Alison Benson graduated from the University of Newcastle in 1995 with a B.Sc in Marine Biology, followed by an M.Sc in Tropical Coastal Management in 1999, and has experience of field research on reefs in Mozambique, Cuba, Egypt and Kenya. She has also previously worked in protected area management support, public outreach development, and socioeconomic monitoring network coordination for coral reef conservation organisations, involving the organisation of networks and partnerships, the development of interpretive materials, and proposal writing and reporting for international and United Nations projects. Alison has recently been involved in the collation of GIS and metadata for the Mapping European Seabed Habitat (MESH) Project, and provides reporting and project management support within Envision, in addition to the analysis of video footage of benthic habitats ranging from the Eastern English Channel and the Wash to Malta and Martinique.