Meet the crew!

Professional Team

  • Paulita co-founded Sea of Life to champion community-driven conservation across the Caribbean. She is a proud Belizean-American ocean advocate with deep ties to South Florida and Belize City. Her conservation journey began in Belize, where she authored the country’s first research on plastic pollution and spurred a grassroots movement for change. She later joined a NOAA-funded research team in the U.S. Virgin Islands, studying invasive lionfish and collaborating with local fishing communities. After that, she spent over six years at Oceana advancing global policy solutions and she managed a special climate and community project for US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. Her work is rooted in the belief that communities hold the key to knowledge and solutions. When not working on SoL she provides senior level advice to NGOs and decision makers and loves to explore the sea with family and friends.

  • Ishelly Williams is a Programme Specialist, Senior Proposal Writer, and Consultant with over a decade of experience advancing inclusive, community-centered development in Belize. She specializes in strategic project design, fundraising, and stakeholder engagement, with successful grant and program work funded by the U.S. Embassy, European Union, UNHCR, and others. Her portfolio spans education, human rights, climate resilience, disaster risk reduction, and youth development.

    Renowned for crafting results-driven proposals and guiding community-based organizations, Ishelly has led complex, multisectoral initiatives and serves as a frequent speaker, trainer, and technical advisor. With degrees in Education and English, she blends strong communication, leadership, and analytical skills to drive impact. Beyond her professional work, she’s a proud wife and mom to two curious, energetic kids, committed to lifelong learning, purposeful living, and building a better Belize—one project (and one bedtime story) at a time.

  • Karen Galea, Ph.D., is a community psychologist and fundraising strategist with more than twenty years of experienceadvancing strategic partnerships supporting higher education, nonprofit, and community-based initiatives. At Sea of Life, she serves in a consulting capacity, supporting strategic fundraising aligned with marine conservation and community-centered environmental stewardship. 

    Karen brings a relationship-centered and data-driven approach to her work, grounded in a strong commitment to inclusive community impact and sustainable change. Karen lives in South Florida with her husband, two sons, two cats, and dog. In her free time, she enjoys practicing yoga, spending time outdoors, including long walks in the park with Sophie, her dog.  

  • David is the Field Lead at Sea of Life, which basically means he spend his days chasing plastic data and building connections in the school community. With a BSc in hand and five years in geochemical analysis (plus a stint managing fancy lab instruments), he knows his way around data, precision, and stubborn problems.

    David swapped elemental analysis in the lab for mangroves because he believes science belongs in the field, not just the lab. Now, he gets to mix hard facts with muddy boots to tackle marine plastic pollution head-on. “The ocean is my happy place, and protecting it isn’t just my job—it’s my way of paying rent to the planet. When I’m off duty, I’m probably traveling, hiking, or floating somewhere with a big grin and no Wi-Fi signal."

Board of Directors

  • Having grown up on the ocean to a fishing and farming family in The Bahamas, Natalie holds a deep connection and understanding to local coastal community needs. This deep understanding drives her passion to ensure that communities and ecosystems are healthy for future generations. Natalie received her MSC in International Food and Resource Economics from The University of Florida. Her specialty includes analyses of fishers behavior and entrance into new markets and designing and managing sustainable fisheries projects. She is the co-founder of Sea of Life and works for The Nature Conservancy.

  • Tamara Thomas, Executive Director of Ocean Ties and ocean advisor to the IUCN, brings several years of expertise on Ocean Issues – across several international conventions and relevant fora including the Convention on Biological Diversity; UN Framework on Climate Change; BBNJ; as well as on matters related to seabed mining. Among her previous roles, she served as Director of International Ocean Policy for Conservation International, International Ocean Policy Advisor of the Global Oceans Program at The Nature Conservancy and Advisor to the Chair of the United Nations Preparatory Committee of BBNJ. Ms Thomas aides in the creation of country and international level policy to support integration of marine nature-based solutions and innovative finance approaches and positions them as integral to global development agendas. She holds a masters of environmental management from Yale University and currently serves as Ocean and Ocean-Climate Advisor to The Republic of Seychelles and co-leads, within BBNJ, Area Based Management Tools including Marine Protected Areas and Environmental Impact Assessments within the African Group.

  • Phil is an independent citizen scientist and ocean advocate, formerly with the World Bank, who has visited Belize annually since 2013 to support management of invasive lionfish, build relationships with Belizean conservation leaders, and participate in the country’s efforts to protect its marine resources.

  • Amanda Nickeson is a seasoned nonprofit fundraising leader with more than two decades of experience in strategic philanthropy and a lifelong commitment to protecting our oceans and planet.  She is the Vice President of Major and Planned Giving at Ocean Conservancy, where she leads efforts to secure transformational individual and legacy gifts that power bold, science-based solutions and long-term conservation impact worldwide.  She specializes in driving transformative philanthropy by connecting visionary donors with science-based solutions that deliver measurable, lasting conservation impact worldwide. 

    Amanda brings a proven record of securing seven- and eight-figure gifts, building high-performing teams and forging partnerships across governments, NGOs, corporations and research institutions.  She is known for her ability to align diverse stakeholders around a shared mission, integrate philanthropy into organizational strategy and inspire donor engagement that accelerates environmental progress. Her career includes leadership roles at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, where she spearheaded campaigns for pioneering marine science initiatives such as the Queen Conch Lab, and The Nature Conservancy, where she led the development of a fundraising approach that became a model for others.  Earlier, as Director of Development at Pittsburgh’s PBS station, WQED, she had the privilege of spending time with Mister Rogers—an enduring highlight of her career. 

    In addition to her nonprofit leadership, Amanda founded and led a successful consulting practice that empowered organizations of all sizes to strengthen fundraising capacity and achieve long-term mission goals.  This work deepened her expertise in helping mission-driven teams design strategies, secure resources and build the systems needed for durable philanthropic success.  A proud founding member of Chief, she is committed to advancing women’s leadership.  Outside of work, Amanda finds joy in Pilates, painting, growing orchids and time with her family, friends and her two dogs, and she remains dedicated to connecting generosity with purpose—working alongside others to turn shared philanthropic goals into meaningful conservation progress. 

  • Paulita co-founded Sea of Life to champion community-driven conservation across the Caribbean. She is a proud Belizean-American ocean advocate with deep ties to South Florida and Belize City. Her conservation journey began in Belize, where she authored the country’s first research on plastic pollution and spurred a grassroots movement for change. She later joined a NOAA-funded research team in the U.S. Virgin Islands, studying invasive lionfish and collaborating with local fishing communities. After that, she spent over six years at Oceana advancing global policy solutions and she managed a special climate and community project for US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. Her work is rooted in the belief that communities hold the key to knowledge and solutions. When not working on SoL she provides senior level advice to NGOs and decision makers and loves to explore the sea with family and friends.