About
Us

Yohei Sasakawa is Chair of The Nippon Foundation, Japan’s largest charitable foundation. After 20 years in the business sector, Sasakawa joined the foundation in 1981, became President from 1989 and Chair since 2005. Mr Sasakawa’s leadership brings together entities from the political, governmental, academic, and private sectors in addressing a wide range of issues including health, education, food security and the ocean – the latter notably across ocean science, exploration, conservation, policy and maritime safety.

Mr. Mitsuyuki Unno is the Executive Director of The Nippon Foundation, Ocean Affairs Department, leading the various ocean related programs including Ocean Census, Seabed 2030 and others developing human capacity and new technologies in the maritime and ocean field. Mr. Unno works with various UN agencies, governments, academic institutions, businesses and civil society organisations around the world to address the complex global challenges facing our ocean today.

Oliver Steeds is the Director of Ocean Census and the Founder and Chief Executive of Nekton. Formerly he was a critically acclaimed broadcast journalist with ABC, NBC, Channel 4, Discovery Channel 4 and others. He is also co-founder of Encounter EDU including the Ocean’s Academy.

Alex is responsible for Ocean Census’ financial and operational management. After starting her career in practice she soon developed a taste for business and commerce and now has over thirty five years of finance experience spanning a wide variety of commercial organisations and industries, including advertising, publishing, retail, design, architecture, capital delivery within the UK water industry, and construction engineering. Since 2018 Alex has been looking after the financial and operational management of Nekton.

Tara is responsible for the day to day finance and administration. She assists the Head of Finance and Central Operations with all financial matters. She has over twenty years of finance experience in various organisations and industries including construction and education. Tara is a qualified Open Water Diver and is interested in developing her ability to explore and help protect our ocean. She enjoys a variety of extracurricular activities to include dance and music.

Dr. Lucy Woodall is an Associate Professor in Conservation Biology and Policy at the University of Exeter. She is a marine biologist with a passion for sharing the delights and importance of the aquatic world with global citizens. While her work broadly focuses on understanding the processes that drive biodiversity in the ocean, she is especially interested in the impacts of human activities on threatened species and remote ecosystems. Lucy is featured as one of Inverse’s FUTURE 50, profiling people who will shape the coming decade.

Verity Nye is a marine ecologist who has joined field expeditions in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Caribbean. Notably, Verity undertook a pioneering mission in a deep-diving submersible to volcanic vents situated at a staggering depth of 2.3 km in the Caribbean. Verity’s expertise has informed the UN International Seabed Authority, and she boasts a rich background in marine management within England.

Verity is now responsible for coordinating the Science Network, Species Discovery Workshops & the Ocean Census Awards.

Joe supports the delivery of our fieldwork, conducted in partnership with a range of organisations worldwide. Previously a Project Manager with expertise in biodiversity monitoring and behavioural ecology, employing telemetry and acoustics, Joe has experience in data collection from remote areas across the globe, from the polar regions to the tropics.

Caroline supports all aspects of expeditions around the global in conjunction with partners and other organisations. Previously she was the projects manager with the EDGE programme at ZSL, and before this conducted various research projects within Africa including the effectiveness of volunteer conservation. Caroline is also an international triathlete representing GBR in the European and World Championships.

Dr. Michelle Taylor’s work has, so far, centred on deep-sea corals; which was a natural progression from her years spent studying shallow water coral reefs. However, her recent work also include hydrothermal vent organisms, polychaetes (scale worms), brittlestars (ophiuroids) and sea cucumbers (holothurians). Genetics are her tool of choice for targeting questions about evolution and speciation. Her work so far has involved phylogenetics and barcoding and current work involves population genomics and phylogenomics using next-generation sequencing (RAD-seq, RNA-seq and UCEs).

Kira Coley leads the strategic implementation of external communications, social media, outreach and events. Previously Head of Communications at Seabed 2030, Kira has worked as Senior Editor for a leading ocean science publication, lecturer in science communication at the University of Portsmouth, and strategic advisor for ocean initiatives including the United Nations Ocean Decade. In 2022, she was shortlisted for ABSW Editor of the Year and nominated for the Inspirational Women of Portsmouth award.

Jack is a marine science graduate who spent seven years navigating the world’s oceans aboard private expedition yachts, in this time sailing over 170,000 nautical miles and participating in key scientific expeditions. Before joining the Nekton Mission, Jack refined his writing skills as a magazine editor in London, where he focused on investigating sustainability in the private yachting industry and exploring the potential of luxury yachts to contribute to marine research. Beyond his professional pursuits, Jack is an avid marathon runner and hiker who loves discussing movies and books during downtime on expeditions.

Paul is producing content across our expeditions and workshops for news and social media channels. Coming from a 10 year career in television, Paul has produced and directed natural history, scientific and other factual documentaries for broadcasters including National Geographic, Netflix and the BBC and has been part of numerous expeditions worldwide. Paul is a HSE and rebreather diver and has a masters in Oceanography.

Corinne manages social media for Ocean Census, communicating our mission and sharing news and updates across platforms including Facebook, Instagram and X. She is passionate about sharing positive environmental stories with a wide online audience, having previously managed communications for river restoration project ‘Unlocking the Severn’ and delivered social media campaigns as Social Media Executive for Canal & River Trust. Corinne is a keen diver and PADI Assistant Instructor, and her other interests include dance, theatre and fitness.

Maya de Paz supports all internal and external communications, and gets involved in various aspects including news, social media, events, web design, content creation, and marketing. She previously worked as Marketing Executive and completed her Bachelor’s degree in Geography in 2021. With a strong background in communications and social media management, Maya is committed to driving positive change through impactful communication strategies.

Arran is across all media management for Ocean Census, assisting with organising media assets from our past expeditions and events, as well as putting together edits for social media & upcoming workshops. With a background in conservation biology and science communication, Arran has a passion for finding engaging stories. He has previously worked as a researcher on shows for Netflix and the BBC, and has combined his creative storytelling and animation skills to produce engaging films centred around our oceans.