Kartik Shanker was inspired to a career in ecology by an ancient reptile, a sea turtle that crawled ashore late one night in Madras. As faculty at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, he indulges his fascination for ecology and evolution, working with students on frogs, reptiles, birds, plants and marine fauna. He is also a founding trustee of Dakshin Foundation, founding editor of the magazine, Current Conservation and author of the book From Soup to Superstar, a historical account of sea turtle conservation in India. In his spare time, he seeks to distract young minds from more serious pursuits with books such as Turtle Story, Moonlight in the Sea, and Lori’s Magical Mystery.

Suneha is an independent marine biologist and a Research Affiliate with Dakshin Foundation, where she coordinates the ReefLog program. She regularly consults with tourism companies to incorporate conservation ethos in sustainable tourism and adventure sport education. She holds an MSc in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems from the EU-funded Erasmus Mundus program, and a BSc in Zoology from Stella Maris College. She works on marine habitat restoration and marine education programmes across the South Indian coastline. An avid SCUBA diver and kayaker, Suneha spends much of her free time in the ocean and by the beach with her dog Kadal.

From a young age, Manini was inclined towards photography, nature and beauty as it is found in the everyday. Studying in Srishti and her experience while working as a photographer and designer further honed her skills. She started learning and loving the art of visual communication.

Manini's present role at Dakshin and Current Conservation as Art Editor allows her to effectively combine her design and visual communication skills with her passion for the natural world and its conservation. Design for change is something she truly believes in, as information, when communicated easily, can make a huge difference.

Naveen Namboothri is a founder trustee of Dakshin Foundation and currently serves as its Director. Trained as marine biologist, he has worked in diverse coastal, marine and island systems across India. His engagement cuts across regional, national and local agencies including government and non-government sectors. He heads the Sustainable fisheries programme and oversees the establishment and implementation of several marine conservation projects at Dakshin’s field sites such as the community-led fisheries management in the Lakshadweep and the long-term monitoring of coral reef ecosystems in the Andamans.

Mahima Jaini has a masters in marine biology from the University of Maine, USA. Originally, from New Delhi, she’s had the pleasure of conducting research in the Indian Ocean, North Atlantic, Caribbean and South Pacific Oceans. Her projects span primary research regarding invertebrate recruitment and plankton ecology, to community-based citizen science interventions. She worked with Dakshin Foundation on their Biodiversity and Resource Monitoring Program from 2011 to 2016. There she helped initiate the Lakshadweep community-based fisheries monitoring program. She also laid the groundwork for the Andaman chapter of REEF LOG that was first attempted in 2015, with support from the PADI Foundation.

Tanmay is a marine biologist researching coastal and marine systems in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Over the last few years, he has been part of projects ranging from dugongs and turtles to coral reef ecology and elasmobranch fisheries. His broad research interests are in understanding coral reef ecology, patterns of island reef fisheries and integrating local knowledge and community participation into fisheries management efforts. Apart from this, he also enjoys going for intertidal walks and being part of science outreach. Presently, he is working as the Project Coordinator of the Marine theme of the Long Term Ecological Observatories Programme at Dakshin Foundation, Bengaluru.

Mariam is one of India’s most experienced female scuba diving instructors and has made her home in the Andamans. Mariam wanted to become a marine biologist when she was young, but life had other plans for her. In 2012, Mariam decided that she was going to leave the city and move to the Andamans. She had no prior experience as a diver and very minimal knowledge on the subject, but eight years down the road, she is an established diving Instructor and is part of the SSI India team. She mostly works with locals in the Andamans facilitating for them to become dive professionals. She is slowly moving away from teaching to concentrate on sustainable living and development on the islands will soon start work with her husband on their home and land in the Andamans where they want to work more with the locals. With her vast network in India’s dive industry, Mariam is part of the SSI India team to bring ReefLog to dive centres across the country.

Rahul is one of India’s most experienced scuba diving instructors. He started diving in New Zealand while doing an MSc. in Marine Biology and Ecology and since then, he has accumulated 12 years of diving experience and has been teaching diving for 10 of those. His affinity to the water has always seen him work within close proximity of the ocean. Using his expertise in dive education, Rahul aids in the development of ReefLog as a practical tool for dive companies.