Tripp Funderburk is the Manager of the Bay Islands Reef Restoration program (BIRR). He is responsible for nursery construction and maintenance; coral outplanting and monitoring; and teaching Subway GoGreen Divemaster interns and Turquoise Bay guests how to maintain the nursery and outplant coral.
Before managing BIRR, Tripp was the Director of Policy for Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF), and Director of International Operations at the Coral Restoration Foundation International (CRFI) in Key Largo, Florida. Mr. Funderburk also served as a Member of the Board of Directors of CRF, and as a Team Leader for CRF's education dive programs.
Tripp also attended the New Heaven Reef Conservation Program (NHRCP) in Koh Tao, Thailand, where he received SSI (Scuba Schools International) Ecological Diver Recognition for Coral Restoration Theory and Methods, Coral Nursery Construction and Maintenance, and Coral Abundance and Health Assessment.
Before working in the coral restoration field, Tripp worked in public policy in Washington, DC, for more than 20 years, including eight years as a legislative assistant on both the House Appropriations and the House Administration Committees. Tripp also worked in the private sector in government relations for The Washington Group and The Livingston Group where he represented Fortune 500 companies, trade associations, non-profit organizations, conservation groups, Indian tribes, and foreign governments.
Mr. Funderburk received his M.B.A. from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Virginia.