Matt co-founded Eco Koh Tao in 2006. Since then through this program and his work as a Platinum PADI Course Director he as been been a key driver and support of marine conservation on the island. In 2021 Matt teamed up with Conservation Diver to form the Black Turtle Conservation program.
Celicia Cordes
After completing a variety of conservation diver courses, Celicia led the team at school that designed and deployed their own artificial reef site with ATMEC in Thailand. She has gone on to train as an EMP instructor and start her formal marine science education at James Cook University, Australia.
Yannick Kelly
Yannick is an enthusiastic and passionate Marine Biologist (ATU, Galway) from the south of Ireland. Completed his CD internship and instructor with Black Turtle, Koh Tao. Looking to further his understanding on crucial marine habitats and their ecology.
Manuel Seguí
Manuel is a MSDT, Tec Instructor and passionate conservationist. He completed his CD EMP instructor training with New Heaven Reef Conservation Program (NHRCP) in Koh Tao.
Jenvit Seriburi
Jenvit is a sea slug and marine biodiversity enthusiast based in Thailand, where he organises exciting SCUBA diving trips through his page 'I Slug Youuu'. He was trained at ATMEC and has dived at many of the world's most exciting marine biodiversity hotspots.
Darren Sutton
Darren is a passionate ocean lover, marine conservationist and biologist who has been diving professionally since 2018. Currently working at Black Turtle to build on their growing conservation team
Emily Wilkinson
Emily is a passionate marine ecologist from the UK. She completed her PADI Divemaster and CD EMP instructor training with Black Turtle Dive Centre in 2023. She
Media Team
Andreas Gutierrez Fiskeseth
Andy originated from Norway and is located on Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand. He is the founder of Aquatic Images, specializing in underwater, promotional and commercial work for businesses and documentaries within South East Asia.
Elisabeth Lauwerys
Elisabeth Lauwerys is an award-winning photographer and videographer based in Thailand. As an experienced Dive Instructor and Freediver, Elisabeth has long been passionate about exploring the marine depths. In 2004 she opened Oceans Below Underwater Video Productions and Training. She’s since created the dive industry’s first professional-level underwater video training course; won numerous international awards for her photos and videos, worked extensively with the BBC and other production houses on various documentaries and created new looks for the PADI promotional and marketing materials. She continues to teach the art of underwater video, but is increasingly focused on productions and traveling in pursuit of the most spectacular and diverse diving environments.
Jordan Walden
Jordan’s background is in outdoor television production, and five years ago he left his home in the southern United States to travel the world teaching SCUBA diving. He became acquainted with Conservation Diver in Koh Tao, Thailand, and additionally collaborated with us on underwater video projects in Little Corn Island, Nicaragua. Jordan now lives in Western Australia, working on whaleshark and whale tours on the Ningaloo Reef in the winter and teaching SCUBA divers on the Busselton jetty in southwest Australia in the summer months. In his spare time, Jordan works on producing his comedic outdoor adventure series, “Dingus vs Wild”
Nicolas Hahn
Originaly from Argentina, Nico is a dive instructor, freelance photographer and technical diver. He has a passion for the marine enviroment and has been shooting underwater photos around the world. Now he is combining photography with technical diving to assist on research and document mesophotic reefs and its inhabitants.
Zoe Strapp
Zoe Strapp is a professional freelance photographer, specialising in creating authentic lifestyle, travel, ocean and fashion photography. Zoe is also a passionate sustainability advocate, diver and surfer, with a Bachelor of Environmental Science & Conservation. She joined our Conservation Diver community back in 2015, and has a personal drive for capturing life’s in-between moments both above and below the water.
Tony Myshlyaev
Tony Myshlyaev, known as Tones of Blue, is an underwater photographer based in Thailand. He is a lover of scuba and freediving and admires the smallest creatures all the way to the largest. With over a decade of photographic experience, he continues to document the ocean in his home base of Koh Tao and beyond.
Huw Penson
Hailing from rainy London Huw is a freelance photographer & videographer living on tropical Koh Tao shooting for businesses and resorts across SE Asia. Having lived in Thailand since 2007 shooting a range of subjects above and below the water and can also be caught flying a drone for an aerial view under the alias “Koh Tao Drone”.
Aoibheann Gillespie-Mules
Originally from Ireland, Aoibheann Gillespie-Mules is a Master Instructor with a Bachelor of Marine Science who has spent most of her diving years in the Philippines. Aside from training environmentally responsible role models, she has a great passion for photographing the delicate structures of coral reefs. She shares the beauty of corals and continues to educate and spread awareness, highlighting the importance of marine ecosystems. Aoibheann is also the co-author of the bi-lingual children’s book ‘Ocean Adventures with Cory,’ a project focussing on ensuring that marine conservation education and calls to action are grounded and accessible to the local communities that rely on them.
Advisors, Collaborators, and Friends
Nancy Gibson
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
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
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.