1. Dr. Moshira Hassan – Curriculum Vitae page 1 of 4
C U R R I C U L U M V I T A E
M o s h i r a H A S S A N
PERSONAL DATA
Surname HASSAN, Dr.
Given Name Moshira
Civil Status married
Citizenship German
Address Roentgenstr. 9, 10587 Berlin, Germany
Email moshira@reefcheck.de
CURRENT
Since Feb 2013 Guest researcher at the Free University of Berlin, Department of Geological Sciences
Since 2009 Independent Environmental Consultant
Since 2002 Vice President Reef Check Germany e.V.
SUMMARY OF PROFESSIONAL SKILLS AND EXPERTISE
• Marine ecologist with over 20 years of multidisciplinary experience in the Arabian region and Asia,
specializing in coral reefs and conservation. Further areas of expertise are environmental science,
biodiversity, climate change and desert vegetation.
• Over 25 years of teaching and capacity building in the widest sense using hands-on experiential
learning, modern technologies including distance learning and classical methods of teaching. Taught
people from a wide range of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds ranging from divers and
laypeople to illiterate fishermen, university students, professionals and training of trainers. Topics
included conservation, monitoring and coastal zone management, and global climate change.
• Development and execution of Reef Check methods, expeditions and campaigns since the inception of
Reef Check in 1996 and training of laypeople and professionals. Establishment and registration of Reef
Check e.V. as an NGO in Germany. Vice President of the same. National coordination of Reef Check in
Egypt. Acquisition of in-kind and financial support for conservation from the private sector.
• Planning, management and leading of expeditions on land and at sea for over 25 years and of research
and conservation projects.
• Management and leading of teams consisting of staff, volunteers, students, and professionals coming
together for the duration of a project as well as long-term teams in established institutions.
• Cooperation with and active involvement of multiple stakeholders (NGOs, universities, volunteers,
private and government sectors) in conservation.
• Wide experience with lectures and workshops, scientific talks at conferences and invited speaker to
colloquiums, and outreach and public awareness campaigns.
• Acquisition of funding for research and for a university research laboratory in ElGouna, Egypt.
Planning and establishment of the same.
• Support and mentoring of young scientists and environmental activists in Egypt with focused attention
to the development of young women.
• Lived and worked in a number of countries and speak German, English and Arabic fluently and French
well.

2. Dr. Moshira Hassan – Curriculum Vitae page 2 of 4
UNIVERSITY DEGREES
1997 Doctoral degree in Natural Sciences from GEOMAR Research Centre Kiel, Germany (Marine
biology, zoology, marine geology).
1991 Diplom (MSc.) from the Institute of Marine Science (IfM) of the Christian Albrechts
Universität zu Kiel, Germany. (Marine biology, zoology, physical oceanography).
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2013 – present Guest scientist at the Institute of Geological Sciences at the Freie Universität Berlin.
Teaching graduate courses: “Paleobiology of Invertebrate Animals” (Cnidaria), Modern
Ecosystems..
2008 – 2009 Associate Professor of Biology at the American University in Cairo (AUC).
Duties included teaching, curriculum development, community service, and research.
Taught undergraduate biology and environmental science courses for biology and science
majors, for senior and graduate students of engineering as well as for non-science majors.
Course topics included marine ecology, conservation and climate change, environmental
science, general biology, and systematics and evolution. Supervision of theses. Development of
community based learning (CBL) course and cooperation with the Desert Development Center
(DDC) on management of organic waste at AUC.
Coordinator of the Environmental Science minor.
Faculty adviser to student club “Environmental Awareness Association”, faculty supervisor of
student run departmental library.
Staff supervision and evaluation, training of junior and senior students in teaching.
2002 – 2008 Assistant Professor at the University in Cairo (AUC).
Duties as above. Acquisition of funding and establishment of the laboratories at the John D.
Gerhart Field Station in ElGouna (Egypt, Red Sea).
2001 Coral Reef Scientist at the Marine Science Station, MSS, (University of Jordan), Aqaba, Jordan
with the USAID/MERC project in the northern Gulf of Aqaba. Tasks included coral-reef
related science, training of staff in Reef Check, as well as leasing and building relationships
between the MSS and other institutions.
1999 Project Scientist in Negros Occidental and Palawan, Philippines at Coral Cay Conservation
(CCC) and Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation, Inc. (PRRCFI). Planning
of long-term survey strategies & coordination of surveys undertaken in Negros Occidental and
Palawan. Training and supervision of volunteers in CCC specific methods and in Reef Check.
1992 – 1998 GEOMAR Research Centre for Marine Geosciences; Kiel, Germany.
Project: "Holocene Reef Growth and Recent Carbonate Production."
Interdisciplinary investigations (geology, paleontology and biology) of the factors governing
reef growth and erosion in Egypt and Jordan.
Supervision of undergraduate and graduate students, public awareness programs, initiation of
the International Year of the Reef (IYOR) in Germany, European Coordinator of Reef Check.
1991 – 1992 GEOMAR Research Centre for Marine Geosciences; Kiel, Germany.
Project: "The Persian-Arabian Gulf: Recognition and Evaluation of Environmental Damage on
the Seafloor."

3. Dr. Moshira Hassan – Curriculum Vitae page 3 of 4
SELECTED PROJECTS & CONSULTANCIES
Asisi GmbH (May – October 2015) Scientific advisor for the largest 360° panorama in the world by
Yadegar Asisi. My duties included support for the panorama on the Great Barrier Reef and
development of content for the accompanying exhibition and co-authorship of the panorama
book.
GOPA – GIZ (2014) Capacity building in underwater environmental monitoring in five Caribbean nations
with the goal of the improvement of sustainable management of focus MPAs (Marine
Protected Areas). The consultancy was part of the program Caribbean Aqua-Terrestrial
Solutions (CATS) funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
(GIZ) and CARICOM.
ECOSWISS &
Reef Check e.V.
(2013, 2001) Reef Check expeditions to the Mergui (Myeik) Archipelago, Myanmar. Survey of
basic health of coral reefs, training of volunteers and of Reef Check trainer (English).
CORAL &
Nahdet El
Mahrousa
(Oct. 2011) Workshop: Coral Reef Resilience to Climate Change. Cairo, Egypt. Training of
environmental activists and professionals (Arabic & English).
RSEC (August 2010) Red Sea Environmental Centre (RSEC), Dahab, Egypt. Training and
supervision of volunteers in reef monitoring using the “RSEC-Dahab reef monitoring” method
and in Reef Check. Supervision and support of those volunteers in academic work for their
home institutions (German).
PERSGA (June 2010) Trainer at the Regional Workshop of the Regional Organization for the
Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA) "Assessment of
Coral Reef Vulnerability to Climate Change Impacts" (Arabic).
Reef Check
Foundation
(May 2010) Survey of reefs of South Sinai, commissioned to assess basic health of reefs with
the aim of changing or adding sites to the heavily used diving and snorkeling sites.
Cooperation between Reef Check Headquarters (LA, USA), Sinai Divers (Sharm el Sheikh,
Egypt), RSEC and myself.
AUC (November 2009) The Arab Online Journalism Project. Trainer at the Kamal Adham Center for
Journalism Training and Research, The American University in Cairo. Workshop on “Climate
Change: Facts, Interpretations & Predictions.” (Arabic, English, French).
National
Geographic
(January 2006) Leading of group of 50 members of the Committee for Research and
Exploration (CRE) of the National Geographic Society to coral reefs in Sharm El Sheikh.
Reef Check e.V.
& SUBEX
(December 2005) Audit of the health of a coral reef area in El Quadim Bay, El Quseir, Egypt;
the first privately managed reef in Egypt, with restrictions on numbers of divers and exclusion
of fishermen in place since 1995. Training of local Egyptian staff in Reef Check (English,
Arabic).
PERSGA (Feb – June 2002) Coordinator for coral reef surveys commissioned by The Regional
Organization for the Conservation of the Environment in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden by
(PERSGA). Surveys and training of local teams in each country of the PERSGA region
(Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti) in survey methods (Arabic, French).
Greenpeace
Germany
(2001) Analysis of the international discussions and positions on ethical and health risk aspects
of genetic engineering of humans, cloning and stem cell therapies.
UNOPS (1999) United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Development and implementation
of training program of national experts from Yemen for the formation of a Marine Extension
Team for in the GEF/UNDP “Project Sustainable Development of the Socotra (Yemen)
Archipelago” (Arabic).
CDG (2000, 1999, 1998) Carl-Duisberg-Gesellschaft (CDG) in Bremen, Germany. Capacity building
of professionals from Latin America, South Africa and SE Asia in coral reef systems and
management and the sustainable use of coastal and marine resources (English).
DANIDA &
Hong Kong
University of
Science and
Technology
(1998) Establishment of ecotourism in Con Dao Island (Vietnam) and training of employees of
the National Park of Con Dao as well as from the Nha Trang Oceanographic Institute
(Vietnam) in Marine Protected Areas, theory and techniques of Integrated Coastal Zone
Management (ICZM) and monitoring including the Reef Check method (English).

4. Dr. Moshira Hassan – Curriculum Vitae page 4 of 4
FURTHER RELEVANT PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2009 – present Close involvement with environment activism groups in Egypt.
2005 – 2007 Visiting researcher at museums in Germany studying the taxonomy of scleractinian corals
(Museum of Natural History, Berlin; Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt; Senckenberg
Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Frankfurt).
1996 - 1997 Initiation & development of German initiative to the "International Year of the Reef 1997"
(IYOR). Most important activities include outreach in Germany and Egypt and Reef Check
(see above).
1983 - 1995 Periodic work as diving guide and diving instructor in Egypt & the Republic of Maldives.
COUNTRIES OF WORKING EXPERIENCE
Djibouti; Egypt; France; Germany; Jordan; Maldives; Myanmar; Philippines; Sudan;
Thailand; Vietnam; Yemen. In the Atlantic region: Dominica; Grenada; Saint Kitts and Nevis;
Saint Lucia; St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
LANGUAGES
German, Arabic: Mother tongue
English: Fluent in speech and writing
French: Spoken: good; Writing: basic
Portuguese: Beginner
FURTHER EDUCATION AND HONORS
2005 “1000 moorings” Award of HEPCA (Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation
Association) as representative of Reef Check Germany.
2000 Elected by Greenpeace Germany as 'one of 100 heroes of the last 100 years'.
1998 ‘Werner & Inge Grüter Award’ for Scientific Mass Communication.
1989 Professional Diving Instructor (PADI).
1986 /1987 Exchange scholarship between Kiel University, Germany and Université de Bretagne
Occidentale, Brest, France for "Maitrise d`Océanographie Biologique".
1983 Highschool: Deutsche Evangelische Oberschule Kairo (DEO), Cairo, Egypt.
MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES
• Elected Vice President and co-founder of Reef Check e.V. (not for profit organization, registered in
Bremen, Germany).
• Coordinator Reef Check Germany and Egypt.
• International Society for Reef Studies (ISRS).
• PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors).