About

This is the working space of two aspiring marine biologists who met during the summer of 2013 in Akumal, Mexico on a conservation expedition. As part of the rising twenty-something generation, we are so often overwhelmed with issues of global conservation, spreading pollution, impending extinctions and every day choices of sustainability. It is easy to feel helpless in the face of so much adversity. Therefore to overcome this defeat, and to exercize our knowledge and passionate voices in a small way, we have decided to create this platform to introduce and discuss relevant environmental issues and sustainable lifestyle choices with our peers. Please feel free to explore, engage and offer feedback as you like. We would love to connect with you!

Who we are-

Caitlin E. Marsteller

Caitlin graduated from the University of West Florida in 2013 with her Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology. After graduation she had the absolute pleasure of working at Operation Wallacea , a biodiversity and conservation research organization, for two years as a university research adviser and schools coordinator. Her favorite part of this job was spending the summers searching for sea turtles while managing a marine research site on Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras.

Caitlin has recently moved to Anchorage, Alaska where she is working on a Master’s of Environmental Science at Alaska Pacific University. Her involvement is in a benthic behavior and ecology lab specializing in the Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) and intertidal ecology.

Fun facts: In 2011, during her first conservation internship, she covered the entire circumference of the globe visiting Taiwan, Indonesia and Spain!

Yanni C. Smith

  

Yanni graduated in Environmental Geoscience from The University of Edinburgh in 2014 and her love for the ocean stems from growing up with the sea as her backyard. After a life changing marine conservation expedition to the Seychelles in 2012, Yanni was convinced this was the perfect path for her to continue on. After graduation, Yanni worked with an NGO in the UAE during the turtle nesting season and helped promote an awareness of sustainability to the public. Recently, she also became a PADI Instructor and is using this as a means to spread her love for the sea.

Yanni is now working on her Master’s in Protected Area Management in James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.

Fun Facts: Yanni has trained in various martial arts since the age of 5 and has a knack for picking up languages.