Hey, you guys! My name is Kylie Reif and I'm the founder of DEFINDERS. As an individual who grew up in West Lafayette, Indiana, I'm not your typical FINactic. Ever since I was seven years old, I've had a passion for the ocean. However, I wasn't always this way...I used to be absolutely terrified of it. It wasn't until my mom and I took a trip to Hawaii that I began to love it. She was snorkeling with the sea turtles and told me to join her. I answered with a firm "no", but my stubbornness was matched by my mother as she dragged me into the water. I put up as much resistance as I could until she shouted "JUST PUT YOUR HEAD UNDER THE WATER!" And so I did, and swimming right next to me was a giant green sea turtle. Just like that, a switch flipped in my brain. From then on, I was out there snorkeling from dawn until dusk for the rest of the vacation.

 

I didn't stop there though. When I got back home I created a whole binder containing dreams of a seven year old of becoming an aquatic veterinarian. I attended marine biology camps in San Diego. Soon enough, I was talking to my parents about getting SCUBA certified, and earned such in Topsail, North Carolina. It was around this time I became interested in sharks. I had heard more and more about how important they are to the ocean, so I started to do my own research. I quickly learned how wrongly they've been portrayed in all forms of media, and this vilification often resulted in the shark being killed. I remember thinking how unfair that was. I had always felt misunderstood, but I couldn't fathom not having a voice to explain myself. So I decided to become a voice. I did everything I could to get in the water with sharks so I could show people how incredible they were. I spent a  month in Fiji studying shark behavior, testing the relationship between the sex of the shark and number of approaches they made to us researchers. Further more, in my freshman year of college, I conducted a survey on the general public to test the influences of shark film and media. I also spent time in the gulf, catching, tagging, and releasing sharks as a diversity survey. I will continue that specific type of analysis in Winyah Bay, North Carolina, studying the diversity of sharks in that area as well.

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I began DEFINDERS on a random Wednesday night in June of 2023 after I finished giving a presentation to a small crowd. I walked off the stage feeling restless. I felt like I could do more, more with my words, more with my passion. I continued to walk towards my parents, pausing before them and saying "That's not enough. I have to do more". About five minutes after sitting with myself in silence I said, "I'm going to start an organization...but one that doesn't just advocate, but educates too. I want them to see what I see". And so, my vision took off, and I created what you see before you today. Moreover, I want people to understand that they don't need several years of school or multiple degrees to make a difference. We need a grass roots movement toward change. We need to use our voices. That's all it takes. A little effort, a little passion. With that, we can change the future of our sharks and our planet.

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