Shelby Thomas is a scientist, environmental advocate, conservationist, and speaker who founded the Ocean Rescue Alliance. Through research and outreach, Shelby hopes to contribute to the conservation, restoration, and improved management of our ecosystems. She hopes to have a long-term impact on not only the environment, but also on people’s lives all across the world.
Shelby’s career as a scientist specialized in applied restoration includes oyster, mangrove, scallop, coral, and sea grass restoration. She completed her Master’s degree at the University of Florida in 2018 with a focus on oyster restoration, and she is currently working on her PhD at the University of Florida with a focus on scallop, sea grass, and coral restoration.
Below are highlights of the interview:
Describe who you are as a person, inside and outside of the workplace.
I am a dedicated person who puts my heart and passion into all that I do. I am always positive and forward-thinking, looking to connect and fill gaps to work with people and the environment more efficiently.
Tell us the inception story of Ocean Rescue Alliance.
Working through my studies, conducting research as a marine scientist throughout Florida, I began to see the gaps within restoration groups that fail to scale restoration and tailor restoration to site specific needs. I also became aware of the internal politics that directly hindered restoration and effective collaboration. Restoration and environmental work is often extremely underfunded, and limited grant funds further hinder collaboration and innovation. Finally, I saw the complete lack of true public awareness and the ability to take individual direct action. My frustration inspired me to found my own organization, Ocean Rescue Alliance that works to fill gaps and effectively collaborate to scale restoration and work to be more resource efficient. In addition to implementing site and species-specific designs to innovatively enhance and restore marine environments, We implement business models we hope will fund marine restoration and habitat creation at faster rates and help sustain projects for extended time periods.
The ocean is out of sight and out of mind for many. The problem with this disconnect is that often people are not personally connected to the ocean. I wanted to find a way to personally connect with people and give them a direct way to make an impact on the ocean. I fell in love with the ability to use art to do that. At ORA we create artistic underwater sculptures and utilize art to connect people back to the ocean. We use the power of art to inspire people and help creatively fund restoration projects. We like to say we put the art in “Artificial reefs while still helping the marine environment. I would like to inspire those who do not engage with marine resources and work with them to reach more people, because those are the groups we need to reach. I also wanted to develop programs to directly connect the community and enable direct impact opportunities. We offer educational and citizen science programs to engage the community, along with celebratory and memorial reef or plaque options for people to directly impact the reef, and coral adoption programs to help support restoration. We encourage people to join our alliance and help us save our ocean one reef at a time!
What has been your biggest lesson since becoming an entrepreneur?
Starting my own company has proven to have its own set of hurdles to face. My biggest learning lesson has come from resource management. We have been blessed through true collaboration and passionate people to accomplish as much as we have with limited to no funding. I would say learning how to effectively manage resources has become key in maximizing accomplishments.
How do you motivate people to go the extra mile?
I motivate people through passion. I try to encourage people who work with us to work in an area that they love and where they can be freely creative. This enables people to not only love what they do, but it enables innovation and creative expression.
What gets you up in the morning? What motivates you?
I am motivated by the blanket of opportunity each day brings, to create, aid, and establish new work that can have a meaningful and lasting impact.
Kindly describe how you will specifically know what success looks like for you.
Success looks like an implemented project that not only restores and helps the marine environment but, as a whole, connects communities, inspires people, and creates a shift in mindset to develop a truly interconnected community with nature.
What is the best way to build a great team?
The best way to build an amazing team is through diversity. Diversity of thought, background, and people leads to true innovation.
What does “performance culture” mean to you?
Performance culture means effective communication, meeting needs for the organization but also the people. Being an enabler and scaler to allow freedom of work while advancing performance.
What advice do you have for aspiring female leaders who see disability as a barrier to a successful career?
My advice is to follow your passions, pour your heart into them, trust your direction even if it is hazy, and put your dreams into action. For those who take action to make their dreams a reality, you have already broken a barrier that most do not.
What are your future plans to sustain Ocean Rescue Alliance’s success?
I plan to grow the organization to not only expand our research and marine services but also the groups that we work with. I plan to continuously evolve and implement innovative business models to help support and scale our work.
Website: https://www.oceanrescuealliance.org/
