Asha de Vos is an internationally acclaimed marine biologist and ocean educator, renowned for pioneering long-term blue whale research in the Northern Indian Ocean. She holds a Ph.D. in Marine Mammal Research from the University of Western Australia. She is the founder of Oceanswell, Sri Lanka’s first marine conservation research and education organization, and established the Sri Lankan Blue Whale Project, which led the International Whaling Commission to designate this unique population as a conservation priority. In 2024, she was appointed to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Scientific Advisory Board. A Senior TED Fellow and National Geographic Emerging Explorer, her work has earned several distinctions, including the Maxwell Hanrahan Award in Field Biology and the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize.