MEET THE TEAM
Pleng Snidvongs Kruesopon
Founder & CEO
Pleng is a senior at Stanford University. She founded Care for Coral at 16 years of age in hopes of shedding light on the importance of coral conservation. She aims to educate the community through youth-led restoration projects in Thailand.
Pyn Snidvongs Kruesopon
Pyn Kruesopon is a freshman at Stanford University. She is extremely passionate about the importance of marine biodiversity and aims to instill passion in youth about the importance of ocean conservation.
Co-Founder & President
Charlotte Khoo
Co-President
Charlotte is a freshman at UCL, London. She has participated and assisted in every Care for Coral trip. We are lucky to have her support and mentorship over our junior leadership team.
Apiphawadee Snidvongs
Program Co-Director
Tik has helped Care for Coral immensely with her background in marketing and public relations. She assists in the management and organization of our nationwide restoration trips.
JUNIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM
Dean
Pooka has significant experience in the field of reef restoration, often representing the Department of Marine & Coastal Resources. She has helped to develop training programs for the DMCR, and has been instrumental in the establishment of an island-wide restoration project in Koh Tao, Thailand. Pooka fulfills an invaluable role in many of Global Reef's active research and conservation projects, and is key to the communication of the organisation's work in Thailand.
Ben
Piers is the founder of Global Reef. He is a qualified marine biologist, receiving a first-class degree from the University of Plymouth. He has established several research, monitoring, and marine conservation programs in the Gulf of Thailand. Additionally, providing a platform for individuals to gain experience working in the underwater world. Piers is also a published author and an award-winning and featured underwater photographer
Namo
Gavin is the project manager and scientific diving program director. He has a master's degree in Marine Environmental Management from the University of Exeter, His research interests include furthering our ecological understanding of key reef-associated indicator species and the development of effective local management strategies. Gavin is currently co-authoring a research paper on the relative impacts of corallivory to reefs within the Gulf of Thailand.
STANFORD HOPKINS MARINE STATION
Dr. Larry Crowder
Dr. Larry Crowder is the Edward F. Ricketts Provostial Professor of Marine Ecology and Conservation at Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, and a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. Dr. Crowder's research centers on predation and food web interactions, mechanisms underlying recruitment variation in fishes, population and food web modeling in conservation biology, and interdisciplinary approaches to marine conservation. He has been a phenomenal asset to the Care for Coral team, helping to mentor Pleng in her marine conservation studies.
DIVE TEAM THAILAND
Napaket Limthanakit
Napaket is the founder of Dive Team Thailand, a five-star dive center that specializes in scuba diving and freediving services in Thailand. Napaket is also a certified PADI instructor.
Rachan Malaiwongs
Rachan is the First Thai PADI Course Director. He is a PADI AmbassaDiver and certified instructor. Rachan is also a mentor to PADI professionals.
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GLOBAL REEF THAILAND
Getsamol Chaona (Pooka)
Pooka has significant experience in the field of reef restoration, often representing the Department of Marine & Coastal Resources. She has helped to develop training programs for the DMCR, and has been instrumental in the establishment of an island-wide restoration project in Koh Tao, Thailand. Pooka fulfills an invaluable role in many of Global Reef's active research and conservation projects, and is key to the communication of the organisation's work in Thailand.
Piers Baillie
Piers is the founder of Global Reef. He is a qualified marine biologist, receiving a first-class degree from the University of Plymouth. He has established several research, monitoring, and marine conservation programs in the Gulf of Thailand. Additionally, providing a platform for individuals to gain experience working in the underwater world. Piers is also a published author and an award-winning and featured underwater photographer
Gavin Miller
Gavin is the project manager and scientific diving program director. He has a master's degree in Marine Environmental Management from the University of Exeter, His research interests include furthering our ecological understanding of key reef-associated indicator species and the development of effective local management strategies. Gavin is currently co-authoring a research paper on the relative impacts of corallivory to reefs within the Gulf of Thailand.
DIVE ME CRAZY
Por Saruta Luangjame
Co-Founder: Dive Me Crazy
Khun Por is the co-founder of a popular dive shop located in Nichada Thani. She is a certified PADI instructor and has over 21 years of diving experience.
Ay Mongkon Changrew
Co-Founder: Dive Me Crazy
Khun Ay is a certified PADI instructor and has trained over 1,000 divers. He has over 22 years of diving experience.
MEDIA DIRECTORS
Simona Meesaiyati
Simona is a climate activist who is the Co-host and Creative Director of ALTV's "2 degrees" TV Docuseries, which documents our coral restoration journey. Simona is also the project Manager of the Changing Lives Film Festival and an Advisor for Climate Strike Thailand.
India Bradshaw
India is a certified PADI master-diver and has a background in film and media.
ADVISORS
Arnupap Kamthong
Arnupap is a Marine Biologist who works as the assistant manager for Sustainable Development at Singha Estate company. He has also been an assistant researcher of marine science at Kasetsart University for the past 10 years.
Jeremy Casher
Jeremy has over 35 years of Diving Experience in North & Central America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Asia. He is also a former PADI Diving Scuba Instructor for Royal Caribbean International.
NEW HEAVEN REEF
REEF CONSERVATION PROGRAM
Kirsty Magson
Kirsty is a Marine Biologist who has been teaching marine conservation on Koh Tao since January of 2015. She is also the current Manager of the New Heaven Reef Conservation Program. ​