Marie Levine, Ph.D., Founder and Executive Director

Marie is a scientific diver, and the Founder and Executive Director of SRI. Under her stewardship the organization expanded its membership to more than 17,000 with research / conservation projects in Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, India, Mexico, Mozambique, The Philippines, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, the UK and the United States. She advocates for shark and marine life protective legislation at regional, national and international forums such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

In addition to articles in scientific journals and chapters in books, she authored two childrens’ books on sharks: Sharks: Q&A (New Holland), and Great White Sharks (Weigl, reprinted by Raintree Steck-Vaughn), and edited books on sharks for D.K. Publishers and Random House.

She has worked and dived with sharks in 43 countries. As a Fellow of the famed Explorers Club, she has led 5 Flag Expeditions, and in 2001 was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame and subsequently served on its Board of Directors.