Meet the team 

Melody Brenna

CEO & Co-Founder

Melody has been working with Dr. Sobolev since 2002 creating advanced nanomaterials technologies. She is the original Co-founder of Milestone Architectural in Texas, which received multiple top small business awards. Applying her incredible expertise with material casting, Melody has dedicated her life to restore, revitalize, and protect ocean habitats through nano-science solutions. Her drive to accelerate scientific paths to global coral restoration is what inspires the rest of us to keep moving forward!

Konstantin Sobolev

CTO & Co-Founder

Dr. Sobolev obtained his Ph.D. from the Research Institute of Concrete and Reinforced Concrete (NIIZhB), Russia, in 1993. He leads our material science team and works as a professor of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin.  A major focus of Dr. Sobolev’s research and professional career has been on material strength and durability, which has played an important role in the development of the Oceanite mixtures used in our IntelliReefs structures.

Guyon Brenna

Ocean Architect & Co-Founder

Guyon was the Buckminster Fuller Catalyst winner in 2017 for oceanic structure design and was named one of the 30 Under 30 from Earth X. Guyon founded the Coral Infrastructure Company, which specializes in Coral substrate reconstruction with species-specific nanomaterial cementitious mixes and develops 3D design of art and modular ocean habitats. He also presented at the UN Hawaii, Ocean Conference, and Hague Netherlands on coral restoration through substrate creation.

Emily Higgins

Director of Science & Communications

Emily is a coral reef biologist and science storyteller. Her research focuses on evaluating the utility of artificial reefs as a coral restoration strategy and analyzing the similarities between artificial and natural reef communities in comparative studies. Recently, Emily found that IntelliReefs can increase the biodiversity of reef organisms on Caribbean coral reefs and provide refuges to important fish and invertebrate species on degraded reefs. She also uses visual storytelling techniques to amplify the voices of vulnerable non-human communities to empower conservation initiatives.

Shelby Grassick

Director of Digital Marketing

Shelby is an animal lover, environmentalist and ocean advocate who works to connect people with nature through digital and graphic design, photography, and videography. With a bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology specializing in sea turtle conservation, a post graduate certificate in Environmental Visual Communications, and a long history in design, she works towards merging her talents in order to visually communicate scientific and environmental stories.

Andrew Kuhlken

Digital Media Intern

Andrew has been doing networking, media, and design work for IntelliReefs since his early teens and has been a passionate advocate for the oceans his entire life. Andrew started his internship with IntelliReefs in 2016 at the IUCN Congress in Hawaii. Andrew has been diving, snorkeling, and freediving since he was a child and is an avid underwater photographer and filmmaker.  Today Andrew is a student at Whitman College and an active member of the IntelliReefs team.

Ryland Shaw

Photographer & Videographer

Ryland is a student at the University of Utah working in critical environmental communication and filmmaking. He has worked for several national organizations within the realm of social and environmental impact, including the National Park Service and the Sorenson Impact Center, and will be continuing his studies as a graduate student in 2021. Ryland joined the IntelliReefs team in 2020 to create visual stories about their innovative technology and share their research and conservation methods with a global audience.