Dr. Giacomo Bernardi
Fish Biologist – Ecological Connectivity

• Professor in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz
• Monitors fish abundance & distribution on the island of Moorea, French Polynesia for the Moorea Coral Reef Long Term Ecological Research Program (LTER)
• Applies molecular biology techniques to evaluate the levels of genetic connectivity between fish populations. Determining how populations of fish become genetically distinct has implications in the designation & management of marine protected areas
• PostDoc (Fundulus Population Genetics): with Dennis A. Powers at Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station – Pacific Grove, California
• Ph.D.(Fish Genomics): University of Paris, France

Dr. Debashish Bhattacharya

Lab Website

• Dr. Bhattacharya’s team at Rutgers University is investigating the metabolomics of Montipora coral (locally known as cabbage coral.

Dr. Branwen Williams

Lab Website

Dr. Branwen Williams’s research develops the techniques that we use to generate records of our past ocean and climate variability, and uses these records to understand mechanisms driving environmental changes.  She got her B.Sc. in Marine and Freshwater Biology at the University of Guelph.  She then got her M.Sc. in Biology at GEOTOP with the Université du Québec à Montréal.  She then went to complete at her Ph.D. in Geological Science in the School of Earth Sciences at the Ohio State University.  From there, she did a postdoctoral research fellowship in the Department of Chemical & Physical Sciences at the University of Toronto Mississauga.  She is now an Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences in the W.M. Keck Science Department , a science department that is shared among three colleges of the Claremont Colleges: Claremont McKenna College, Pitzer College, and Scripps College.

• Ph.D., Geological Sciences, School of Earth Sciences, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (2009)
• M.Sc., Biology, GEOTOP, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, QC (2005)
• B.Sc., Marine and Freshwater Biology, Department of Zoology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON (2003)

Dr. Kelton McMahon

Lab Website

• Assistant Professor in Biological Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island
• I develop and apply cutting edge molecular geochemistry tools (e.g., stable isotope analysis of individual amino acids) to explore the sources and cycling of organic matter in marine systems. My research focuses on how food web architecture influences marine ecosystem function and resilience, and how climate change and human-environment interactions alter those relationships.
• Ph.D. Biological Oceanography, MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography, Woods Hole, MA, 2011
• B.Sc. Biology (Honors), Bates College, Lewiston, ME, 2005

Josh Pi

PhD Candidate

• Ph.D. Biological Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Projected 2025
• B.S. Biology with Minors in Environmental Policy and Decision Making/Mathematics, University of Puget Sound, 2018
• “Although inhabiting nutrient poor waters, coral reefs are some of Earth’s most biodiverse and productive ecosystems. My interests lie in understanding this paradigm. For my PhD, I plan on studying how energy is obtained and recycled among coral reefs using molecular isotope techniques, such as compound specific stable isotope analysis of amino acids.”

Dr. Supin Wongbusarakum

Conservation Social Scientist

• Social Scientist at the NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
• Pacific Island Regional Socioeconomic Monitoring Coordinator for the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network 
• Studying the links between human well-being, governance and conservation effectiveness with the IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic & Social Policy 
• Ph.D. (Human Geography): University of Hawai’i at Mānoa

Dr. Melva Treviño Peña ( Website )

• Dr. Melva Trevino is a human geographer and an Assistant Professor at the University of Rhode Island.
• She is working with One People One Reef to better understand the connections between wellbeing, governance, resource use and how climate change affects those linkages.

Noelle Myron (Oldiais)

Eric Tong

• Doctoral student in the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawaii at Manoa; advised by Dr. Robert Toonen at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology
• Eric’s dissertation research examines the connectivity of reef organisms across sites in the Society Islands. He has worked primarily at the community level to develop collaborations among academics and fishermen towards improving management initiatives for Hawaii’s nearshore resources.
• Kure Atoll Conservancy — Board Member
• Hōkūleʻa Worldwide Voyage Science at Sea — Lead Investigator of Pelagic Fisheries Project
• B.S. in Marine Biology from Brown University, specializing in the molecular ecology of marine resources

Tommy Hall

• BS in biology from California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo
• Passionate about preserving the beauty of natural ecosystems
• Enjoys fishing, hunting, surfing, and backcountry snowboarding
• Skilled photographer: Tommy captures photos of native island species and their habitats
• His images play an important role in communicating Island Conservation’s mission and can be seen throughout our website and outreach materials

Kelsey Doyle

Video Journalist

kelsey@onepeopleonereef.org

• Kelsey Doyle is an award winning documentary filmmaker and media producer whose work focuses on supporting non-profits and giving them agency by making documentary films about their causes – a marketing strategy non-profit organizations cannot afford.
• Her work has taken her and her teams from the jungles of Sumatra, savannahs of Maasailand, to the outermost Pacific islands of Micronesia and has been published by Stanford, National Geographic, Oceanic Society, National Science Foundation, UN, Filmmaker, Independent Filmmaker Project, PBS Newshour, Stanford, UCB, NYU, Patagonia, and New York Magazine. She is a proud member of the Board of Directors of Naretoi.
• Kelsey holds an M.A. in News and Documentary Journalism from New York University and a B.A. in Film and Digital Media from the University of California. She’s lived in Buenos Aires, Brooklyn, and London. Currently, she is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Samantha Runkel

Sustainability advocate, writer and musician

• B.A., media communications and sociology at U.C. Berkeley.
• Recording artist and songwriter with a decade-plus career as a female independent recording artist, songwriting and publishing, multiple album and singles record releases, national and international touring, collaborating with artists such as as the Dave Matthews Band and Ziggy Marley. 
• Passionate about preserving our planet’s natural ecosystems through education, music and travel.
• Writer, founder, sustainability advocate, Heyterra

Emma Lassiter

Education, Outreach & Fundraising

• Narrator for One People One Reef’s Storytelling Project
• Assistant Professor of Bio 450 Applied Research: Genetics of Micronesian Marine Organisms with Dr. Eva Sales at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California
• 2017 Youth Action Program Participant

Scott Davis

• Scott is a professional photographer specializing in wildlife, nature, and travel. Originally trained as a wildlife and marine biologist, his research and photo assignments have taken him to the far corners of the globe and all seven continents. National Geographic, BBC, Animal Planet, NY Times, and renowned magazines have used his photography. His patience for teaching and love of capturing the essence of his subjects make him one of our most popular tour leaders.

Eva Salas

Coral Reef Ecologist

• Led the 2017 Ulithi Youth Action Project
• Member of the 2017 Outer Islands Expedition Science Team
• Teaches the Genetics of Micronesian Marine Organisms Research Class at Cabrillo
• PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California Santa Cruz

Sara Cannon

• Ph.D. Student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada
• Vanier Scholar & Ocean Leaders Graduate Fellow
• M.Sc. from the University of British Columbia
• B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz
• Worked with with the Ulithi & One People One Reef team from 2012-2015

Charlotte Grenier

Graphic Designer

• Charlotte’s Art: @Char_Carvs
• Undergraduate Thesis:
  Biocultural Revitalization through Storytelling:

  A comprehensive reflection of One People One Reef’s Storytelling Project in Ulithi Atoll, Micronesia