Our Advisors, Fellows, and Interns

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Ecology

  • Ecology and Monitoring Fellow | Florida

    Michelle Baptist is ORAI’s Lead Scientist, based in Miami, FL. She has been working to build ORAI’s artificial reef monitoring program by carrying out scientific research and leading dive operations in the field in partnership with The International SeaKeepers. Her background specializes in coral reef ecology, science communication, and protected marine resource management. She received her Master of Professional Science (MPS) degree in marine conservation from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School and her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies with a concentration in advocacy and minor in marine studies from the University of Delaware. Her Master’s work in collaboration with NOAA AOML’s Experimental Reef Lab focused on confirmed Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) transmission in ballast water. After graduate school, Michelle worked from 2022-2024 as a Reef Injury Prevention and Response Specialist at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. She focused on coral reef injury assessments, completed coral surveys as a scientific diver, and promoted safe anchoring practices through local outreach to fishing and boating stakeholders in Southeast Florida. Michelle has also worked internationally as a Marine Analyst onboard a research cruise in the Red Sea to conduct coral identification and benthic surveys using glider technology. In addition to ORAI, she currently creates digital coral conservation and Reefbites blog content as a member of the International Coral Reef Society Student and Early Career Chapter (ICRS-SECC). She is most interested in marine science and policy, coral restoration, and climate justice!

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  • Intern, Ecology | Cuba

    Asiel Cabreta Guerrero is a specialist in marine interactions and marine habitat modeling (SDM with R), with expertise in quantitative ecology applied to Caribbean coastal ecosystem conservation. His research analyzes trophic dynamics and epiphytism, providing scientific foundations for coral, mangrove, and seagrass restoration. As a professor at Universidad de Oriente, his work focuses on scaling restoration solutions that connect communities with ocean conservation through interdisciplinary approaches.

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Economics

  • Economics Team Lead , Economics | Florida

    Emily Geier grew up near Chicago, Illinois and  earned her undergraduate degree in Marine Biology from the University of Oregon. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Professional Science in Marine Conservation at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science. Her academic interests have included the study of marine invertebrates off the Oregon continental shelf and coral skeleton accretion. Currently, Emily is completing an internship with Ocean Rescue Alliance International where she is aiming to understand the economic impacts of artificial reefs off the coast of Hollywood, Florida.

  • Economics | Florida

    A Colombian biologist currently pursuing a Master of Professional Science in Marine Conservation at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science. She holds a B.Sc. in Biology with a Minor in Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences from Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.

    Her academic and professional interests focus on environmental law and policy, natural resource economics, biodiversity conservation, and the connection between science and community engagement. Camila is especially interested in translating conservation outcomes into clear, accessible information that can support decision-making, public understanding, funding strategies, and long-term environmental stewardship.

    Camila has experience in environmental education, coastal community outreach, sustainability programming, and marine field research in both the Colombian Caribbean and Pacific. Her previous work includes marine mammal care and monitoring, marine biodiversity research, community-based environmental education, and support for coastal resilience and habitat restoration initiatives. At ORAI, she hopes to contribute to projects that connect reef restoration, economic valuation, and community impact in ways that make marine conservation more understandable, inclusive, and actionable.

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  • Intern, Economics | Virgina

    Litic Murali joins ORAI as a Social Scientist Intern, bringing a unique interdisciplinary background in ecological economics and quantitative policy analysis to the artificial reef value assessment project. Growing up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., he grew to appreciate the complex relationships between economic systems and environmental conservation, a parallel development to his mainstream economics formative education and training. This culminated in his recently completed Master of Science in Ecological Economics at the University of Leeds, where his dissertation research focused on fiscal mechanisms for protecting biodiversity against development pressures.

    Litic brings over six years of professional experience in economic analysis and policy research, having served as an Economist with the National Association of Home Builders, where his housing market analyses and commentary were cited by home building organizations and featured in local news outlets nationwide. He first realized his passion for regional economic analysis and impact assessment while working with the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, where he conducted pioneering input-output analysis modeling the economic transition of Virginia’s tobacco industry, contributing to understanding regional economic diversification strategies.

    As part of his graduate training in ecological economics, Litic has developed specialized expertise in system dynamics modeling of social-ecological systems, with particular focus on coastal fishery communities and their economic interactions. His dissertation research on land value taxation mechanisms for ecosystem service protection demonstrates his ability to bridge economic policy analysis with environmental conservation goals. He is skilled in advanced statistical analysis using STATA, Python, and Vensim, and has experience with survey design, environmental cost-benefit analysis, and environmentally-extended input-output modeling.

    Litic is excited to apply rigorous economic analysis to ecosystem services valuation and is particularly interested in how restoration projects like artificial reefs can generate measurable social and economic benefits for coastal communities. Through this internship, he aims to contribute to the growing scientific understanding of the economic and social value of marine restoration while developing expertise in coastal tourism economics and community impact assessment.

  • Environmental Economics Advisor, Economics | Colombia

    Julian is an environmental economics leader advisor with over 15 years of professional experience in marine ecosystems, with focus in economic valuation, climate change adaptation, and restoration strategy. He specializes in designing and performing environmental and ecological methods for ecosystem services valuation, with a framework on implementing Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) to support coastal resilience, people´s wellbeing, nature conservation, policy, investment, and community-led restoration and sustainable management in vulnerable coastal and island territories.

    He holds a PhD in Marine Biology (Universidad Nacional de Colombia Caribbean Headquarters, 2024. Corporation Centre of Excellence in Marine Science-CEMarin PhD scholarship, Colciencias-Minciencias National PhD schollarship), awarded with honors for his interdisciplinary research on coral reef complexity and ecosystem services in the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve. His valuation work integrates marine ecology, oceanography, and non- market economic methods, developed through international collaborations with UNC Wilmington (Fulbright Scholar) and AIMS Australia (Australian Academy of Sciences PhD Schollar).

    ulian has authored two economic valuation books for the Colombian Ocean Commission and published peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in international journals and edited volumes. His consultancy expertise includes project formulation, stakeholder engagement, economic valuation, cost benefit analyses and strategic environmental planning, successfully securing funding for over seven national and international initiatives. In roles such as Head of Marine Restoration at INVEMAR and Coordinator at UNAL Caribbean for marine ecosystems restoration protocols construction, he led multi-institutional teams and co-developed culturally inclusive restoration protocols with Raizal communities. Julian offers proven leadership in interdisciplinary and multicultural settings, with strong communication skills across technical, policy, and creative formats. His consultancy services support governments, NGOs, and research institutions in advancing blue economy strategies, climate resilience, and equitable conservation.

Hydrodynamics

  • Hydrodynamics Team Lead | Sydney, Australia

    Spencer developed a deep connection to the ocean while studying at San Diego State University, which ultimately shaped her academic and professional path in marine science. She completed a Master’s degree in Marine Science in Australia, where her coursework and research focused on coastal processes, coral reef systems, and the physical drivers that influence reef health. Her thesis explored the relationship between coral cover and wave dynamics, integrating spatial data, wave height, and direction to better understand how hydrodynamic forcing impacts reef ecosystems, particularly during storm events.

    Through her graduate work, Spencer gained experience working with geospatial datasets, environmental modeling outputs, and data visualization to communicate complex physical–biological interactions. Her interests sit at the intersection of hydrodynamics and reef ecology, with a strong emphasis on applied science that can inform conservation, coastal resilience, and management decisions.

    As an intern, Spencer is excited to contribute her background in reef systems and wave-driven processes to collaborative research efforts focused on understanding and optimizing coastal and reef-based solutions. She is particularly interested in applying hydrodynamic insights to support the design and evaluation of artificial reefs and nature-based coastal protection strategies.

  • Hydrodynamics

    Yasmine El-Messary is a coastal engineer specializing in numerical modelling of waves and coastal

    flooding. She holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from Cairo University, Faculty of Engineering, Water and

    Environmental Engineering Department, and an Erasmus Mundus MSc in Coastal Hazards, Risks, Climate

    Change Impacts and Adaptation (COASTHazar), delivered jointly by IHE Delft, the University of Cantabria,

    and the University of Algarve. Her MSc research simulated wave-driven flooding on steep reef-lined

    coasts using SFINCS-SnapWave, developed at Deltares. At Ocean Rescue Alliance International she

    models how the Hollywood artificial reefs affect wave transmission and shoreline change.

  • Hydrodynamics

    Claire holds an M.S. in Climate Science and Engineering from Northeastern University,

    where she focused on coastal resilience, nearshore hydrodynamics, and nature-based

    solution strategies for climate adaptation. For her master’s project, she used numerical

    modeling to simulate wave attenuation by artificial oyster reef breakwaters in Louisiana

    and quantified the reduction in annual marsh erosion rates achieved by the structures. She

    also has research experience using empirical models to predict nutrient concentrations,

    alkalinity, and dissolved inorganic carbon off the coast of Brazil to help address

    oceanographic data gaps in the South Atlantic. Claire’s skills beyond numerical modeling

    include data processing and visualization, programming, and geospatial analysis. Her

    background also includes environmental policy, international affairs, and three years of

    environmental economics consulting experience.

    Growing up in Southern California, Claire developed a passion for the ocean at an early age

    and is excited to combine this interest with her hydrodynamic modeling skills at ORAI to

    help advance marine restoration and coastal protection efforts. In her free time, she enjoys

    reading, traveling, and any activities that allow her to spend time outdoors, including

    hiking, diving, and skiing.

Photogrammatry & Impact Reporting

  • Photogrammetry Team Lead | Florida

    David Liddle is ORAI’s Photogrammetry and Science Communication Team Lead. He recently completed his Master of Environmental Management (MEM) degree at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, where he specialized in coastal and marine science and earned a certificate in geospatial analysis.

    His master’s research, conducted in collaboration with NOAA’s Mission: Iconic Reefs initiative, focused on developing population models for endangered coral species using large-area imagery. By integrating growth, survivorship, and recruitment data into demographic forecasting models, his work supported efforts to predict reef recovery and inform restoration strategies in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

    Before graduate school, David worked as an environmental consultant, which provided him with a strong foundation in field investigations, regulatory compliance, and environmental management.

    At ORAI, David is leading the integration of photogrammetry into reef monitoring workflows, including the development of 3D models, time-series mapping tools, and interactive visualizations to support both ecological research and science communication. His broader interests center on coral reef restoration, applied ecological modeling, and the use of geospatial technologies to improve conservation decision-making.

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  • Intern, Impact Reporting | Florida

    …

  • Intern, Reef Monitoring | Florida

    Tyler Ball grew up in Princeton, West Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina. He earned his B.A. in Anthropology (Archaeology) from Marshall University in 2013 and his M.A. in Maritime Studies (Underwater Archaeology) from East Carolina University in 2019.

    During his career working as both a terrestrial and underwater archaeologist, Tyler gained experience surveying submerged cultural resources such as shipwreck sites and other structures used as artificial reefs. He is also passionate about sharks, marine conservation, underwater photography and diving.

    Tyler is interning with Ocean Rescue Alliance International where he will be assisting with research, grant writing, literature reviews, developing photogrammetry models of reef sites, and ecological monitoring of the recently deployed artificial reefs off the coast of Hollywood, Florida.

  • Intern, Photogrammetry and Monitoring

    Kimberly Bauer is a conservation biologist from Colorado with a background in Fish,

    Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, along with minors in Political Science and Zoology.

    She has experience in field research, wildlife monitoring, and ecological data collection

    across both terrestrial and marine systems. Kimberly has worked on projects involving

    species assessment, habitat monitoring, and applied conservation research, and she is

    especially interested in science-based restoration and community-informed

    conservation efforts. She is passionate about using research, technology, and

    collaboration to support long-term environmental sustainability.

Our People