We are excited to welcome our Summer 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. Please join us in welcoming Will, Nevaeh, Navya, and Jay. Here’s some more about them:

Will Cengic (he/his) is a recent graduate of the University of Vermont, where he majored in Biology and minored in Film and Television Studies. He studied abroad in Australia, conducting field research on local flora and fauna in the Atherton Tablelands, Daintree Rainforest, and Great Barrier Reef. He also participated in a research project focusing on the behavior patterns of male Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins in Western Australia. Will interned with the Animal Care Department at the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont, and with the Animal Rescue Program at Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut. At Mystic, he assisted with the rehabilitation of stranded grey seals and sea turtles, and he conducted necropsies of large marine mammals with the veterinary team. Will grew up outside of Boston and loves movies, baseball, and surfing. He is excited to join the REEF team and contribute to its important conservation work.

Tionna “Nevaeh” Blair (she/her) graduated from Savannah State University in May 2025 with a B.S. in Marine Science. While in Savannah, she spent much of her time leading and coordinating outreach events, creating activities for experiential learning, and mentoring lowerclassmen. Since moving back to North Carolina, she’s been creating content to share her realistic post-grad journey and promote diversity in the field. In her free time, you may find her working with sea turtles, settling in with a good book, in the gym, or out enjoying nature. Nevaeh wants to pursue a career that interlinks coral reef ecology, biogeochemistry, scientific diving, and informal education to satisfy her curiosity and passion for teaching. She’s really excited to get back into the field this summer and later pursue her Master’s degree, a scuba diving certification, a veterinary technician license, and gain experience overseas.

Navya Mittal (she/her) is a Biology and Environmental Studies undergraduate at Wesleyan University. As a rescue diver, she had the opportunity to work as a research diver at Lizard Island Research Station in Australia, conducting quadrat surveys and behavioral observations of fish on the Great Barrier Reef. Her fieldwork spans freshwater streams in Connecticut, Australian rainforests and reefs, coral reef restoration in Indonesia, and elasmobranch bycatch research in India. She is currently completing a thesis on the morphology of minnows in Connecticut. Navya believes that people will only protect what they understand, and that storytelling and communication are key to driving conservation impact. She is leading ScubaHead’s Ocean 101 initiative and has taught marine conservation workshops in Mumbai and Connecticut. She is excited to further her teaching and citizen science experience with REEF.

Jay Funaro (they/them) graduated from California State University, Monterey Bay in December 2025 with a B.S. in Marine Science. During their time at CSUMB, they participated in undergraduate research with Moss Landing Marine Laboratories studying algae growth and reproduction under graduate student mentor Jess Franks. They also served as a summer field technician in the MLML ichthyology lab, conducting seine net population surveys in the surf zone — the first of many fish-centered survey projects for them. For their AAUS scientific diving project, Jay indulged a personal interest in nudibranch (sea slug) abundance in Monterey; they love looking closely at the small details and subtleties of the marine environment, and moving slowly to spot these little creatures was fully worth enduring the chill of the Pacific. Beyond research, Jay volunteered with eelgrass restoration monitoring in Elkhorn Slough, the SPCA Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, and the CSUMB Scientific Diving Program as a Teaching Assistant and Dive Master. Since graduating, they have been working toward their scuba instructor certification and are moving to Florida from the Bay Area in California. While in Florida, Jay hopes to actively connect with the public through ocean stewardship at REEF and be as involved as possible with the many avenues of conservation the Florida Keys has to offer. When not in the ocean, Jay enjoys hiking with their dog, birding, and creating art, including illustrations and paintings of flora and fauna. They are excited to bring their creative passion to REEF this summer, returning to warmer waters and contributing to ensuring the cold ones stay that way!

For more information about the Marine Conservation Internship or to apply for an upcoming semester, visit www.REEF.org/internship.