Our work is about collaboration.
The mission of Tela Coral is to collaborate with the local community to conserve the unique natural ecosystems of Tela through research, education, funding, and storytelling.
Our Team
Juli Berwald, Ph.D.
Co-Founder and President
Juli Berwald, Ph.D. received her doctorate in ocean science for her work on satellite imagery of the oceans. She is now a science writer whose work has been featured in National Geographic, Smithsonian, Texas Monthly, American Scholar, Science, and Nature, among others. Her first book about jellyfish, Spineless, brought her back to the sea and her second book about coral, Life on the Rocks, led her to Tela.
Tiffany T.V. Duong
CO-Founder & Board Member
Tiffany T.V. Duong is a writer, explorer, and inspirational speaker. With degrees from from UCLA and University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School , she is also a trained climate reality leader with Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project. In addition to lecturing at the University of Miami Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and writing for the Keys Weekly Newspaper group, she is part of a prizewinning team that developed a virtual reality game, Found in the Fjords, about Arctic ecosystems and orca whales.
Chantal Piët
Board Member
Chantal Piët is the founder of Stroop Club, home to the world's first and only vegan and organic-certified stroopwafels. She is also a PADI MSDT SCUBA Instructor and passionate advocate for coral reef restoration, working with Caribbean Reef Guardians to protect marine ecosystems. With 14+ years of experience in recruitment and training, she specializes in enhancing HR strategies and employer branding in technical and financial industries.
Antal Borcsok &
Alejandra Thompson
Founders, Tela Marine
Antal Borcsok and Alejandra Thompson were among the first to dive in Tela and recognize the rich ecosystem of the bay. They helped establish Tela’s bay as a Marine Protected Area and built the aquarium, Tela Marine, through which tens of thousands of people discover the rare underwater biodiversity of Tela's coral reefs. Tela Marine also serves as Co-Manager of the Tela Bay Marine Protected Area.
Our Partners
Lindsey Conroy
Founder, Adzentures
With a background in group events, marketing and project management, Lindsey founded the experiential travel company, AdZENtures in 2014. AdZENtures curates trips all over the world, including to Tela, and provides impactful experiences for guests and the local community through collaborations and financial contributions.
Chad Cannon
Violinist and Composer
Chad’s work can be heard in the Oscar-winning Netflix documentary American Factory, the BAFTA-winning PlayStation game Ghost of Tsushima and the Peabody-winning HBO film Night is Not Eternal. Chad recently created Music for the Ocean, a set of compositions and improvisations based on the ocean for violin and piano, complete with animation and sound design. He has partnered with Tela Coral to raise funds to build the first biobank in Honduras. Chad is a graduate of Harvard, Juilliard, and the Sundance Composer Labs.
Christian Carias
Dive Professional and Reef Restoration Expert
Christian is the only divemaster in Tela, Honduras, who supports Tela Coral on every expedition. He was also the central character in the documentary The Rebel Reef: Seeds of Hope. He is an expert in coral restoration, and has taught classes on the subject both in Tela and internationally. Christian is also the owner and chef of the fabulous restaurant Sushi-Wa in Tela.
Brynne Rardin
Wildlife Filmmaker and Media Expert
Brynne is an award-winning underwater filmmaker, drone pilot, and divemaster, who served as the director of The Rebel Reef: Seeds of Hope. She is currently an Environmental Filmmaking Master in Fine Arts (MFA) candidate at American University in Washington D.C.
Joseph Henry, Ph.D.
Marine Biologist and Science Communicator
With a doctorate in coral reef ecology, Joe served as the VR director and underwater videographer for The Rebel Reef: Seeds of Hope. Joe founded and leads Triton Society, an organization focused on conducting marine research and bridging the gap between science and the public through visual media arts.
Senyacen Ramirez
Biologist and Collaborator
Senyacen Ramirez received her bachelor’s degree with honors from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Honduras. She has worked at Tela Marine caring for all of its aquaria and supported our larval settlement experiments in Tela. She presented these results at international meetings in Cancun and Abu Dhabi and continues to work monitoring coral reefs in the Caribbean.
JD Reinbott
Conservationist and Content Creator
With a bachelor's degree in Marine Sciences from the University of New England, JD has extensive experience in hands-on coral conservation as well as managing environmental initiatives and digital communications programs, including Tela Coral’s social media presence.
Beatrix Höcker
Partner and Collaborator
Beatrix Höcker is a biologist, toxicologist, teacher, and entrepreneur with extensive expertise in both aquatic and marine invertebrates and algae. Based in Ireland, she received her Masters in Hydrobiology from the University of Hamburg.
Heather Kuhlken
CO-Founder
Heather Kuhlken is the Executive Director of Families in Nature and co-chair of #NatureForAll United States, as a Commissioner for Education and Communication with the IUCN. She is the author of the forthcoming book, Adventures in Ecology: A Guidebook to Inspire Environmental Literacy, Outdoor Exploration, and Nature Connection for All with more than 1,100 hands-on, science-based lessons for people of all ages as well as a nature photographer.