Simon is a physical oceanographer from Brittany, France, now based in New Zealand. With over 15 years of experience modeling and analyzing both coastal and open-ocean environments, he has a particular interest in ocean frontal systems and their connections to ecosystems. Driven by a deep passion for the ocean, Simon is committed to bridging the worlds of diverse ocean “users” and ocean science. He has served as a scientific advisor for citizen science projects, focusing on collecting ocean and environmental data from offshore racing yachts such as The Ocean Race. He is now supporting Citizens of the Sea in its effort to expand eDNA sampling across a broader fleet of “vessels of opportunity,” helping to unlock new ways for communities to contribute to ocean science.

Sally Carson is the Director of the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre at the University of Otago, where she leads nationally recognised initiatives in marine science education, citizen science, and community engagement. Sally's work focuses on intertidal ecology, informal science learning, and participatory environmental monitoring. She has been the driver behind number of community education initiatives including the Aquavan and Marine Metre Squared, a national citizen science project on long term monitoring of the NZ seashore. She is currently leading outreach for Coastal People: Southern Skies, a National Centre for Research Excellence focused on connecting, understanding and restoring coastal ecosystems through research, local action and new pathways to learning. She has co-authored many publications and educational resources advancing marine conservation through collaborative science.

Dr. Kathryn Mengerink leads a team of ocean experts in developing and implementing blue prosperity programs, including marine spatial planning and blue economy projects. She works in partnership with governments, NGOs, and ocean experts across the globe. Kathryn brings more than 20 years of ocean expertise to her work combining marine science, law and policy to inform decision making. 

Previously, she founded and led the Environmental Law Institute’s Ocean Program for ten years. Under her leadership, the Ocean Program launched a number of law and policy projects related to ecosystem-based ocean management, marine spatial planning, fisheries management and enforcement, ocean and coastal restoration, marine protection, deep seabed mining and more. During this time, Kathryn also served as a lecturer at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and an advisor to its Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation. 

Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Texas A&M University, Ph.D. in Marine Biology from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a J.D. with a certificate in Environmental Law from University of California, Berkeley. 

Andrew E. Allen is a joint professor of microbial oceanography and ecology in both the Integrative Oceanography Division at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, and the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI). He received his Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Georgia in 2002. After several years as a postdoctoral scholar at Princeton University and at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, France, he joined the faculty at JCVI 2007. In 2013 he assumed a faculty position at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego.

Dr Alaric McCarthy is a social-ecological scientist at the Cawthron Institute with a keen interest in the complex relationships between people and their environment. His work focuses on coastal resources, food systems, and management within the New Zealand and Pacific contexts. He is passionate about advancing the sustainability of these systems, providing tools for improved decision-making, and strengthening social resilience. Alaric adopts social research tools - including participatory action research, community-based research and behavioural studies through surveys and interviews - to help communities, industry and decision-makers plan for change and achieve better social and environmental outcomes. He currently leads interdisciplinary work enabling Pacific communities to transform their food systems through adaptation pathways planning, making them more climate-compatible, self-sustaining and culturally aligned. In New Zealand, his work also includes exploring freshwater values and management strategies, and applying adaptive governance approaches to marine biosecurity.

James Davis Reimer's research focuses on the biodiversity of understudied marine invertebrate groups (so-called "minor taxa"), primarily benthic cnidarians including zoantharians and their endosymbionts, as well as octocorals, from shallow tropical coral reefs to the deep sea. Recent research has also examined the impact of coastal development on marine diversity and ecosystems. Since 2007, he has been based at the University of the Ryukyus, where he is currently an Associate Professor.
In 2015, he was awarded the Okinawa Research Prize for science contributing to the well-being and understanding of the Ryukyu Islands.

Marcelle Ayad is a molecular ecologist specialising in environmental DNA (eDNA) at OceanOmics, Minderoo Foundation in Perth, Western Australia. Her role spans scaling eDNA sample collection through novel instrumentation, building capacity with partners and citizen science programs, and developing molecular methods and workflows to extract more information from eDNA datasets. Marcelle has led and supported major field efforts, including thousands of samples collected along Australia’s south-west coastline and campaigns at the Indian Ocean Territories, contributing significantly to a collaboration with Parks Australia that aims to integrate eDNA data into marine park monitoring and conservation.