OUR TEAM.

VISIONARIES.
EXPERTS.
PROTECTORS.

Meet our team of dedicated ocean ambassadors, working in marine megafauna hotspots around the world to save ocean giants from extinction.

Executive Team

  • DR SIMON PIERCE

    DR SIMON PIERCE

    Founder & Executive Director

    Dr. Pierce founded MMF’s flagship Global Whale Shark Program. His work on the population ecology and management of this iconic species has made him the world’s top whale shark conservation biologist. Simon led the research team whose efforts resulted in whale sharks being recognized as globally endangered on the IUCN Red List, led the technical proposal that successfully listed whale sharks as globally protected via the UN Convention on Migratory Species, and led the IUCN Green Status assessment of the species. Simon is a scientific advisor to the global shark photo-identification database and a member of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group.

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  • SARAH BUTCHERS

    SARAH BUTCHERS

    Chief Operating Officer

    Sarah has a Bachelor of Business (Accounting). She joined MMF in January 2018 with over 8 years experience working in Finance, including 6 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Sydney. Sarah is based in Tofo, Mozambique, where she manages MMF's main office, as well as overseeing the organization's global finances and operations.

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  • DR ANDREA MARSHALL

    DR ANDREA MARSHALL

    Founder

    Dr. Marshall was the first person in the world to complete a PhD on manta rays. After her thesis, she stayed in Mozambique to spearhead the conservation of manta rays in the region and around the world. She is the lead author of the IUCN’s Red List assessments for both species of manta rays and a member of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group. Andrea featured in the BBC Natural World documentary ‘Andrea: Queen of Mantas’ as well as the broadcaster’s award-winning trilogy ‘Sharks.’ In 2013, she was inducted into the ranks of National Geographic’s Explorers as an Emerging Explorer in recognition of her efforts to protect these threatened rays.

    Dr. Marshall is currently on extended medical leave following a severe brain aneurysm and stroke that occurred in early 2024. Her pioneering research and conservation initiatives continue to guide our work.

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Board of Directors

  • MARK HACKNEY

    MARK HACKNEY

    Chair of the Board

  • JOSHUA AXFORD

    JOSHUA AXFORD

    Board Member

  • JASON KATZ

    JASON KATZ

    Board Member

  • DR. SIMON PIERCE

    DR. SIMON PIERCE

    Founder

  • STEFFEN BERGHOLZ

    STEFFEN BERGHOLZ

    Board Member

Country Managers

  • JESSICA PATE

    JESSICA PATE

    Country Manager – US & Senior Scientist

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  • EMILDO PATRICIO VILANCULO

    EMILDO PATRICIO VILANCULO

    Country Manager – Mozambique

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  • JANIS ARGESWARA

    JANIS ARGESWARA

    Country Manager – Indonesia

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Scientific Team

  • YATHIMA ORAIBO ABDUL

    YATHIMA ORAIBO ABDUL

    Research Fellow – Mozambique

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  • LISA AUDITORE

    LISA AUDITORE

    Project Scientist – Indonesia

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  • ED BEVAN

    ED BEVAN

    Project Scientist – Mozambique

  • EMMYLLEN BURINE

    EMMYLLEN BURINE

    Research Fellow – Mozambique

  • NILZA DE CATARINA

    NILZA DE CATARINA

    Research Manager – Mozambique

  • DR. NAKIA CULLAIN

    DR. NAKIA CULLAIN

    Senior Scientist

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  • EMILY EATON

    EMILY EATON

    Project Scientist – Mozambique

  • MARGO MOYER

    MARGO MOYER

    Research Assistant & Education Coordinator – Florida

  • OLIVIA PATTERSON

    OLIVIA PATTERSON

    Project Scientist – Mozambique

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  • JAMES PATTERSON

    JAMES PATTERSON

    Field Specialist – Mozambique

  • JENS PAULSEN

    JENS PAULSEN

    Project Scientist – Tanzania

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  • DR. CLARE PREBBLE

    DR. CLARE PREBBLE

    Senior Scientist

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  • DR. CHRIS ROHNER

    DR. CHRIS ROHNER

    Principal Scientist

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  • SIMÃO SANDE

    SIMÃO SANDE

    Reef Monitoring Program Manager – Mozambique

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  • ARIQ TRISARJONO

    ARIQ TRISARJONO

    Project Scientist – Indonesia

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  • CALVIN MULIAWAN

    CALVIN MULIAWAN

    Research Assistant – Indonesia

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  • BRYANT TURFFS

    BRYANT TURFFS

    Biologist and Marine Operations – USA

Operations Team

  • JUSTINE MAE

    JUSTINE MAE

    MMF Expeditions

  • JOAQUIM GUILA

    JOAQUIM GUILA

    Office Manager

  • JUDISNEY MAURICIO

    JUDISNEY MAURICIO

    Finance Officer

  • ANINDYA RETNO PRAMESTI

    ANINDYA RETNO PRAMESTI

    Finance and Administration Officer

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  • BERNARDO SARMENTO MIGUEL

    BERNARDO SARMENTO MIGUEL

    Driver/Team Assistant

Sustainable Seas — Mozambique Conservation Team

  • MARTINHO SAIDE PEDRO

    MARTINHO SAIDE PEDRO

    Conservation Department Manager

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  • ELTON TIVANE

    ELTON TIVANE

    Junior Conservation Project Manager

  • JOAQUIM DOS SANTOS

    JOAQUIM DOS SANTOS

    Junior Conservation Project Manager

  • AVELINO CHAU

    AVELINO CHAU

    Ambassador Program Manager – Tofo

Ocean Guardians — Mozambique Education Team

  • AZEVEDO CHITSUMBA

    AZEVEDO CHITSUMBA

    Education Program Manager

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  • CREMILDA SIMANGO

    CREMILDA SIMANGO

    Education Officer

  • LUIS MACAMO

    LUIS MACAMO

    Junior Project Manager

  • NARCISO GOVE

    NARCISO GOVE

    Master Teacher & Swim Instructor

  • PEDRO GUIAMBA

    PEDRO GUIAMBA

    Master Teacher & Swim Instructor

  • SIMONE CUMBE

    SIMONE CUMBE

    Master Teacher & Swim Instructor

  • GINA ALFACE

    GINA ALFACE

    Education & Conservation Officer

  • SÓNIA DE JESUS

    SÓNIA DE JESUS

    Swimming Instructor

  • ÉRICA GULELE

    ÉRICA GULELE

    Junior Education Officer

Research Associates

  • ANNA FLAM

    ANNA FLAM

    MMF Mozambique

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  • DR. STEPHANIE VENABLES

    DR. STEPHANIE VENABLES

    MMF Mozambique

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  • DR. ELITZA GERMANOV

    DR. ELITZA GERMANOV

    Wildlife Conservation Society

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  • STELLA DIAMANT

    STELLA DIAMANT

    Madagascar Whale Shark Project

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  • DR. DAVID ROBINSON

    DR. DAVID ROBINSON

    Sundive Research

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  • AULIA ZEINTRINANDA

    AULIA ZEINTRINANDA

    Indonesia Sea Turtle Project

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Advisors

  • BRENT WASHBURN

    BRENT WASHBURN

    AI Strategy & Policy Advisor

    Brent Washburn is the founder of Lagoon Digital Marketing, a boutique marketing agency in Melbourne Beach, Florida, that helps organizations connect their purpose with their audience using digital channels. He advises MMF on AI strategy and policy.

    lagoondigital.com ↗
  • ANNE PAYLOR

    ANNE PAYLOR

    Communications Advisor

    Anne Paylor is a journalist and editor with four decades in travel and aviation publishing. She began as a reporter in Bahrain and Hong Kong, edited Cathay Pacific's Cathay News and Jane's Airport Review, and spent 25 years as a freelance correspondent for Air Transport World and other specialist titles. A pilot, diver, and underwater photographer who has traveled and lived across the Indian Ocean rim, she now volunteers her writing and editing to MMF's features, partner stories, and supporter communications.

  • MADELEINE PIERCE

    MADELEINE PIERCE

    Digital Operations & AI Advisor

    Madeleine leads MMF's operational infrastructure, building AI-powered workflows and systems that minimize administrative overhead and maximize funding directed toward research and conservation. She's guiding MMF through the rapidly evolving AI landscape, ensuring the organization stays at the leading edge of how technology can serve conservation. With a background in product design, project management, and tech entrepreneurship, she brings a commercial lens to nonprofit operations, helping MMF scale across multiple countries without scaling costs.

  • CHRISTINA PATE

    CHRISTINA PATE

    Social Media & Digital Strategy Advisor

    Christina Pate holds a B.S. in Marketing and Statistics and spent 10 years as a market research analyst specializing in digital channels, using consumer data and insights to guide business strategy. She now owns and operates content creation businesses focused on travel content and social media growth. She advises MMF on social media and digital strategy.

MMF Ambassadors

  • TIFFANY SCHAUER

    TIFFANY SCHAUER

    Founder & Executive Director, Our Children’s Earth Foundation

    Tiffany founded OCE in 1998 after many years in various environmental justice and litigation positions specializing in enforcement and compliance. In addition to her private sector attorney experience with Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, which represented industry in environmental litigation, she was appointed to the Hearing Board of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD). Prior to her work in the Bay Area, Tiffany worked at the Federal Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC in a variety of key roles. She earned her J.D. from Catholic University in Washington, DC. and her B.A. from San Diego State University. Tiffany is admitted to the State Bars of California, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia.

    Tiffany served in various environmental regulatory roles prior to founding OCE in 1998. Ms. Schauer’s varied positions, including serving as an enforcement attorney at the Environmental Protection Agency, working as a Senior Attorney at a major environmental law firm, and adjudicating Clean Air Act permit disputes at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Hearing Board. During the course of her career, she discovered that the attacks on environmental regulatory standards and enforcement program funding decisions are not occurring in statehouses and legislative sessions, where the glare of public attention would be too great. Instead, the attacks most often occur in bureaucratic back rooms, out of the public eye, in obscure government departments where polluting industries can influence the decision-making process without risking the wrath of public opposition. The form of the threat is as basic as it is destructive — our environmental laws simply are not being enforced adequately to ensure public safety and basic environmental protections. Since 1998, Tiffany has led OCE to enforce some of the largest environmental law violation actions in the United States.

    Over the past 10 years, Tiffany has expanded OCE’s efforts beyond regulatory citizen enforcement to include communicating the issues of government corruption, abuse of power, and needed transparency by addressing these issues in documentary film. Tiffany spearheaded the initiative to bring OCE’s message to the storytelling genre of film through collaborating on many breakthrough documentaries including, Total Denial, Garbage Dreams, Island President, The C Word, Death by Design, How to Change the World, Sempre Fi, Last Animals, and Youth v. Gov.

    “Our earth’s marine species and marine habitat areas are critically important, and extremely fragile. MMF’s relentless research, breakthrough peer-reviewed publications, community advocacy, and international coordination, have been critical in establishing the baseline science needed to safeguard our marine giants and the last truly wild places in our oceans. I see MMF as one of the world’s most fearless, effective and financially efficient marine science organizations of our time.”

  • MARC GIRARD

    MARC GIRARD

    Former MMF Board Member

    Marc was born and raised in Geneva, Switzerland. He studied finance at the University of Geneva and worked in banking for 13 years before he became an independent portfolio manager in 2000. His first diving experience was in 1971 and from that moment he was hooked on the marine environment. Marc regularly travels and dives with his family around the world.

    “I first met Andrea and learned about MMF in 2014 during a diving trip in Mozambique. Instantly convinced by their mission and values, I was impressed by the professionalism with which Andrea leads her team. Sharing further diving experiences with Andrea, I could witness the contagious passion she shows in every minute of her MMF life. This passion combined with the effort she invests in educating the different communities around her makes me confident that the creatures we love are under good protection.”