New Squad Members
Hi, everyone! It’s DiAnna (pronounced like the princess) here, one of the newest fledgling Seabirds. Today, I’m introducing myself and two other fledglings on the team: Claire Mortensen and Megan Hanna. Claire went on her first expedition ever with the Seabirds to Arctic Greenland and Norway in Aug. 2025. Megan and I joined the team following the November 2025 Hobby Lab Expedition to the Arctic.
A little about us: this Florida girl grew up frolicking in the warm, teal baby waves and white sands of Daytona Beach. To this day, the best feeling in the whole world is diving into a wave and feeling the fresh ocean water washing over me. If you had told me five years ago that I’d be looking forward to a second trip to the Arctic to get in near-freezing water and swim with orcas, I would’ve thought you were nuts. But here we are!
Meg
Claire
My love for the ocean and Florida’s wild places led me to a degree in Marine Biology and a career conserving threatened and endangered species. Along the way, I’ve worked in the seagrass meadows of the Florida Panhandle, the oil basins of Utah, the rocky tide pools of the remote Channel Islands off the coast of California, and the Florida Everglades, along with so much more.
The California coast is where I met my San Diego-bred friend, who I affectionately refer to as the “Turtle Queen,” but who also answers to “Meg.” Meg’s work and life revolve mostly around the East Pacific green sea turtle, but when she’s not obsessing over those (or any other turtle species), she enjoys snorkeling, diving, traveling, and painting. She’s traveled all over the world, including Antarctica and Arctic Norway, but still dreams of someday diving the Great Barrier Reef.
Meg is our Expedition Manager and a crucial part of our administrative support, but she’s most excited about supporting our citizen science efforts. Having led community science programs in the past, she’s passionate about connecting people who love ocean science with meaningful opportunities to contribute and collect valuable data.
Claire is a young explorer whom we first met in person during our Arctic Greenland expedition in the summer of 2025. She is passionate, thoughtful, and excited to help protect our oceans. Claire has helped us write a few blogs and is eager to become even more involved with Seabirds. She currently serves on our New Explorer scholarship committee, helping open doors for the next generation of explorers.
That’s us newbies to the squad!
