Shark Stanley Ambassadors
We are grateful for the support of our Shark Stanley Ambassadors, who are role models from around the world in the fields of conservation, science, and politics!
Click the photos to learn more about them and read our interviews with each ambassador
Dr. Sylvia Earle, called "Her Deepness" by the New Yorker and the New York Times, "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress and "Hero for the Planet" by Time, is an oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer with a deep commitment to research through personal exploration. Sylvia Earle is a dedicated advocate for the world's oceans and the creatures that live in them. Her voice speaks with wonder and amazement at the glory of the oceans and with urgency to awaken the public from its ignorance about the role the oceans plays in all of our lives and the importance of maintaining their health.
Dr. Carl Safina
Dr. Carl Safina is founding president of Blue Ocean Institute. Audubon magazine named him among the leading 100 conservationists of the 20th Century. His award-winning books include Song for the Blue Ocean and Voyage of the Turtle, and he’s been profiled by the New York Times, Nightline, and Bill Moyers. His awards include a Pew Fellowship, the John Burroughs Medal, Guggenheim Fellowship, and a MacArthur Prize, among others.
Rob Stewart
Rob Stewart is an award winning wildlife photographer, filmmaker, conservationist and educator from Canada. Rob studied biology and photography at schools in Jamaica, Kenya, Ontario and New York. Stewart produced, directed and starred in the award-winning film, Sharkwater. His photography and cinematography has appeared in media around the world including BBC Wildlife, Discovery Channel, ABC, Asian Diver, and Entertainment Tonight.
Dr. Callum Roberts
Professor Callum Roberts is a marine conservation biologist at the University of York. Professor Roberts's research focuses on human impacts on marine ecosystems. While his interests in marine conservation have blossomed over the years, his field research remains firmly rooted on coral reefs. On the islands of St. Lucia and Saba in the Caribbean, he has studied the effects of marine reserves closed to all fishing. Those studies revealed both the huge scale of human impacts on the sea, and the means of protecting marine ecosystems from such effects. He is now working to gain acceptance for marine reserves more widely, including in Britain and Europe where he is helping fishers to promote the concept within the industry and to politicians.
Achmat Hassiem
Achmat Hassiem lost a leg in 2006 during an encounter with a great white shark while he and his brother were training to be lifeguards. As Achmat distracted the animal so his brother could get into a boat, the shark attacked, dragging him underwater. Hassiem's brother grabbed his outstretched arm and hauled him aboard the boat to safety. Undaunted by his injury and fitted with a prosthetic, Hassiem swam in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and won a bronze medal at the 2012 London games. He has set numerous national swimming records in his native South Africa and in Africa and is the world champion for the Paralympics 200-meter butterfly.
Dr. Samuel "Doc" Gruber
Dr. Gruber is the founder and director of the Bimini Biological Field Station, Bimini, The Bahamas. "Doc," as he is known by his students, is a recognized authority of shark behavior. He is a longtime member of numerous professional societies and founded the American Elasmobranch Society in 1983. "Doc" founded the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) Shark Specialist Group and was its Chairperson between 1991 and 1996.
Youth Ambassadors
Our Youth Ambassadors are directly involved in the education and outreach of sharks and Shark Stanley with children all over the world!
Dahlia Hassell was raised on the small Dutch Caribbean island of Saba. From childhood, she participated in the after school environmental awareness programs of the Saba Conservation Foundation, where she developed her passion for protecting nature. In college, she majored in Biology and then returned to Saba to work as a Saba Bank Park Officer where she continues to help preserve the underwater environment.
Jillian Morris is the founder and president of Sharks4Kids, a shark education organization based in Florida. She has a behavioral biology degree and is a professional videographer and photographer who spends most of her time on the island of Bimini, The Bahamas swimming with sharks, and spreading the word about sharks.
Anna Oposa is the co-founder and "Chief Mermaid" of Save Philippine Seas. She's the Project Director and Founder of the Shark Shelter Project, which aims to protect thresher sharks and other coastal and marine resources of Daanbantayan, Cebu, and the Sea and Earth Advocates Camp, a project to empower young Filipinos to play leadership roles in marine conservation. Anna is currently taking her MSc in Conservation Science at Imperial College London through the Chevening scholarship.
Joseph Casila - Guam
Joseph was born on Guam, raised in the Philippines, went back to Guam, and has now lived back on island for the last 12 years. He's always enjoyed solving problems, so for the past year (after taking marine biology at George Washington High School), he's been working to solve the problem of Guam not being a shark sanctuary.
Tina Randall - Turks & Caicos Islands
Tina Randall is our second Youth Ambassador from the Caribbean. She lives in the Turks and Caicos Islands where she works on a family farm with just about every animal you can imagine, but her favorite animal is Shark Stanley. Tina’s favorite activities include getting kids riled up for shark conservation, diving with Shark Stanley and dressing up in a shark mascot costume and twerking like a tiger shark.