Team
Would you like to become a member of our team? We always need an extra pair of hands, so if you are enthusiastic about the marine environment and would like to volunteer for ELMO, please contact us.
Dr. Chantel Elston
Project Manager
Chantel is a Marine Ecologist and the current project manager of ELMO. She has nine years of experience working with elasmobranchs - her postgraduate research involved investigating the ecology of three stingray species in the Seychelles, she was a short-term research assistant for Shark Spotters, and she is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at SAIAB investigating the distribution and movement patterns of rays along South Africa's coastline. She has called South Africa home for her whole life and has a passion for the welfare of its coastline and oceans. Chantel joined the ELMO team because she believes the only way in which we can successfully take care of our oceans is if we foster an interest and love for the ocean in everybody.
Favourite elasmobranch: The Porcupine Ray (Urogymnus asperrimus)
Amy Webber
Volunteer
A Marine Biology graduate originally from South Africa, who assists in data management and social media outreach remotely from the UK.
Her love & knowledge of South African elasmobranch species naturally
lead her to join the ELMO team, with her main passion being shark conservation.
Favourite elasmobranch: The great white shark (Carcharodon carchariasis)
Joel Gayford
Volunteer
A student of evolutionary biology at the Imperial College of London in the UK, Joel joined ELMO in 2021 to assist with database management, data analysis and social media content.
Asides from his studies, Joel is currently researching the evolution, behavioural ecology and distribution of several shark species together with collaborators in England, Mexico, USA and Australia.
Favourite elasmobranch: The ornate wobbegong (Orectolobus ornatus)
Lucinda Lintott
Volunteer
Lucinda is an oceanographer currently assisting on the processing of the ELMO database for egg-case and animal sightings. She has previous experience processing large algae datasets during her PhD candidacy. Since then she has volunteered on marine conservation projects, including a coral reef restoration project in Borneo. She is a keen scuba diver and loves watching all marine fauna, especially sharks and rays, in their natural environment.
Favourite elasmobranch: The Coral Catshark (Atelomycterus marmoratus)
Lisa is a Marine Ecologist and the founder of ELMO. After working closely with the South African angling community, she felt that there was a lack of communication between scientists and the general public, leading to misunderstood South African Elasmobranchs - especially affecting lesser known endemic species. Little information about South African shark and skate eggs was publicly available at the time. As a result Lisa founded ELMO, where she actively engaged the public in Elasmobranch data collection and monitoring for more than five years. She also created a number of freely available educational materials about South African Elasmobranchs and their eggs. Lisa is now living on the Canarian Island La Palma, where she continues to work in research, environmental literacy and ocean connection in her organisation Oceanológico (www.oceanologico.com) and as part of an EU Initiative (EU4Ocean Platform).
Favourite Elasmobranch: The Spotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus narinari)
Lena Freund
Former Artistic volunteer
Lena is a biologist with a passion for art. She is using her talent and scientific knowledge to produce illustrations ranging from complex intercellular processes to South African sharks and rays. Lena has been supporting ELMO from the start by creating many of the drawings in our educational materials. To see more of Lena’s work visit her website Brush Paper Pixels (https://www.brushpaperpixel.com/).
Favourite Elasmobranch: The Reef Manta Ray (Manta alfredi)