Staff Biographies - Living Oceans Foundation

Staff Biographies

[2015]

Global Reef Expedition explorers available for interviews

The following staff members are available for interviews, contact [email protected] for interview requests:

LOF Executive Director Philip Renaud
Print-ready version

Capt. Phil Renaud
Captain Renaud is the executive director of the Living Oceans Foundation. Before joining the Living Oceans Foundation, he had a distinguished 25‐year career in the Navy where he served as the oceanographer for an aircraft carrier (USS Theodore Roosevelt), was the lead oceanographer for the Commander, Second Fleet, and his naval career culminated as the Commanding Officer of the Naval Oceanographic Office.

Presently, Phil is concentrating on fulfilling Prince Khaled’s vision of circumnavigating the globe to combat the rapid decline in coral reef health through the Foundation’s ambitious Global Reef Expedition program. This fast‐paced expedition is achieving the goals of mapping and surveying coral reefs around the world to rapidly close scientific knowledge gaps and to identify factors that either harm reefs or contribute to their resilience.

Read full bio.

LOF Education Director Amy Heemsoth — LOF Education Director
Amy Heemsoth

Amy Heemsoth
Amy Heemsoth is the Director of Education for the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. She develops and implements innovative education projects and programs for K‐12 students, teachers, and non‐formal educators. Additionally, she enhances the Foundation’s community engagement through education and outreach.

Amy earned her Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology at Spring Hill College, a liberal arts school, in Mobile, Alabama. Later, she attended Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida obtaining a Master’s degree in Marine Biology.

Read full bio.

Everything You Need to Know About the 2027 Science Without Borders® Challenge

Are you ready to combine your creativity with ocean science?

The 15th Annual Science Without Borders® Challenge is now open! Whether you’re participating for the first time or returning for another year, this guide will help you get started.

This year’s theme, Navigate With Care, invites students to explore how responsible navigation helps protect both people and life in the ocean. Through your artwork, you can compete for scholarships and international recognition while inspiring others to protect both people and life in the ocean.

Global Reef Expedition Data Contributes to Landmark Report on the World’s Coral Reefs

More than a decade after scientists aboard the Global Reef Expedition surveyed coral reefs across the Pacific, the data they collected continues to contribute to our understanding of the world’s coral reefs.

Today, the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) released Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2025, the most comprehensive assessment to date of the status and trends of coral reefs worldwide. The report brings together an extraordinary amount of information collected over more than four decades—and the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is proud to have contributed data from the Global Reef Expedition to this global effort.

Related Posts

Everything You Need to Know About the 2027 Science Without Borders® Challenge

Global Reef Expedition Data Contributes to Landmark Report on the World’s Coral Reefs