(she/her)

FOUNDER & BOARD MEMBER

Liz Kaltenhauser has a Master’s Degree in Marine Conservation Management and has dedicated her life to marine conservation and teaching people about their impacts on the environment. She has worked in many different fields including teaching, Customer Service, Management, Business, Marine Biology and Zookeeping. Liz lived in Florida for a short period working in aquaculture research and volunteering with a coral conservation nonprofit. She now spends her time devoted to her nonprofit, diving, and writing her children’s book series. She even was a synchronized swimmer at one point, showing how much she really is obsessed with the water with the hopes of coaching her own club one day.

(she/her)

FOUNDER & BOARD MEMBER

Grace is very excited to be a part of bringing WAVE to life. The passion that she brings to the organization is all about animals. Grace has made a career of working with animals - from zookeeping to veterinary medicine as a technician. She hopes to help animals, with more than just veterinarian science, but also further animal welfare, by contributing to protecting their habitats and to enrich their life in the wild. If you are inspired by the same purpose, please consider joining WAVE’s quest.

(they/them)

FOUNDER & BOARD MEMBER

Owen is an undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota working towards a bachelor’s degree in fisheries, wildlife, and conservation biology. They got their Open Water certification at 16 through a program run by the School of Environmental Studies at the Minnesota Zoo, the high school from which they graduated. It was at SES that Owen fell in love with marine science, especially concerning coral reefs. They have experience leading and educating as a camp counselor and educational experience in a classroom through a local aquarium. Before going to college, Owen was an acrobat in a circus for 10 years. Now they are dedicated to a future of working to protect the oceans and the rest of the world so the next generation of kids can fall in love with the world like they did.

(She/they)

BOARD MEMBER

Sophia is an educator and merchandise extraordinaire. Working for two years at her local aquarium, Sophia gained important skills that will help her grow not only the WAVE Coalition but also her own career as she prepares to start her journey into animal care and conservation within the state of Florida. Sophia has dreams of working with mammals and spreading information about conservation and zoology to the next generation. Sophia’s work with WAVE is to help promote the coalition in animal welfare, conservation, and community through merchandise and the coalition’s social media presence.