Meet the Team

Chelsea founded the Institute for Marine Research with her husband Rafael after seeing the critical need for greater attention, and upgraded research methodologies to be brought to the remote island communities of the Philippines to ensure fine-scale analysis of coral reef dynamics could be assessed, and improved coastal management and restoration decisions could be made alongside the island’s local government unit.

Chelsea has spent 9 years studying coral reef dynamics from Australia, to Madagascar, Honduras and now the Philippines. Through this experience she has been able to study methodology effectiveness, whilst understanding the importance in building governmental and community relationships to ensure results from scientific findings can be translated and implemented through localized management practices to ensure the social and economic security of these remote island nations.

Alongside running IMR Chelsea is also completing her PhD with the Great Barrier Reef’s Restoration and Adaption Program, where she is reseeding degraded reefs using sexually derived larvae from wild spawn slicks and determining the environmental proxies towards the large-scale application of larval reseeding for reef recovery. From 2024, Chelsea will begin preliminary research towards the feasibility of larval reseeding to be conducted on target reef sites devoid of natural recovery as outlined by IMRs long-term monitoring project.

Rafael founded IMR together with his wife Chelsea. Born and raised in the coastal city of Lima, Peru and living in Miami, Florida in his youth he developed an early fascination with the marine world that surrounded him. His passion for marine biology led him to pursue higher education, earning a degree in Marine Biology with a minor in Eco Businesses. His connection with the ocean deepened when he became a certified dive instructor, exploring the intricate ecosystems beneath the waves and witnessing firsthand the beauty and fragility of marine life. These experiences underwater fueled his determination to protect these environments, inspiring him to devote his life to marine conservation efforts.

As the director of IMR, Rafael has taken on the responsibility of driving meaningful change in the way we perceive and protect our oceans. One of his key objectives is environmental education. He firmly believes that knowledge is the most powerful tool in the fight against environmental degradation. Together with the IMR team, the institute has developed innovative educational programs aimed at raising awareness about marine conservation strategies among students from all over the world.

Rafael is not only passionate about education but also deeply committed to advancing the technological frontier of marine conservation. He envisions a future where cutting-edge technology plays a pivotal role in gathering and analyzing data to inform effective conservation strategies. His vision is to make marine conservation efforts as technologically sophisticated as possible, ensuring that accurate and comprehensive data reaches local governments. By providing these authorities with the most up-to-date information, he empowers them to make informed decisions that are crucial for the protection of marine habitats and species.

Katrina grew up in Dubai with the ocean as her backyard and spent many summers exploring Asia and the Americas with her family. From a very young age knew she wanted to be a marine biologist and went on to complete her Bachelors at the University of Swansea, UK. After interning with various marine NGOs around Australia and Thailand, she decided to complete a Masters in Marine Environmental Management at the University of York. Her main project was hosted by the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology studying the impacts of bleaching on coral reproduction. For the last few years Katrina has been based in Edinburgh working at the local science centre engaging children and communities in ocean science.

As Research Co-ordinator, Katrina oversees the day-to-day operations of IMR, delivering lectures, liaising with partners and project management. In addition to this she is our go-to liaison for arriving students and researchers, and will likely be the first welcoming face that greets you at IMR!

Espen grew up in Marietta, Georgia, United States (~275 miles from the nearest ocean). From a very young age he knew he wanted to be a marine biologist drawing inspiration from Sir David Attenborough and Steve Irwin while exploring any marine related work he could find from scuba diving and working at an aquarium to working on the assembly line as a yacht factory. Espen went on to complete his Bachelors at the Wake Forest University where he also completed his MSc in Biology. His thesis research studied the abundance, biomass, and community composition of roving herbivorous fish across reef zones and habitats at Lighthouse Reef Atoll, Belize. During this research, Espen fell even more in love with the wonder and beauty of the marine world and went as far as to develop and build his own stereo-video camera rig and calibration cube.

Corey is a Marine Scientist and PADI Dive Master with extensive experience in marine conservation and ecology. Holding a Bachelor's degree in Ecology and Wildlife Conservation from Bournemouth University, Corey has contributed to significant research, including a dissertation on fish community differences between artificial structures and natural reefs in Poole Bay, South England. Corey has logged over 300 dives, guiding scientific and recreational dives at Barefoot Conservation in Raja Ampat, West Papua, where they also led a cyanobacteria monitoring project, provided lectures and training, and participated in coral ecology and manta ray identification projects. Additionally, Corey has been involved in reef restoration projects in North Bali, constructing artificial structures to promote biodiversity and assessing recruitment success through biodiversity surveys. In addition to their scientific endeavors, Corey has worked as an Indoor Skydive Instructor at IFLY Basingstoke. Corey is also committed to charity work, having volunteered with organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Breast Cancer NI.

Berlinda is one of Instructor Development Philippines’ in-house Platinum Course Directors as well as IDC Coordinator. Originally from Holland she first came to Dauin in 2012 during her trip around the world to complete her Divemaster Course. After a stint working as a Divemaster in other areas around the country and a brief return visit home she then came back and completed her Instructor Course in Dauin in 2013 and spent the following years working towards her Course Director.

B, as she is referred to, offers courses in Dutch and English and especially enjoys teaching Divemaster Courses, Project AWARE programs and of course IDC’s.

James comes from Sydney, Australia where he learnt to dive in cool temperate reefs, but with a family history of tropical diving and roots in the Fiji Islands, he was inspired to study marine biology at James Cook University, right in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef.
While completing his degree, James gained experience volunteering for NGO’s like Coral Sea Foundation, assisting in spawning experiments at the Australian Institute of Marine Science and interning at Orpheus Island Research Station.
Since completing his degree, James has continued diving throughout Australia’s east coast, the Fiji Islands, Thailand, and also completed his PADI Divemaster internship in Seychelles Outer Islands. Although he has a passion for coral biology and ecology, James spent a year researching microplastics at the University of Technology, Sydney and has recently published his findings in an academic journal.