October speaker
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
I know it’s early, but I’m very excited about October’s speaker,
and wanted to get a head start in announcing her.
Holly Lohuis, Expedition Team member and Education Associate
Holly is a member of the Ocean Futures Society expedition team and an Education Associate. She is also a marine biologist and naturalist, with expertise in both coral reef and Channel Islands ecology. Her petite size and gentle demeanor belies her strength of character and diving prowess; she can out swim and outlast most of the divers on the team. This is due to her daily ritual of lap swimming and conditioning for triathlons.
With a degree in marine biology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Holly has educated thousands of children about the wonders of the marine world and the need to protect them. A natural-born teacher, she is always thrilled to experience the excitement on young people’s faces when seeing their first whales or dolphins. She enjoys witnessing the students’ sense of discovery when landing on an isolated island and exploring its unique flora and fauna for the very first time.
Holly has been a part of Jean-Michel Cousteau’s team for more than a decade, traveling on cruise ships, conducting interactive live-dive underwater broadcasts from remote regions around the world. Her travels have taken her to the cold waters of Alaska, to the clear waters of the South Pacific, and the pristine reefs of the Indian Ocean. But her most memorable and gratifying experience was being able to teach local Fijians the beauty and fragility of their coral reefs while working as the resident marine biologist at the Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort.
Holly and her husband Derek make their home in the foothills of Carpinteria, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. She is the proud owner of “Rosalia,” one of several dogs that roam the Ocean Futures office. Holly is also a loyal member of the OFS Wednesday night knitting group!
http://www.oceanfutures.org/
