Meet the team of Scuba Junkie SEAS! All the Scuba Junkie SEAS staff are working as volunteers and do so because of their love of the ocean, the world we live in and because we see the need for action to be taken. So we all juggle two roles whether it's being the CEOs or managers of our various offices or resorts. While this can be a little tricky at times we do this so that 100% of the donations and money SEAS generates goes back into the charity to be used for worthwhile causes like our hatchery, supplies for our beach and reef cleans or our coral gardening.
After completing her PADI Open water course at the age of 14, Ali developed a passion for marine life. She later took a gap year & completed her divemaster course in Sabah, which led her to fall in love with the region. Ali went on to graduate from the University of Plymouth with a BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology and Coastal Ecology. Since then she has spent the last 15 years working for SJ and volunteering with SJ SEAS since its founding in 2011, completing her reef check certification, numerous under water surveys and outreach programmes and is now our go-to person in Kota Kinabalu for SJ SEAS.
Jason has been with the Scuba Junkie Kota Kinabalu team for over 5 years. He began diving when he was 23 years old and went on to become an instructor after catching the diving bug with his first underwater breath. He is passionate about protecting our oceans and educating people. His main focus is on community outreach, which includes talks and school excursions.
From criminal defence lawyer to dive instructor to marine conservation ………. it’s been an interesting journey!! Rachel started diving at 19 and fell in love with the underwater world, after working as a criminal defence lawyer for 8 years she packed up her life in England and went travelling. While in Asia she completed her divemaster course and then became an instructor. She joined the Scuba Junkie family 6 years ago as an instructor, particularly enjoying helping to train new divemasters as well as getting involved with Scuba Junkie SEAS whenever she was able to. During Covid she made the decision to study International Environmental Law and to move into marine conservation and when Malaysia opened up again rejoined her Scuba Junkie family with a new role with SEAS.
Ginny is our Marine Biologist stationed at Mabul Island. Originally trained in Conservation Biology at Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, Ginny developed a deep affinity for Sabah's marine environment during her studies. Despite her academic focus on terrestrial ecosystems, Ginny's interest in ocean conservation led her to intern with a sea turtle conservation NGO in Terengganu, Malaysia. Over the course of two years, she transitioned to the role of Project Manager, overseeing sea turtle conservation efforts and contributing to coral restoration projects. Ginny's journey underscores the importance of following one's passion and exploring diverse conservation opportunities. Her commitment to protecting marine life and restoring degraded habitats reflects her dedication to environmental stewardship.
None of what we do would be possible without the amazing SJ family we have, this includes everyone from the mangers, the instructors, divemasters, captains, and our massive support crew who all help out. This includes not only at the beach but also the reef cleans the removal of rubbish from the island and letting us know there's a problem we need to deal with, like ghost fishing nets. Our SJ family is a huge part of what makes Scuba Junkie special but also SEAS be as successful as it is.
The other part of what makes us successful is the wonderful guests we have coming to stay and dive with us. Our guests get involved with our weekly beach clean ups as well as different events we hold throughout the year making everything we do at SEAS possible, so thank you!!!