I still remember my rush of euphoria the first time I saw a coral reef, a curious new universe unfolding before me.

It was the summer of 2006, and I was on my first scuba diving experience in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. 

Growing up in Canada, I’d never seen a coral or spent any time in the tropics. Instead, every summer, my family and I would plant and harvest a veggie garden in Saskatchewan.

As we rounded the last boulder of the dive, I set my eyes on an A-frame coral nursery, covered in branches of Acropora coral. This novel technique of “growing corals like a garden underwater” was a lightbulb moment that sparked my journey to protect corals and inspire others to look closer at coral diversity.

From that moment forward, I worked in the professional dive industry, followed by work in marine coral conservation. 

Over the past decade, I’ve also worked as a content creator for both digital and print formats.