About

Sanne Hessing,
Research Director/Founder

Passionate about whales since young age, obsessed with orcas, and fallen in love with porpoises while volunteering at the rehabilitation center SOS Dolfijn.

Currently enrolled in her study Biology at Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Focusing on Marine Sciences, Ecology, Evolution and minoring in Biogeology. Got to adopt orca Holly (Sonora, A42, Northern Resident Killer Whale) when she was eight, and her love never stopped. In 2007, she visited the island Terceira (Azores) and observed whales and dolphins in the wild for the first time. Since then her life was devoted to whales, dolphins and porpoises. She managed to write her high school paper about the subject ‘ Verdwijnen orka’s door walvistoerisme? (Do killer whales disappear due to rising whale tourism?) Which got nominated for the Academy Education Award 2015 (KNAW). Since march 2016 working as a Volunteer Animal Caretaker, at the foundation SOS Dolfijn. In the summer of 2016 she got the opportunity to visit the Superpod 5 conference on San Juan Island (USA), and met many inspiring people. She also is a Certified Marine Naturalist, member of the Salish Sea Association of Marine Naturalists (SSAMN) after completion the Whale Museum’s Marine Naturalist Training Program. And she completed the ORCA Marine Mammal Surveyor training course, at the Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. A recent participation at the European Cetacean Society (ECS) Conference at Middelfart (Denmark) in April 2017 confirmed her devotion to spent her life on studying cetaceans in all aspects.