Name: Josephine Edwards
Affiliation: Lady Marine Consultancy Firm
Region: Namibia
Bio: Josephine Edward is currently the CEO and Founder of the Lady Marine Consultancy Firm which provides Blue entrepreneurs with fisheries advice and guidance. She advocates for girls and women to penetrate the male dominated Maritime industry and offers mentorship and ocean literacy programs to children. Josephine was previously employed as a Fisheries Biologist and holds an Honours degree in Fisheries and Aquatic Science from the University of Namibia and a Master degree in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology from the University of Western Cape.
Name: Talen Rimmer
Affiliation: University of Victoria
Region: Canada
Bio: Talen (he/him) is a graduate student and marine researcher living and working on unceded Lekwungen and WSÁNEĆ Territories (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada). As a Canadian-Australian citizen, Talen has had the privilege of working with government agencies, non-profit organizations, and indigenous communities on projects related to waterway health and science communication in the Salish Sea (B.C.) and Great Barrier Reef (Queensland) regions. His other interests include coastal ecology, community-driven marine research and policy, and collaborative methods for ocean management. Talen is very excited to be a part of the OBPS ECOP Ambassador Programme, and looks forward to working with the other ambassadors to optimize the engagement and communication of OceanPractices outcomes.
Name: Sundar Ranganathan
Affiliation: National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai.
Region: India
Bio: Sundar (he/him) is a post graduate and working as Scientist in National Institute of Ocean Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt of India, Chennai, India. Sundar is working in Ocean Observation Systems group which operates the moored buoy network for India. He has vast experience in moored buoy data collection, data quality control, ocean data management. His other interest include involving and conducting students AUV competition, training and creating awareness programmes. Sundar is very excited to be part of the OBPS ECOP Ambassador Programme for India and effectively contribute along with other ambassadors.
Name: Carlotta Santolini
Affiliation: Blueat – Mariscadoras srl Benefit
Region: Italy
Bio: Carlotta Santolini is a Marine Biologist and she’s currently attending the National PhD in Sustainable Development and Climate Change in University of Insubria (Como) and IUSS ( Pavia).
She’s a scuba diving instructor and partner of Fondazione Cetacea, a Onlus based in Rimini that works with Scientific European projects for the conservation of the Sea and whose principal aim is to manage a Sea Turtles Recovery Center in Rimini.
She’s been working on different research projects with Turtles, Cetacean and Sharks, Alien Species and Zooplankton both for Research and Citizen science aims.
Her soulmate is an octopus ‘when I was 5 years old I befriended a little octopus and since that moment I had decided I wanted to save the underwater life, starting from the Mediterranean Sea.’ Wearing a mask for Diving is the best way for her to show who she is because she thinks everyone should make underwater bubbles at least one time in their life. The Sea represents her power and her biggest challenge is to convert the fishing into a more sustainable activity creating a network between scientists, fishermen and common people that normally live close to the sea.
Name: Laura Khatib
Affiliation: Guardians of the Blue
Region: Lebanon
Bio: Laura Khatib is the co-founder of the NGO Guardians of the Blue based in Byblos, Lebanon and a student in the Advanced Master in Sustainable Blue Economy at the University of Trieste – OGS. Having French, Lebanese and Italian roots, she has always been passionate about the protection of the Mediterranean sea. Now based in Lebanon, she works on developing and spreading local ocean literacy, organizing scuba diving cleanups, and supporting lionfish hunting and commercialization. Very few organizations exist for the protection of the sea in Lebanon, and the marine scientific research is very limited and underfunded: this ambassadorship will help spread Ocean Best Practices in the region!