Name: Melissa Hobson
Nickname
Depends who you ask… usually Mel (but also Mellie, Malu, Pudding, Pud, Smudge or Honey!)
Where are you from?
Originally from Reading in the UK and spent almost 10 years living and working in London before the rat race got the better of me. Most recently, I’ve been living in Tofo Beach, Mozambique, and I’m now based in Dumaguete at the Reef-World field office.
If we asked your friends about you, what would they say?
Mel’s “pet” scorpion Donald - he lived under her shower…!
If you asked my friends, they’d probably tell you that although my “work self” is super organised, I’m pretty clumsy and trip over or walk into things all the time.
They might also mention my fondness for: diving, travel, Dave (my awesome cat), Donald (the scorpion I once accidentally adopted) and The Rock.
What’s your background?
I started working in Public Relations and Communications in London around 10 years ago. Since then, I’ve had clients across the charity, travel, consumer, corporate and tech sectors. Working with such a wide range of brands and organisations – from tourist boards and ice creams to back end travel reservation systems and everything in between – gave me a solid grounding in all aspects of communications strategies; but it also helped me realise I was particularly interested in organisations that make a positive difference. Around five years ago, while specialising in travel PR, I also fell into travel journalism: what started as a happy accident has developed into a bit of a side hustle, giving me by-lines in the likes of Diver magazine, Lonely Planet, MTV, Family Traveller, Daily Beast, Fodors and more. I usually write about scuba diving, eco travel and to marine conservation although I’ve been known to cover many other topics too (robot yoga, anyone?).
What inspired you to get into marine conservation?
Diving with Sam and Jula from Reef-World
There’s nothing like being underwater and I’ve seen so many awesome – and often rare – species while diving. So much damage is being done to the ocean and it would be so sad to lose these spectacular creatures.
The hope that all is not lost is what’s drawn me to working in marine conservation and trying to make a positive difference.
What brought you to Reef-World & why do you care about the work we do?
While I’ve been fascinated by the ocean since qualifying as a diver, it was a long journey before marine conservation became my career. After nearly a decade working for busy PR agencies in The Big Smoke, I decided I needed a change. In what, on paper, might seem like a slightly extreme move, I quit my job, left everything behind and moved to Mozambique to volunteer with the Marine Megafauna Foundation where I spent eight months looking after their communications. Of course, unpaid placements inevitably have a time limit and, before I knew it, it was time to move on. I’d just started looking for permanent comms jobs in the marine conservation sector when my friend forwarded me a job advert he’d seen to become the Comms Manager at Reef-World. I applied and the rest, as they say, is history. This is a cause I’m truly passionate about and having a great team around me motivates and inspires me to keep making a positive difference.
Spending time in the water with whale sharks while volunteering with MMF
What’s your role at Reef-World and what does that look like?
Training new Green Fins assessors in Ambon, Indonesia
I’m the Communications Manager at Reef-World which means I look after PR, marketing, social media and all other forms of communication. We’re a small, tight-knit team so we’re all very hands on, which means every day is different. I could be writing a press release about one of our key developments, speaking to a journalist about a sustainable tourism feature they’re writing, running Comms training sessions for the team, liaising with the UN Environment Programme around Green Fins’ communication strategy or dealing with admin such as searching for and recording press coverage or replying to questions and comments on social media. As well as my office-based responsibilities, I also support the team in the field with Green Fins training sessions and assessments.
What do you enjoy the most about your role?
Being able to use my comms experience to have a tangible conservation impact by raising awareness of the threats faced by coral reefs and how people can positively change their behaviours to have a positive effect.
What one piece of advice would you give to someone wanting to get into the marine conservation sector?
You don’t have to be a scientist to make a difference! There are lots of roles in marine conservation that don’t require a scientific background and it can be beneficial to have a totally different skill set. Organisations and charities working in the field will likely already attract many marine biologists but they’ll still need support from skilled professionals in other fields: comms, IT, strategy development, design etc. Think about what make you stand out from the crowd and where you can add the most value. I’ve actually written a blog post about it!
Outside work, what are your hobbies?
Mel & the famous Dave
Diving (obviously!) and being by the ocean. It’s my happy place. Even though my work does involve some scuba, I’ll still go diving for fun when I can. I also enjoy yoga and freelance as a writer so, when I’m not in the office, you’ll often find me curled up in a café crafting a story for one of my editors.
When I’m back in the UK, I like to catch up with friends and family as well as spending time with Dave: my adorable ginger tomcat!
What’s your favourite marine animal and why?
I love manta rays – I’d wanted to see one since qualifying as a diver, but it was many years before I saw my first one. Living in Tofo, Mozambique, I was lucky enough not only to spend time in the water with many mantas but also help MMF taking identification photos (the pattern on each manta’s belly is as unique as a human fingerprint). I’ve also been lucky enough to spend two humpback whale seasons in Mozambique; during which time I’ve developed quite a soft spot for humpbacks too – so I’d say humpbacks and mantas are probably tied!
What marine animal are you most like and why?
I’d probably say a humpback whale: social, loyal and family-oriented. However, according to “the internet” my ocean spirit animal for my Myers-Briggs type is the Broadnose Sevengill Shark (Notorynchus Cepedianus). So there you go!
When and where did you qualify as a diver?
I qualified as a diver over 10 years ago when I was backpacking around Australia. I would be visiting the Great Barrier Reef so, even though I wasn’t much of a water baby at the time, I decided to give diving a go. I hated all the skills dives in the pool and thought diving wasn’t for me. Everything changed as soon as we got into the ocean – the reef was so vibrant; abundant with life. I saw turtles, sharks, rays – we even found Nemo! At the end of the trip I was disappointed that I might not have the chance to dive again. But I’d clearly caught the bug. After a few years diving for fun on holiday, I began writing for Diver magazine and now – working with Reef-World’s Green Fins initiative – diving is part of my career as well as a hobby.
Tell us about your most memorable dive…
Unexpectedly coming across three scalloped hammerhead sharks after we’d just finished our safety stop was pretty insane. They were super chilled and came pretty close so we just hung around while they circled us for a few minutes. I’d love to see a huge school of hammerheads one day!
& one diving destination still on your bucket list?
There are so many but if I can only pick one I’d say Tubbataha.
Star sign and how you express it:
Aquarius – creative, independent, determined (i.e. stubborn!) and a little eccentric. Apparently, Aquarians often work in campaigning or the charity sector which obviously fits too!
If you could have one superpower, what would you choose and why?
I’d love to be able to understand and speak every language fluently – does that count as a superpower? Teleportation would be pretty cool too!
What’s the strangest injury you’ve ever had?
I’m usually pretty good at avoiding injuries but I do bruise like a peach. The most embarrassing injury was probably while visiting the Caribbean island of Nevis when I experienced “mask squeeze.” It was my first time using a new mask which – as I found out on the dive – didn’t fit as well as I’d thought on land. It was so bad it gave me a serious black eye! I was on the island on a press trip so was travelling alone in off season and attracted several looks of concern with my huge shiner. Safe to say the waiters were all very kind to me as soon as I took off my sunglasses…
Tell us something most people wouldn’t know about you…
I’m totally fine with sharks… but a bit scared of clownfish! They can be really feisty!