Sea Smart is merging with The Starfish Canada to create BIGGER waves!
We are so excited to share big news with you!
After months of reflection and conversations, Sea Smart is merging with The Starfish Canada, an incredible youth-led environmental charity that shares our passion for empowering the next generation of changemakers.
This is a huge step forward for Sea Smart — and one that will let us reach more youth across Canada than ever before.
There are many reasons why we’re so excited about this merger - the most important being that together, our two organizations will be able to make a much greater impact than we could have ever made as separate organizations. The merger will expand Sea Smart’s programs across Canada, in both French and English, and to empower more youth to be ocean heroes.
Why this merger is so exciting:
🌊 The Starfish Canada empowers and uplifts youth environmentalists through leadership and changemaking programs — a perfect complement to our ocean education programs for younger youth.
🌍 They’re national, bilingual, and deeply committed to equity, inclusion, and reconciliation, with a diverse team of young staff and board members that offer strong representation of the many communities we seek to serve.
🤝 Together, we’re bridging gaps in programming and creating a powerful pathway for youth of all ages to fall in love with nature and take action to protect it.
What this means for Sea Smart:
✅ Our name, brand, and programs will continue — we’re not going anywhere!
✅ We’ll keep running all of our programs as usual, including our summer camps
✅ Our staff will join The Starfish Canada team on September 1.
✅ Our founder will stay on as an advisor to support a smooth transition.
✅ And best of all — we’ll have more capacity, support, and reach to empower even more youth across the country.
What this means for Sea Smart’s Founder:
After almost 10 years as Executive Director, Dr. Elaine Leung will be stepping down in the fall to return to her first love as a marine biologist: doing conservation research on endangered marine animals. Dr. Leung will continue supporting The Starfish Canada as an advisor to ensure a smooth transition.
In recognition of Dr. Leung’s incredible passion and impact in ocean conservation and youth empowerment, The Starfish Canada will create a scholarship legacy fund in Dr. Leung’s honor to help support youth who identify as girls to pursue a career in marine biology.
What’s next?
All of Sea Smart’s programs that you know and love, including our summer camps, will continue running as usual. We’ll be working behind the scenes on the transition with the merger being finalised on September 1, 2025. Sea Smart is excited to have two experienced leaders take the helm: Kyle Empringham (Co-Executive Director, Finance and Development) is an experienced non-profit leader with over a decade of experience in environmental and social impact organizations, and Sylvie Stojanovski (Co-Executive Director, Operations and Administration) is an administration expert with experience starting and scaling education-based initiatives.
Sea Smart’s next chapter is bright, bold, and deeply rooted in everything we’ve built together. We are so excited to create a bigger impact across Canada and beyond.
Thank you for being part of this journey — and for helping us power even bigger waves of change.
Frequently Asked Questions
🌊 Why is Sea Smart merging with The Starfish Canada?
After nearly a decade of growth, Sea Smart is ready to take our impact to the next level — and we’ve found the perfect partner to do it with. The Starfish Canada is a national, youth-led environmental charity that focuses on empowering and uplifting young environmental changemakers. Their work complements Sea Smart’s ocean education programs for younger youth. By joining forces, we’re creating a more connected, powerful pathway to support youth as environmental changemakers across all ages.
💙 What will stay the same?
Sea Smart’s mission and values remain unchanged.
The Sea Smart name, brand, and programs will continue — our identity is staying intact.
We’ll continue running the same ocean education programs that families, schools, and partners know and love, including our summer camps.
🧭 What will change?
Our staff will become part of The Starfish Canada team starting September 1, 2025.
We’ll have more capacity, support, and resources to reach more youth and communities across Canada — in both English and French.
Our founder and Executive Director, Dr. Elaine Leung, will step down in the fall. She will remain involved after the merger as an advisor to support the transition and ensure that Sea Smart’s legacy continues strong within The Starfish Canada.
🤝 Who is The Starfish Canada?
The Starfish Canada is a youth-led, values-driven national nonprofit that empowers young people to create environmental and social change. They offer:
Bilingual programming across Canada
A strong commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and reconciliation
Deep relationships with Indigenous communities
An inspiring team of young leaders with a passion for mentorship and impact
🚀 What are the benefits of this merger?
A bigger platform for Sea Smart’s work and mission
More opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and youth engagement
The ability to scale our programs nationally
Access to Starfish’s infrastructure, networks, and leadership development programs
🗓️ What’s the timeline?
Spring/Summer 2025: Programs continue as usual while the teams begin transition planning
September 1, 2025: Sea Smart staff officially transition to The Starfish Canada team
Fall 2025: Elaine steps down as ED and continues as an advisor for transition support
