Our Team.

Chair of the Board

Lindsay Rice is Vice President of Riceworks Corporation, a real estate development and management company located in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. She manages and oversees multiple properties in Canada and abroad, while also handling the philanthropic activities of Riceworks Philanthropy.

Lindsay is a former professional race car driver - having raced for her own race team, Rice Racing, alongside a partnership with Audi Canada. She continues to perform precision driving & stunt coordination in TV commercials.

She is incredibly passionate about the ocean, and has always felt drawn to manta rays, whales and sharks (megafauna) for their vitality and conservation. Since she was very small, she always viewed the ocean as a world that needs to be experienced, yet protected. Lindsay takes whatever chance she can get to enter into the ocean with marine life while freediving across the world. She will not get on a plane towards the ocean without her fins in hand.

Vice-Chair & Secretary to the Board

Luke has had a lifelong passion for spending time with nature. He has had the privilege and opportunity of exploring much of the world’s oceans through his extensive diving experience while owning Dasilva Dive Tours. An avid dive instructor and videographer, Luke is passionate about keeping our oceans pristine, so that our future generations can also enjoy the undersea world. Located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Luke has been part of a number of volunteer organizations that have had a positive impact environmentally as well as to the local and world community improvements. Currently he works with children with complex needs, transporting them safely to /from school. Luke’s volunteer work includes Rotary International, Scouts Canada, and Search and Rescue Alberta, facilitating fundraising, event planning, and community engagement. He has gained his business acumen while managing a small business in Calgary. Luke’s current interests are participating in search and rescue, outdoor safety education of children and adults through Adventure Smart programs offered by Service Canada, and spending time with his family at their family ranch Northwest of Calgary. He is committed to maintaining his fitness and health so that he can safely enjoy his outdoor pursuits. Luke has 2 adult kids and spends his quality time with his wife Kathryn, and his 2 beloved standard poodles, Sabre and Scout. Luke is excited to be part of MMF Canada and contribute to preservation and conservation of our marine ecosystem. He looks forward to an ongoing collaboration working with his local and international community in the preservation of our magnificent marine environment.

Treasurer

Scuba Diving become a major part of my life in 1989, born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada has to be one of the strangest places on the planet to become a Scuba Diver. My introduction to the recreation of Scuba started at the University of Calgary in the Physical Education program. I was doing a degree in Outdoor Pursuits and one of the courses being offered was the NASDS Scuba Diver Certification as a Lifeguard and Swimming Instructor at the U of C I thought this was a perfect fit.

My first Openwater Dives where on the West Coast of Canada on the Island called Galiano Island this week long Openwater Certification had me hooked on exploring the Oceans of the World. It was at the U of C where I furthered my scuba career and became a NAUI Instructor and then Coarse Director and took over the teaching program at the U of C Campus Recreation program.

The one shared statement from students when asked why they wanted to learn scuba diving was to go travel so it was with this motivation that I partnered up with one of the instructors I had trained and formed the company called DaSilva Dive Tours. This lead me to hosting many dive group trips around the world and where I started making videos for the customers.

Board Member

Dr. Andrea Marshall was the first person in the world to complete a PhD on manta rays. After completing her thesis, she stayed in Mozambique to spearhead the conservation of manta rays in the region. She now oversees programs on mantas in all three of the world's major oceans. As a longstanding member of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group, Andrea is also the lead author of the IUCN’s Red List assessments for manta and mobula rays. She was inducted into the ranks of National Geographic’s Explorers in 2013 in recognition of her efforts to protect these threatened rays around the world. Andrea has featured in numerous documentaries on the ocean including the BBC Natural World documentary ‘Andrea: Queen of Mantas’ and the broadcaster’s award-winning trilogy ‘Sharks.’

Board Member

Nakia is an ecologist and conservationist interested in improving marine conservation and management of marine resources within Southern Africa. Her expertise as a community ecologist has expanded from seagrass habitats to subtropical rocky reef ecosystems, with her current research focused primarily on threatened species of sharks and rays. Since 2016 she has been working in Mozambique monitoring Zavora’s manta ray population and has recently started her PhD on the movement ecology of manta rays and the effectiveness of marine protected areas for these species in Southern Africa. Using sightings data, photo ID, and telemetry, she aims to fill the knowledge gaps in Mozambique’s manta ray population. Nakia is Canadian.

Board Member

Sarah has a Bachelor of Business (Accounting). She joined MMF Global in January 2018 with over 8 years experience working in Finance, including 6 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Sydney. Sarah is now based in Tofo, Mozambique, where she manages MMF's local office, as well as overseeing the organization's global finances and operations, as the Chief Operating Officer.

Advisor - Resource

With 20+ years in private practice, Claudia Brews offered industrial and organizational psychological services to large scale corporations and family-owned businesses through to individuals. Her practice specialized in group facilitation, team building, organizational restructuring as well as career assessment, recruitment and relocation counselling. Ms. Brews also developed numerous training programs in interpersonal communications, conflict resolution, coaching for performance and enhanced leadership. Following completion of her Bed (Psych), Ms. Brews pursued her PhD in Organizational Psychology. Later in her career she managed an international oil and gas manufacturing business operating out of Calgary, AB. In her spare time, Ms. Brews travels extensively to pursue her love of scuba diving at remote locations throughout SE Asia as well as the Pacific and Caribbean Islands.

Advisor - Resource

Ms. Ann Rooney, FCPA, ICD.D, MSc. worked for several years as an environmental scientist before pursuing a career as a chartered professional accountant. She has extensive experience in finance and accounting and has served as a board director and often Chair of the Audit Committee for many public and private companies. She served as lead independent member for the Alberta Securities Commission, where she was a commissioner for six years. She has served on several not-for-profit boards, and has done volunteer work on many professional committees, including serving as president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta. Ann has a BA in Music, a MSc. in environmental science/limnology and became a Chartered Accountant in 1987. She has been a passionate scuba diver for 4 decades and has had a life-long interest in protecting the environment. She resides in Alberta, Canada.

Ronnie Noonan-Birch is a marine socio-ecologist whose work focuses on the intersection of people and the ocean, specifically on how human well-being is intrinsically linked to ocean health.

Ronnie has a BSc in marine biology and a master's in environmental studies. Ronnie’s professional experiences have amounted to a keen understanding of the international ocean science-policy landscape and the dynamics of the Canadian ocean community.