Mary O’Malley

After earning an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and a graduate degree in International Business Studies, Mary O'Malley's professional experience included Market Analysis, Systems Design, Project Management, Large Enterprise Sales, and International Sales Management with responsibility for building and managing worldwide distribution networks.  

Since retiring from business in 2005, she dove with and photographed manta rays and over 30 different species of sharks throughout the world. Mary volunteers her time to shark and manta ray conservation, including acting as Co-Project Lead for the Manta Ray of Hope project to address the urgent threat to manta and mobula rays. In this capacity, she co-wrote the WildAid/Shark Savers report, "The Global Threat to Manta and Mobula Rays", was lead author of "The Direct Economic Impact of Manta Ray Watching Tourism” published in the peer-reviewed PlosONE scientific journal, and contributed to the drafting of the proposal to include both manta ray species on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and documents supporting legal protection for manta rays in their range countries. She has also worked on numerous shark conservation initiatives, including the Raja Ampat Shark and Ray Sanctuary, the I'm FINished with FINS campaign, protection for lemon, hammerhead and tiger sharks in Florida and US state shark fin bans, and continues to actively support WildAid's shark and manta ray programs. 

Mary previously served on the Board of Directors of Shark Savers, is an Associate Director of The Manta Trust, and serves on the Steering Committee for The Blue Book Building and Construction Network.