Nesha Ichida is an Indonesian marine conservation scientist with a primary focus in elasmobranch research, reef fish taxonomy, marine protected areas (MPA) and community-led conservation initiatives in Eastern Indonesia. She is the Program Manager of a local NGO (Thrive Conservation) and spends the majority of her time managing the StAR Project, a multi-national collaborative initiative aiming to restore Indo-Pacific leopard shark populations through translocation of egg cases bred at accredited aquariums worldwide, and for which she also sits as Co-Chair of the Steering Committee. She also manages another holistic conservation project focusing on creating island-level resiliency through MPA management, marine megafauna research, and local community outreach and livelihood development in Rote, the southernmost island of Indonesia. In addition to those, Nesha dedicates her time as a mentor to young local conservationists in her field and as a reef fish taxonomist protégé to Dr. Mark Erdmann, uncovering new species and new talents in her own home country.