Reef Without Borders exists because of a dive that I took in 2019 in waters I had been diving since 2003. I hovered over a reef in Cebu that I remembered as one of the most alive places I had ever been underwater. What I found was different. The colors were gone. The coral formations I used to navigate by were broken. The fish were fewer. I had to check my compass to confirm I was in the same location.

That moment is why this organization exists. Not as a memory of what was lost, but as a refusal to accept that the loss has to continue.

Why Cebu

The Philippines sits at the center of the Coral Triangle, the most biodiverse marine region on Earth, containing 76% of all known coral species. Cebu Province is surrounded by some of the most ecologically significant reef systems in the archipelago. Moalboal is known for its sardine run and wall diving. Malapascua is the only place in the world where thresher sharks can be reliably seen at a cleaning station. Olango Island is home to a marine sanctuary that supports thousands of migratory birds and a diverse shallow reef.

We operate in Cebu because this is where our founder has dived for 25 years, where our Director of Dive Operations Dindo Paquibot was born and has worked his entire career, and where our science partner a local marine science institution is conducting active reef monitoring research.

Our Programs

• Reef Rescue Dives Funded, science-partnered coral restoration dives. Every dive filmed from entry to coral planting and published publicly.
• Adopt-A-Coral Donors sponsor specific coral fragments for $100. Named, GPS-recorded, followed at 6 and 12 months.
• The Reef Archive A living public database of reef health at every site we work, open to researchers, funders, and the public.
• Coral and Kin Ocean literacy for Filipino-American youth in Houston and school communities in Cebu.

Our Founding Team

Clarisa Strohmeyer, Founder and Executive Director, has 25 years of scuba diving experience in Philippine waters and 15 years of organizational leadership. Before founding Reef Without Borders, she served as Operations Director at International Business Times managing teams across six countries.

Our founding board includes Vanessa L. Iway, J.D., a graduate of the Ateneo de Manila School of Law serving as President and Legal Counsel; Rosalinda Maddoux, CPA, a licensed accountant with 17 years of compliance expertise serving as Treasurer; and Renato B. Solis, a management consultant with 30 years of organizational experience in Cebu, serving as Secretary.

Dindo C. Paquibot serves as Director of Dive Operations in the Philippines. A PADI Instructor since 2007 with 20 years of professional experience diving Philippine reefs, he brings five years of direct coral nursery and transplantation experience from the Protect Maribago Bay project.

Our Commitment to Transparency

Most reef organizations publish an annual report. We publish every dive. Every Reef Rescue mission is filmed and published publicly. Every donor who contributes to a mission receives photos, GPS coordinates, and survival data at 6 and 12 months. We display our EIN, our organizational documents, and our budget allocation on our Impact and Transparency page because we believe accountability is not a reporting requirement. It is a way of operating.

Clarisa Strohmeyer is the Founder and Executive Director of Reef Without Borders, a Houston-based nonprofit dedicated to coral reef restoration in the Philippines and across the Indo-Pacific. Learn more at reefwithoutborders.org/