Lida Teneva

Dr. Lida Teneva grew up in Sofia, Bulgaria, in Eastern Europe, and wanted to be an explorer from an early age. Today, she is a coral reef scientist, marine conservationist, and educator, with 13 years of experience accumulated in Barbados, Dominican Republic, Australia (Great Barrier Reef), French Polynesia, Palau, the Northern Line Islands (Palmyra Atoll), Hawaii, and Fiji. She has worked on ancient and modern coral reefs, reconstructing past climate change and predicting future changes to reefs. 

After she got her PhD at Stanford University, she had the privilege for years to work with extraordinary coastal communities, in support of their reef stewardship, in Hawaii and Fiji, through Conservation International and Wildlife Conservation Society. Lida can often be found aboard National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions in various parts of the Pacific, when not in her home in California, hiking and flying Cessnas.