Lea has a keen interest in botany, birds and mammals. After completing an honours degree in marine science, she worked on various international research projects including, coral reef habitat mapping on the second biggest barrier reef, which is in Belize.

Lea also worked for the Santiago Museum on collecting invertebrates in macrocystis plants and marine biotype studies in the intertidal zone of southern coastal Chile. Working at the Charles Darwin Research Station and studying sponge taxonomy in the Galapagos Islands.

Following a return to Australia where Lea completed her Master of Environmental Management, she worked for both the Department of Conservation and Land Management and the Western Australian Museum on various research projects for three years.

A sea-change and career change coincided with moving from the research field into the tourism education field with the opportunity to work full time on expedition ships around the world. With ten years’ experience of working in both polar and tropical ecosystems, Lea is passionate about both the marine environment and indeed the natural biodiversity of the world.