About SEE Turtles

Going beyond the ecotourism mantra of "leave only footprints", SEE Turtles suggests that tourists should make a positive impact through conservation tourism. Conservation tourism supports communities protecting sea turtles by increasing the income needed for local conservation efforts, providing economic alternatives to end their threats and inspiring travelers to take a more active role in their protection.

SEE Turtles is a conservation tourism project that links people with turtle sites in ways that directly support protection efforts, while increasing resources in communities to help residents thrive and value sea turtles in their environment.  SEE Turtles is a project of The Ocean Foundation. 

SEE Turtles Staff

Dr. Wallace J. Nichols: Co-founder

Dr. Nichols has been a leading ocean conservationist for 15 years. He is a Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciences, former President of the International Sea Turtle Society, and Eastern Pacific co-chair for the IUCN’s Marine Turtle Specialists Group. He co-founded Ocean Revolution and WiLDCOAST, two international advocacy groups, as well as the Grupo Tortuguero, an award-winning coalition of fishermen, local residents, and conservationists spanning Mexico’s Pacific coast. Dr. Nichols was a Fulbright Fellow, a Bradley Fellow at Duke University, and is a member of numerous advisory boards including Oceana, Sea Turtle Restoration Project, and Save Our Shores. Dr. Nichols has a PhD in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Arizona, an MEM from Duke University, and BS in Biology from DePauw University. Check out his blog here.

Brad Nahill: Marketing Director & Co-Founder

Brad has worked in sea turtle conservation and ecotourism for 10 years. While living in Costa Rica, he worked with four sea turtle nesting beaches and worked with or consulted for several ecotourism companies, including EcoTeach and Costa Rican Adventures. He helped to found the EcoTeach Foundation and worked with Rare on a project building community-based ecotourism enterprises in World Heritage sites. A co-founder of SEE Turtles, he leads marketing efforts, including working with tour operators, giving educational presentations, fundraising, and developing promotional materials.  Brad has a BS in Environmental Economics from Pennsylvania State University and is currently pursuing a Certificate in Sustainable Tourism Management from George Washington University.

Chris Pesenti: Field Director

Chris co-founded Pro Peninsula in 2001 in an effort to strengthen the conservation movement throughout the Baja California peninsula. Chris has played in instrumental role in launching grassroots conservation groups in Loreto, Magdalena Bay, Cabo Pulmo, La Paz, and Cabo San Lucas that address water quality, fisheries issues, and mangrove, sea turtle, and coral reef protection. Along the way he has fostered the development of a new generation of conservation professionals, and an expansion of the Waterkeeper Alliance throughout Mexico. In 2007, Chris launched the Conservation Tourism program (now part of SEE Turtles), in partnership with the Grupo Tortuguero. Chris has a BA in International Affairs from the University of Colorado, and a Master’s of Pacific International Affairs from UCSD’s Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies. His role in SEE Turtles includes developing and maintaining community relations, and on the ground capacity building.

Paula von Weller: Research Associate

Paula has worked on protected species projects for the past 9 years. Her work has focused primarily on marine mammal and sea turtle field research for environmental consulting firms, government agencies, and conservation groups. Her fieldwork has taken her to Alaska, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the Arctic, Australia, and across the Gulf Coast and Southeastern United States. She has worked on sea turtle nesting beaches in Florida and South Carolina, surveyed for turtles in the Gulf of Mexico, and assisted sea turtle facilities in rescue and rehabilitation. She has a BS in Biological Sciences from Portland State University. Paula is working for SEE Turtles as a Research Associate to support public outreach, build the website as a resource for turtle watching, guide research participants to partner project sites, and to research species and areas for project expansion.

Neil Ever Osborne: Media Advisor and Principal Photographer, NEO Photography

Neil blends his backgrounds in biological sciences (BS - Conservation Biology from Trent University) and visual communication (MA - Visual Communication from Ohio University) with the goal of sharing images and stories about international conservation efforts while advocating for the preservation of endangered species and threatened habitats. Previously, Neil worked in his native town of Toronto, Ontario, Canada as a biologist with the Ministry of Natural Resources establishing conservation projects on amphibians and reptiles and in Costa Rica for the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, where he was involved in monitoring sea turtles. He has helped to develop the SEE Turtles concept and bring the project to fruition. Neil is the principal photographer and a media consultant for the SEE Turtles Project, as well as a member of the project’s Advisory Board.

Zander Srodes: Education Program Intern

Zander is an award-winning environmental educator who has taught hundreds of students about sea turtle conservation. Starting at age 11, he developed a turtle activity book that has now been translated into 4 languages and has reached more than 150,000 kids in ten countries. He has fundraised for Mote Marine Lab and visited numerous turtle conservation sites including Costa Rica, Trinidad, Mexico, Panama and several near his home in Florida. He has won a Brower Youth Award, a Blue Vision Award, Presidential Environmental Youth Award, and a Volvo for Life Award. Zander is currently a freshman at Santa Fe College in Florida.