The brilliant Dr Asha De Vos is a Marine biologist, ocean educator, pioneer of blue whale research within the Indian Ocean, and a TED Senior Fellow. She famously coined the term ‘The Unorthodox Whale’ based on her many years of research on blue whales around Sri Lankan waters, and first presented the concept of ‘the Unorthodox Whale’ to the world at the TED2012 conference in California.
Born and raised in Sri Lanka, De Vos grew up with a fascination for nature and particularly the oceans. She moved to Scotland in her teens to study marine and environmental biology at the University of St Andrews, and then to England to take her Masters at Oxford. She then travelled to the other side of the world to take her doctorate from the University of Western Australia, becoming the first and only Sri Lankan to gain a PhD in marine mammal research. She then began a hugely successful and recognised career in marine biology, receiving many accolades, including the WINGS WorldQuest Women of Discovery Sea Award in 2018, and being named Sea Hero of the Year by Scuba Diving magazine in 2020. While in 2019 she was celebrated as one 12 Women Changemakers by the Sri Lankan parliament.
De Vos regularly connects with her legions followers and fans through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, posting pictures and comments about her motivational life. She also has a dedicated YouTube channel, Asha de Vos.
