Sea Turtle Biologist Laamu Atoll
Mikaela, grew up along the California coastline, interacting with the ocean and its inhabitants throughout her early life.
She completed her undergraduate degree in Biology at Lewis & Clark College in 2017, and then moved to Hawaii. Here she worked as a Marine Educator onboard ecotourism boats, and also conducted Photo-ID research on several cetacean species with the non-profit, Pacific Whale Foundation. With this experience, she felt motivated to continue working on research and education focusing on marine megafauna. She understood that the charismatic nature of these animals allowed for engaging and effective science communication across all demographics.
In 2020 when tourism was shut down and many research projects were suspended, Mikaela started volunteering with sea turtle organisations in Maui such as Hawaii Wildlife Foundation, where she monitored sea turtle nesting activities. She also spent her time helping out Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute (MOCMI), which ran rescue and rehabilitation operations for injured sea turtles. After some time, Mikaela transitioned to the role of Sea Turtle Technician at MOCMI. She worked here for almost two years, performing daily husbandry and wound care for all rehabilitation patients, managing datasets on the re-sightings of released turtles, and conducting basking surveys.
Mikaela then moved on to spend a couple of years pursuing work around the globe, such as conducting photo-identification and behaviour studies of humpback whales in Australia, apex and mesopredator BRUV surveys in Mozambique, coral health assessments in Hawaii, and seagrass coverage surveys in Sicily. During these travels, she continued to grow her water skillset and became a PADI Divemaster, AIDA free-diver, and USCG licensed boat captain.
Mikaela joined ORP as the Sea Turtle Biologist & Guest Educator at Six Sense Laamu, Maldives in November 2024. She hopes to use her cumulative knowledge to continue working towards the mission of protecting sea turtles and their habitats
