Franziska Elmer PhD is a research fellow with School for Field Studies at the Center for Marine Resource Studies in South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands and the executive producer of the Sargassum Podcast. She has spent much of her career in the Caribbean, including volunteer work and an internship at STENAPA in St. Eustatius and faculty positions at CIEE in Bonaire and SFS in South Caicos. Furthermore, she serves as treasurer for the Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean and is an Island Innovation Ambassador. Her research focusses are on coral recruitment, stony coral tissue loss disease and the impact of Sargassum beaching events on ecosystems and local communities.

Project Description: In 2020, Franziska gave TEDx talk in Luzern: How a Marine Biologist Became a Climate Pirate. Since January 2020, Franziska has been on a climate change sabbatical in which she volunteers for various projects working help to solve this crisis.