We are honored to announce Ed Gullekson as our 2024 REEF Volunteer of the Year! Ed’s dedication to marine conservation, commitment to citizen science, and his willingness to help engage others in REEF’s mission make him a truly outstanding REEF member.
Ed first joined REEF in 2009 and became an active surveyor in 2015. Since then, he has conducted 1,204 fish surveys across multiple regions, making him a member of REEF's Golden Hamlet Club. He has conducted more than 1,100 surveys in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), where he is an Expert Level surveyor. He has also contributed valuable survey data in both the Tropical Western Atlantic (TWA) and Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) regions.
In 2018, Ed joined in the REEF Field Survey Trip to Key Largo in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Volunteer Fish Survey Project. He has also been an integral part of REEF's Advanced Assessment Team (AAT) efforts in the Pacific Northwest, participating in key monitoring projects, including the 2016 and 2018 San Juan Islands assessments, the 2019 Hornby Island project, and more recent surveys in South Puget Sound. His contributions have strengthened REEF’s long-term data collection efforts, helping scientists and marine managers understand changes in fish populations over time.
Ed also serves as an ambassador by sharing REEF's mission and encouraging others to become involved. As a longtime member of the Boeing Seahorses dive club, he has introduced fellow divers to REEF’s programs, encouraging them to get involved in citizen science. He has also supported REEF at dive shows, helping to spread awareness about marine conservation and the power of data collection.
Please join us in celebrating Ed as 2024 REEF Volunteer of the Year! To read more about Ed, check out his Faces of REEF profile here and his Golden Hamlet Club profile here. Click here to see all past REEF Volunteers of the Year.