Ocean Born Foundation has 6 new ambassadors!
Meet the Ocean Born Foundation Ambassadors: People Who Live for the Ocean
The ocean connects us all, but for some people, that connection runs especially deep. Our ambassadors are divers, scientists, photographers, sailors, conservationists and storytellers who have built their lives around the sea. Each brings a different perspective, skill set and story, but they share the same belief: that protecting the ocean starts with helping people understand, experience and fall in love with it.
We’re incredibly proud and grateful to have this growing group of passionate ocean advocates as part of the Ocean Born Foundation family. Each is helping us bring the ocean closer to more communities and inspire action to protect it.
Vetea Liao
Vetea Liao is a diver, underwater photographer and marine conservationist whose life is deeply connected to the ocean. With a strong connection to his Polynesian heritage, Vetea brings together traditional knowledge, modern conservation and visual storytelling to create a deeper understanding of the marine world.
Through his photography and work both above and below the surface, he captures the beauty of marine life while encouraging people to think about their relationship with the ocean. His passion is not simply about exploring the sea, but about helping others understand why it deserves to be protected for generations to come.
Michelle Whalley
Michelle Whalley has already been a passionate supporter of the Ocean Born Foundation long before officially becoming one of our ambassadors. Through her organisation, Ocean Angel, she has become an important part of the local ocean conservation community in the Canary Islands.
Ocean Angel won our community vote for local project funding, and since then Michelle has continued to support our work, share our mission and help us connect with people across the islands who care deeply about the ocean.
Her work is rooted in community, conservation and a genuine love for the sea. She understands that protecting the ocean isn't something that happens from a distance. It happens through people coming together, sharing knowledge and taking action locally.
Chrissie van Royen
Chrissie van Royen has built her life around the sea. She is a skipper, surfer, water rescue volunteer and co-founder of BÄMboats, a media studio created for people who live and work on the water.
With a sharp eye for beauty, storytelling and design, Chrissie uses her creative work to capture what makes life connected to the ocean so special. But her relationship with the sea goes beyond aesthetics. It is about community, adventure, responsibility and a deep appreciation for the environment.
Through her lens and her work on the water, Chrissie tells stories that remind people why the ocean matters and why protecting it should be part of the way we experience it.
Fabrice Jaine, PhD
Fabrice Jaine is a marine scientist, conservationist and specialist in sharks and rays. His career has focused on understanding some of the ocean's most important and misunderstood animals and helping turn scientific knowledge into meaningful conservation action.
His work combines research, education and collaboration to better understand marine ecosystems and the pressures facing them. Through science, Fabrice helps reveal the complexity of the ocean while showing why protecting its species and habitats is essential.
His passion demonstrates that conservation is not only about protecting what we love, but also about understanding the ecosystems that sustain life beneath the surface.
Jan Poguntke
Known to many as the Bearded Sailor, Jan Poguntke has created a life deeply connected to sailing and the ocean. Through regattas, sailing journeys and ocean events, he has built a community around the people, places and experiences that make life at sea so powerful.
Working with sailing brands and companies, Jan helps bring greater visibility to ocean culture and the stories of the people who spend their lives on the water. His work celebrates the freedom and connection that the ocean can create while helping more people discover the importance of protecting it.
For Jan, the ocean isn't simply somewhere to visit. It is a place to live, explore, connect and learn.
Katy Schweigler
Katy is a passionate diver and underwater photographer with a particular talent for capturing the smaller, often overlooked side of the marine world through underwater macrophotography.
Her work invites people to slow down and look closer. Beneath the surface is an entire world of tiny creatures, intricate ecosystems and incredible details that can easily go unnoticed. By sharing these moments, Katy helps show just how much there is to discover beneath the waves.
Her passion for diving and underwater photography reflects something we strongly believe at Ocean Born Foundation: the more we understand and appreciate the ocean, the more likely we are to want to protect it.
One Ocean, Many Stories
Our ambassadors come from different backgrounds and bring different experiences to the ocean. A scientist studies sharks and rays. A photographer captures life beneath the surface. A sailor shares the culture of life at sea. A conservationist builds connections within local communities. A diver reveals the hidden beauty of underwater ecosystems.
But underneath all of those different stories is the same thing: a genuine passion for the ocean and a desire to protect it.
That is what makes the Ocean Born Foundation ambassador community so special. We believe conservation needs science, storytelling, creativity, community and people who are willing to share their connection with the sea.
Together, our ambassadors help us inspire more people to discover the ocean, understand what is at stake and become part of protecting it.
The ocean has given us so much. Now it’s our turn to give something back.