One village. One reef.
A different idea.

Dr. Maya Chen was asleep in a research station on a small Philippine island when she heard the first blast. She'd been documenting coral health for six weeks. By the time she reached the beach, the fishing was already over. Two years later, they returned to that same island to test the idea. PULSE started with one fishing village, one reef, and a simple agreement: the community would design the protection plan. PULSE would provide support.

Fishers working together to gather a net on the shore

Our team

The fictional team in this example covers research, community programmes and operations.

Dr. Maya Chen

Dr. Maya Chen

Co-Founder & CEO

Maya spent her twenties studying dying coral reefs. She got her PhD from Scripps, advised the Philippine government on marine protection, and won a Pew Fellowship. Then she helped start PULSE because she was tired of writing reports that nobody acted on. She still insists on visiting partner sites in person. Her staff has learned to work around her April travel schedule.

James Okonkwo

James Okonkwo

Co-Founder & Chief Impact Officer

Before PULSE, James took pictures. His wildlife photography appeared in National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, and The Guardian. He was good at documenting problems. He got frustrated that documenting problems wasn't solving them. Now he runs our monitoring systems and makes sure every program can prove it's working. He still brings a camera everywhere.

Dr. Anika Patel

Dr. Anika Patel

Chief Science Officer

Anika came from WWF, where she spent eight years learning what works in conservation science and what doesn't. Her research on community-based monitoring has been published in Nature and Conservation Biology. At PULSE, she keeps us honest. If a program isn't backed by evidence, it doesn't move forward.

What we stand for

We support communities in protecting the ecosystems they depend on, with the resources and research they need to lead the work.

A future where healthy ecosystems and thriving communities support each other.

Community priorities

The needs and knowledge of local residents shape each programme.

Evidence

We monitor results and revise our approach as new evidence emerges.

Local leadership

Communities design and manage programmes with our support.

Where the funding goes

92% of funding supports conservation programmes, research and monitoring. The remaining 8% covers operations and fundraising.