We are excited to welcome our Spring 2026 Marine Education & Conservation Interns to REEF! They will assist with education, outreach, events, and more at the REEF Ocean Exploration Center in Key Largo. Since 1993, more than 150 young adults have interned with REEF and transitioned into careers all over the world, in the marine conservation field and beyond. We also are thrilled that three of our Fall 2025 Interns have continued their REEF journey as our new Marine Conservation Fellows. Please join us in welcoming Anna Velardi, Anna Hoover, Harrison Gaunt, Stacie Strombom, Avery Kruger, Sammy Brown (pictured from L-R). Here's some more about them:
Marine Education & Conservation Interns
Anna Hoover (She, Her) graduated from Hamilton College in May 2025 with a degree in Environmental Studies. Originally from Maryland, she has worked in environmental education and conservation in Delaware, Arizona, Montana, New York, and North Carolina. In Delaware, she worked as an environmental education intern at Cape Henlopen State Park, where she led guided hikes, aquatic animal dissections, and helped maintain tanks full of native fish, sharks, turtles, crabs, and more. She is moving to Florida from Montana, where she has been working as an Outdoor Education Specialist in Glacier National Park, guiding educational hikes and programs for people of all ages. Besides this, she has worked as a backpacking trip leader, ropes course ranger, trail crew member, and land and forestry planner. In her free time, Anna loves to hike, run, read, and camp. She is excited to return to the ocean and to get to explore a new place and meet new people who share her passion for nature!
Avery Kruger (He, Him) recently graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Psychology. He had flipped-flopped from environmental science and psychology. It wasn't until a recent study abroad trip to Baja California Sur that he was reawakened to his love for the ocean and conservation. He is interested in research bridging the gap between social science and environmental science and wants to go to graduate school to pursue this. In his free time, he enjoys biking, hiking, and other outdoor activities. He is hoping to get scuba certified and contribute meaningful work to REEF's mission of conservation and education.
Stacie Strombom (She, Her) moved around frequently when she was young but is currently based in New Hampshire. She graduated from Knox College in 2024 with a B.A. in Environmental Studies. During her time at Knox, she studied abroad in Panama where she became SCUBA certified and fell in love with all things reef-related! She began her journey as an environmental educator when she interned as an ecology teacher for the Advanced Studies Program at St. Paul’s School. Over the past year, she led afterschool programs and camps at South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve in Oregon, exploring the northern Pacific coast and igniting a deeper passion for marine education while sharing her love of the ocean with kids and adults. She is very excited to develop her educational skills and understanding of marine conservation during her time with REEF!
Marine Conservation Fellows
Anna Velardi (She, Her) grew up in Haymarket, Virginia. She earned a B.S. in Environmental Science with a minor in Digital Studies from the University of Mary Washington, where she discovered her love for marine biology while studying abroad in Bonaire. There, she earned her diving certification and volunteered with a coral nursery, kickstarting her passion for ocean conservation. She also fell in love with research, completing her senior capstone project on the correlations between soil quality and socioeconomic status. Her love for the ocean and adventure has taken her from the icy waters of Seward, Alaska- where she interned with the Veterinary Lab team at the Alaska Sealife Center- to the tropical reefs of Key Largo, Florida, where she first served as a REEF intern. After a summer of diving the shipwrecks off the North Carolina coast as a Marine Educator with Sea Turtle Camp, Anna is thrilled to return to the keys for a fellowship with REEF!
Sammy Brown (She, Her) graduated from the University of Miami in May 2025 with a triple major in Marine Affairs, Political Science, and Geography & Sustainable Development. She served as president of the Florida Ocean Advocacy Team, where she helped connect students without prior marine experience to ocean advocacy through education, outreach, and community events. Sammy was also part of the logistics committee for WAVES (Water Advocates and Visionaries for the Environment and Sea), a marine science outreach program through the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School, where she helped plan the program’s large-scale outreach day. Through WAVES, she also created a lesson plan in collaboration with Miami-Dade County Public Schools to expand access to marine science in local classrooms. Sammy worked as a naturalist at the Key Biscayne Nature Center, where she discovered her passion for marine education. She is a Rescue diver and has recently been surveying sea turtles and volunteering with Mote Marine Laboratory’s coral restoration program. In her free time, she enjoys paddleboarding and spending as much time on the water as possible. She is excited to stay with REEF and looks forward to building on her outreach and education skills as a Marine Conservation Fellow!
Harrison Gaunt (He, His) graduated from Arizona State University in 2024 with a degree in Sports Business and Finance. A lifelong ocean enthusiast, he found his calling in conservation after a volunteer trip to Thailand, where he earned his scuba certification and worked on coral reef restoration. He recently interned at OdySea Aquarium, where he worked with African Penguins, Parrots, and Sloths and supported public education efforts. During his internship, he worked on a research project exploring how parrots learn vocalizations and how zoos and aquariums can use social learning-based training to teach them to use words referentially, giving the animals greater agency. Harrison joined the REEF team in the fall of 2025 as a Marine Conservation Intern, and is excited to stay on as a Fellow to continue his career in marine conservation!