Team Leader (Casual Hours)
Ilha grew up on a small tropical island in Tanzania, East Africa and has always enjoyed being in the ocean. Her fascination with coral reefs was solidified when she first learned to SCUBA dive when she was twelve years old. Ilha moved to Australia in 2016 to pursue an undergraduate degree in science, majoring in Marine Biology. Whilst at university she became involved as a Reef Check reef health surveyor, and more recently became an ambassador.
She currently works as a research assistant (RA) at the University of Queensland assisting on a variety of different projects such as the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (using field, laboratory, and data science skills). Ilha is super passionate about science communication, outreach, engagement and education, which she does not get to do a lot of in her role as an RA. Therefore, she is really excited to start working as a team leader in the Quandamooka/Meanjin (Moreton Bay/Brisbane) region and looks forward to meeting and working with all the passionate local SEQ Reef Checkers!