Stuart Banks is an oceanographer and marine ecologist by training from the National Oceanographic Centre, UK who has spent most of his career working in marine science for conservation and MPA development. Over twenty years ago, he began work at CDF with a NASA funded oceanography project based in Galapagos and since that point was captivated by the Islands, the breathtaking underwater diversity and seascapes, the potential for exploration and discovery. He served in several marine science roles and later Director for the Charles Darwin Research Station. In 2015 he joined Conservation International’s Americas Field Division with a regional science for conservation focus that encompassed mainland Ecuador as well as transboundary work in nature-based development projects between Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, and the Caribbean. Early 2023 Stuart returned to his roots, reintegrating into the Charles Darwin Station to support research and exploration across a new frontier - the diverse deep-water environments that constitute vast yet unexplored expanses of the Galapagos, Hermandad and connected Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Reserves.