We come from a variety of backgrounds and countries, yet we share a common love for the ocean and a passionate dedication to saving coral reefs. Call us at (415) 834-0900 or stop by the office to say hello. We love to talk about our work and we welcome the chance to share our inspiration with you.

 

San Francisco Staff

Rick MacPherson, Conservation Programs Director (ext. 302)
Coordinating our conservation projects since 2005 as well as developing and implementing strategies and tools that increase the capacity of stakeholders to work collaboratively toward coral reef conservation, Rick brings an abundance of passion and experience to the CORAL team. Among his many accomplishments, he has served as marine science specialist for U.C. Berkeley; project specialist for the California Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence; designer and instructor of the award-winning U.C. Berkeley course “Communicating Ocean Sciences;” director of the Lawrence Hall of Science Marine Biology Research Program at U.C. Davis’s Bodega Marine Lab; consultant to the U.S. National Marine Sanctuary system; life science content specialist for MacMillan/McGraw-Hill publishing and KQED public broadcasting; and on several state educational task forces.

As principal and founder of Pelagia Consulting, an ocean science, education, and conservation think tank, Rick has provided aquariums, museums, and science centers with exhibit research, writing, and content development. Additionally, he has published extensively on topics related to ocean science, science education, coral reef ecology and economy, and marine conservation, and serves as guest speaker at international marine conservation symposiums and meetings. Rick is a PADI-certified diver with more than 1,000 dive hours logged. He has lead ecotourism expeditions to the Galapagos and to coral reef ecosystems in the South Pacific and throughout the Caribbean basin. He has conducted fieldwork in California, Florida, Hawaii, the Canadian Maritimes, Jamaica, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Ecuador, Palau, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Rick holds a B.S. in marine biology from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island and has studied evolutionary theory and the history and philosophy of science at Harvard University.

Tom Meshishnek, Administration & Finance Director (ext. 301)

Tom has more than twenty years of experience working in the nonprofit industry. Before joining CORAL in 2003, he held a variety of accounting positions with numerous San Francisco Bay Area community organizations, including wildlife rehabilitation projects, community food stores, free medical clinics, reproductive health advocates, dance companies, and software design firms.

Sarah Freiermuth, Interim Director of Development (ext. 305)

Sarah began working in ocean conservation in 1995 as an educator at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Following that, she became part of the education staff at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps in San Diego. She moved north to join the development staff at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where she helped to grow the membership program by nearly 50 percent. Most recently, Sarah worked in development at the San Francisco Zoo. Feeling the pull of the oceans once again, Sarah joined CORAL in March of 2009. She has a degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is a certified scuba diver and active community volunteer.

Susan Wolf, Communications Manager (ext. 319)

Susan manages CORAL's communications efforts. Most recently she worked as a senior media consultant with Larson Communications, with a primary focus on raising public awareness around education issues. She spent several years working in the non-profit sector leading marketing and media efforts for a nationally focused public policy think tank. Prior to joining CORAL, Susan coordinated watershed youth education programs, conducted fresh water biological research for the United States Geological Survey in the Great Lakes region, and prepared environmental site assessment reports. Susan has a degree in environmental studies with a concentration in journalism from Ohio Wesleyan University.

Vicky Seid, Accountant (ext. 304)

Vicky has focused on nonprofit accounting for the past ten years, working with a diverse range of groups including the Trust for Public Land, Community Educational Services of San Francisco, and Vanguard Public Foundation. She has also worked in administration and program development for a number of community-based nonprofits serving youths, seniors, and mothers and children. Vicky has a bachelor's degree in Bacteriology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Candace Leong, Conservation Program Associate (ext. 316)

The newest member of the Conservation Programs staff, Candace worked as a CORAL volunteer before joining the department as a full-time program associate. Candace's acceptance into a travel-abroad program during her fourth year of college motivated her to become scuba certified and buy an underwater camera. As a student at the University of Queensland in Australia, Candace lived with a homestay family and went on field trips to terrestrial and marine parks. After the program ended, she traveled and dove in Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia's Great Barrier Reef. After college, she interned at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), where she participated in a four-day deep-sea expedition, rehabilitated sea otters, and became the youngest board member at Friends of the Sea Otter. Candace has participated in underwater beach clean-ups and volunteered as a docent and aquarist at the UC Santa Cruz Seymour Center. Candace graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 2007 with a degree in marine biology.

Joanna Solins, Communications Associate (ext. 314)

Joanna brings experience in both the environmental and publishing fields to her communications position at CORAL. After studying coral reef ecology on Australia's Great Barrier Reef during a semester abroad, Joanna pursued her interest in marine ecology and conservation in her work as a program educator at the New England Aquarium in Boston. She then spent nearly a year working on organic farms in Hawaii and New Zealand and traveling in Australia, China, Laos, and Thailand before relocating to San Francisco. Joanna has been writing materials for educational publishers for a number of years, and served as a CORAL volunteer before joining the staff. Joanna has a degree in environmental studies from Vassar College.

Kate Trevelyan-Hall, Foundation and Grants Associate (ext. 315)

Kate joined the Development staff in July 2009, bringing with her more than three years of fundraising experience in the non-profit sector, along with four years of higher education development from her university days as a student caller. She graduated from Santa Clara University with degrees in Anthropology and Spanish, with a focus on International Relations, and has studied abroad in Spain, France, and Peru. Outside of her responsibilities at CORAL, Kate loves to travel, explore the outdoors, and volunteer in her community.

Simone Sheridan, Membership Assistant (ext. 307)

 

Malinda Wistrom, Development Assistant (ext. 306)

Malinda brings to CORAL her experience from working with the Seva Foundation in Berkeley, an organization that builds sustainable solutions to poverty and disease in underserved communities around the world. A lifelong ocean lover, Malinda is a snorkeler and enjoys spending time at the coast and on the water. She volunteers annually with the Organic Center and actively participates in local coastal cleanup events. Malinda is a photographer and an outdoor enthusiast, and loves to travel. She graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with a degree in physical geography.

 

International Field Staff

Sirilo "Didi" Dulunaqio, Fiji Field Representative

Hailing from the village of Nadivakarua in the Kubulau District of Fiji, Didi worked closely with district chiefs and local communities to facilitate the creation of the Namena Marine Reserve in 1997. In 2001, CORAL funded a trip to the Bonaire Marine Park in the Dutch Caribbean, where Didi learned about marine protected areas and sustainable financing. In addition to being CORAL’s field representative in Fiji, Didi works for the Wildlife Conservation Society. Prior to joining CORAL, he spent several years working in the dive industry at Moody's Namena and L'Aventure at the Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort. Didi helps the CORAL program staff implement conservation projects and works tirelessly to increase communication between the Kubulau Resource Management Committee, tour operators, and environmental organizations.

Liz Foote, Hawaii Field Manager

As CORAL’s Hawaii field manager based in Maui, Liz contributes invaluable local knowledge and understanding to our conservation programs, ensuring that each project fully incorporates the needs and realities of the local communities. In addition to her work with CORAL, Liz founded the Maui-based nonprofit organization Project S.E.A.-Link in 1999 and currently serves as its executive director. Project S.E.A.-Link seeks to encourage and inspire marine science education and promotes local stewardship through community-based reef monitoring, marine naturalist volunteer trainings, and other education and outreach projects. Before settling on Maui, Liz worked as a whale watch naturalist in Massachusetts, volunteered at aquariums in Connecticut and California, taught coral reef ecology aboard a schooner in the Virgin Islands, studied orcas in British Columbia, and assisted reef researchers in the Florida Keys. Among her favorite ocean-related memories are diving in the Johnson Sea-Link submersible while in high school and meeting renowned ocean scientist Sylvia Earle in the Aquarius Undersea Habitat sixty feet underwater. Liz earned a bachelor’s of science degree in ecology, behavior, and evolution from the University of California, San Diego, and worked in research laboratories at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. After shifting her focus from marine research to marine education, she obtained a master’s of science degree in science education from Oregon State University.

Kenneth Johnson, Mesoamerican Regional Manager

As CORAL’s Mesoamerican Regional Manager (based in Mexico), Kenneth’s main focus is to advance the goals of the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN)’s Mesoamerican Reef Alliance (MAR) project, which involves the development of good environmental practices for marine recreation providers. In addition to his work with CORAL, Kenneth is owner and general manager of EcoColors, an ecotourism adventure company in the state of Quintana Roo that runs eco-educational, biking, kayaking, snorkeling, trekking, bird watching, and archaeological tours. A marine biologist with a master’s degree in business administration, Kenneth has several years of experience designing new ecotourism products and working with local communities, including Punta Allen and Muyil in Siankaan, Holbox, and Xcalak town to educate, develop, operate, and promote environmental interpretation and ecotourism ventures. He has served as both president and vice-president of the Mexican Association of Adventure Travel and Ecotourism, and his greatest passion is to share his love for wildlife conservation with others.

Jenny Myton, Honduras Field Manager

Jenny is an American-Honduran who has lived in Honduras her whole life. She currently resides on the island of Roatan, where she and her husband, Ian Drysdale, serve on the water board and for the local business association. Jenny has more than nine years of experience monitoring coral reef health and working on community-based resource conservation initiatives, including two years with the Bay Islands Environmental Management Program (funded by the Inter-American Development Bank). She has worked with Coral Cay Conservation, UNEP, Conservation International, and The Nature Conservancy, among others. Jenny and Ian founded and run Luna Environmental, an environmental consulting company, and have carried out environmental impact studies throughout Honduras. In addition to her work for CORAL, Jenny is currently completing a master's degree course in sustainable development.

Kara Osada, Hawaii Field Representative

Originally from Colorado, Kara’s lifelong passion for the ocean was nurtured by frequent family trips to the Atlantic, Pacific, and Caribbean throughout her childhood. In 1999, Kara moved to Hawaii to attend the University of Hawaii at Hilo. She graduated in 2004 with bachelor’s degrees in biology (conservation and ecology track) and marine science. Kara is currently finishing her master’s degree in tropical conservation biology and environmental sciences, focusing on the zooplankton eaten by manta rays. In addition to serving as CORAL’s field representative in Hawaii, Kara helps with research dives along the Kona Coast for the Division of Aquatic Resources, is a scientist with Reef Check and a NOAA scientific diver, works as a dive master at Jack's Diving Locker, and runs her own business offering CPR, first aid, and oxygen certification classes.

Valentine Rosado, Belize Field Manager

Valentine combined his passion for conservation and scuba diving when he joined CORAL as its field representative in Belize in 2007. Based in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, Valentine also works for the Green Reef Environmental Institute, where he is on the forefront of conservation issues relating to the global effects of tourism, coastal development, and climate change on many World Heritage Sites in Belize. As president of the University of Belize Sub-Aqua Club in 2004, he organized volunteer student initiatives, including sea turtle nesting patrols, manatee capture and tagging, grouper spawning aggregation dives, mangrove studies, and student scuba certifications. As part of independent research for the university, Valentine was actively engaged in the monitoring of Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) hatchlings at the Manatee Bar Sea Turtle nesting beach in Southern Belize. Valentine earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from the University of Belize, and is an active PADI IDC Staff Instructor, a Reef Check Instructor Trainer, and a Belize National Tour Guide.

Naneng Setiasih, Indonesia Field Manager

A conservation science management specialist, Naneng's work focuses on ways to integrate science into collaborative coral reef management practices. She was one of the original founders of the Indonesian branch of the Reef Check Foundation, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and rehabilitating tropical coral reefs and California rocky reefs. Prior to her involvement with Reef Check Indonesia, Naneng was a project leader of the Friends of the Reef program managed by WWF Indonesia. She finished her postgraduate work at Bandung Institute of Technology and the School of Environmental Science at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. Naneng currently lives in Bali, Indonesia.

Abdul Razak Tamher, Indonesia Field Representative

Hailing from Yellu Village in Raja Ampat, Razak was one of the original employees of the Misool Eco Resort, CORAL's partner in Indonesia. In addition to working as a patrol ranger in the no-take zone around the Misool Eco Resort, Razak helped to design the patrol protocols and the patrol boat floating library project.

Moala Tokota'a, Fiji Field Representative

 

Heidi Williams, Fiji Field Manager

Heidi joined the CORAL team in 2007 after working for three years with the Kubulau community and the Namena Marine Reserve as a scientist with Greenforce, a gap year scientific research program in Fiji in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society. Her participation in marine surveys has taken her throughout the Fiji islands. Heidi's passion for all things marine began at an early age, and as soon as she had completed her BSc in psychology in the UK, she headed for the reefs to learn to dive. Before moving to Fiji she progressed to PADI Dive Master and worked on a live-aboard dive boat on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Heidi has taught and coordinated volunteers to conduct marine surveys, led various community projects, and helped develop community-based tourism in Kubulau.