The People behind the Sea(nes)
We’re a group of creative thinkers and conservationists who have built upon a vision to save our reefs.
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Our mission ito take practical action and support the marine conservation and the blue economy with technology, like AI and satellite data, and sustainable travel through the global Reef Rangers network. Our software innovation is part of a reef manager's toolkit to streamline MPA monitoring operations and environmental impact assessments. Our tools also extend to coastal businesses that rely on healthy reef systems. We also support conservation projects around the world and advocate for participatoryparticipatory science.

Our vision is to support 75% of our world's reefs by 2030 through technology and partnerships and send 10,000 Reef Rangers to destinations worldwide to advance the next generation of marine conservationists.
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Our focus lies on people and planet.
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wHO WE ARE

Our Marine Team

Nikole Katherine Gualdron Chaparro
Reef Ranger Coordinator
Nikole is a diver and marine conservationist at heart, from Bogota, Colombia, and has an education in biology. Nikole is also passionate about educating others and has experience in conservation of bottlenose dolphins in the Mediterranean in Sardegna, Italy. We are proud to have such a kind and dedicated to develop the Reef Ranger program for travel and training for Open Coral AI.
Giorgia Farne
Reef Ranger Coordinator (intern)
Giorgia is a marine biology intern who is coordinating the Reef Ranger program. She has experience as a wildlife guide at Sealife Adventures and as a research intern at Marine Mammals Research Association-DMAD. Giorgia also worked as a marine mammal observer at CIIMAR-Madeira. She holds a Master of Science in Ecosystem-based Management of Marine Systems from the University of St Andrews and a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from James Cook University.

Our Marine Advisors

Crystle Wee
Marine Biology Expert
Crystle is a marine biologist at an international marine-environmental consultancy, she too records over commerical 400 dives and is the fourth certified female diver in Singapore! Crystle is also very interested in coral lab techniques like microfragmentation, and is the main representative of Reef Support in Singapore. Together with the development team, she makes sure that whatever Reef Support does remains the best for nature and our oceans.
Marijn Van Der Laan
Coral Restoration Expert
Marijn graduated in coastal management with a marine ecology major and a minor in aquaculture. Like Crystle, Marijn has a background in coral reef conservation and diving. He is Reef Support's lead ambassador and fellow veteran diver with over 400 dives recorded to date! Marijn currently also works as a Marine Park Officer at the Saba Conservation Foundation in the Dutch Carribeans protecting it's reefs on a day-to-day basis.

Our Founders

Marcel Kempers
Co-Founder & Director
Marcel is a serial social entrepreneur with the personal mission of bringing nature-based solutions and an international outlook to local communities. After spending a period of his life in the Caribbean, he saw how threatened our marine ecosystems are, he has found that sustainable travel and the technology to connect people can really make an impact on reef conservation in this decade.
Yohan Runhaar
Co-Founder & CTO
Yohan is a computer scientist with a great affinity with artificial intelligence and big data, and is the CTO and lead developer for Reef Support's AI and software tools. Because of his roots from Guadeloupe, he is also keen on saving coral reefs and other marine creatures by creating the best tools for marine research.

Our Advisors

Ned Dwyer
GIS, Marine Data & Information Management Expert
With an MSc and PhD in GIS and remote sensing, Ned has been working for over 30 years in the field on environmental monitoring. He worked on data quality control, research center focussing on detection of vegetation fires in satellite imagery and applications of SAR imagery. Ned then worked at Coastal and Marine Research Centre as the team lead of the GIS and remote sensing group. He then continued working as Director of the EurOcean, where he focussed on managing information on marine research and technologies. After that he decided to work freelance advising tech start-ups through the Copernicus Master Accelerator programme.
Fatima Delgado Medina
Sustainable Entrepreneurship
Fátima She has a Ph.D. in Sustainability Science and Climate Change from the Polytechnical University of Catalunya and teaches Sustainable and Circular Entrepreneurship at the Delft University of Technology.  She has more than ten years of experience working as a project manager and advisor in Sustainability Science and Climate Change research and for startups and projects in South America, Europe, and the US. Fatima has helped Reef Support through the minor program which led to the development and official opening of the "first coral lab in the central Indonesia region" and is also a Fund Manager through a collaboration with the university.
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Our rECOGNITION

Awards

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Aerospace Engineering
Start-up Voucher 2021
Copernicus Prize Overall Winner 2020
Copernicus Masters
Overall Winner 2020
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Top 4 "Most Innovative Student in the Netherlands" 2020
Copernicus Prize The Netherlands 2020
Copernicus Masters
The Netherlands Winner 2020
50 Young Talents of 2021 (by FD)
25 under 25 startups 2021 (by MT/Sprout)
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Falling Walls Lab
Groningen Winner 2020
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Climate Launchpad
The Netherlands Winner 2021

Vacancies

At Reef Support, we create software to support coastal activities happening all over the world for a responsible and sustainable blue future. As we expand our team of specialists and bravehearts, we are able to tap into more locations around the world with improvements on our solutions ever-growing.

You'll love working with us if you're open, pragmatic, curious and want to make an impact!

SEE OPEN VACANCIES

Culture

How we do things.

Diversity & Team
We strive to maintain a work environment where everyone can apply and develop skills and talents consistent with our values and business objectives. This applies to every employee, regardless of location, gender, ethnicity and physical abilities.

It’s important to live by our values and play an active role in communities by attracting all talents and offering opportunities to a diverse range of people.

The varied skills and experience of people from different cultures, gender and ages benefits our business, helping us to better understand our customers across the world and to build stronger relationships at a local level. Our focus on diversity and inclusion also means customers, employees and partners choose us more often and are able to connect with us on more than one dimension.
Education
In honor of #WorldOceanDay2021, Reef Support launched 'Reef Students', a sub-chapter within Reef Support that is run by students for students, aiming to enhance career skills and promote the research conducted by students worldwide.

Reef Students will not only work with schools to provides interactive education modules but also host (and co-host) community events to foster student engagement.

Through Reef Students, we aim to promote the acquisition and dissemination of scientific knowledge to secure coral reefs for future generations.
Win-win mentality
In the many interactions we have daily, finding the right balance between urgent and important tasks must be found in alignment with clients and partnering organizations. Thus, by taking a win-win perspective for each encounter, we are able to produce and implement from internal principles, that creates value producing outcomes for all stakeholders incolved.

As we move through the waves of business and sustaiable development, we seek first to understand, and then be understood, as we know that great products take time and care to create. Quality and diligence are part of our company's core values.

Of course, we as a team celebrate when we win, and learn when we lose.
The Abundant Ocean
"Open source for an open ocean" is a motto of ours.

The value of the global ocean has been estimated by WWF at $24trn. With trillions of dollars of investment in the Blue Economy expected over the next decade, financial institutions will have a growing stake in the ocean and growing exposure to ocean-related risks.

We need not 1 solution, but an ecosystem of integrated methods, expertise, tools and technology in order to make global change towards sustaining marine life, and ultimately our food systems and human life. This is why at Reef Support we believe in the "abundant ocean", where we aren't afraid to step out in the big blue unknown with open innovation (Hackathons etc.) and take on collabative opportunities with organizations working towards the same goal.
Community
#SDG14
Our work is guided by SDG 14, Life Below Water.
We strive for a world where we "conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development."
About
Reef Support develops modern technology for coral reef and marine ecosystem monitoring. We also work with over 30+ organizations worldwide in reef, cetacean and shark protection to provide conservation training globally.
Find us
Reef Support B.V.
Kapteynstraat 1
2201 BB Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Contact us
Contact Form
Email us at: [email protected]
Call us at: +31 633627276
Copyright © 2023 Reef Support B.V. - All Rights Reserved