Making the world a better place has been the main driving force throughout my entire life, especially when it comes to animals and the environment.I was always the kid who was picking up worms off the sidewalk to put them back on the grass, picking up garbage in the streets and yelling at my brother for harassing the terrified little crabs on the beach. Little did I know that my purpose to make the world a better place would lead to a career in marine biology. After all, I get seasick and am a horrible swimmer. Why on earth would I ever voluntarily spend weeks at a time on boats to study whales or get to my study sites?!It turns out that passion and purpose can help us overcome even the biggest challenges...and I'm so happy I persevered. My career as a marine biologist has taken me around the world, including Antarctica, Alaska, Hawaii, New Zealand, and my beautiful home, BC. I've worked for various governments, universities, non-profits, and mining and gas industries. My research mainly focuses on studying threatened species...what's causing their decline and how to minimize those impacts. I've had the fortune to study amazing animals like whales, dolphins, sea lions, penguins, and many other critters in some of the most beautiful, remote places in the world.We're living in a world where all we hear are bad news stories about the environment and it's so easy to get overwhelmed and think "there's nothing I can do to help". I believe so strongly in the power of individual action to create positive change that I started Sea Smart. We are a charity whose mission is to inspire and empower people to love and protect our oceans...especially kids.I'm so thrilled to share my passion for ocean conservation and work with Sea Smart to get youth excited about our oceans and empower them to be environmental champions! Sea Smart has been powering big waves of change. Since 2016, we've taught over 45,000 people through in-person programs and over 1,000,000 students in over 30 countries with our free online educator resources.Connect with me or check www.seasmartschool.com to find out how you can get involved to power waves of change around the world!