Ron Leidich

Ron Leidich was born in Yokosuka, Japan and was raised in three different countries and nine U.S. states in a Marine Corps family. The constant moving and rush of new environments instilled Ron with a sincere passion for the outdoors and wildlife.

Ron earned a bachelor’s of science degree in zoology in 1989 and immediately dove into a career in outdoor leadership and education. After leading summer white-water rafting tours in Tennessee, West Virginia, and Arizona, Ron would migrate to the Caribbean and Mexico in the winters to teach scuba diving. In 1994, he ventured out a bit further into the Pacific with the dream of diving with sharks and mantas in the newly formed Republic of Palau. The introduction to Palau’s pristine Rock Islands and outrageous diving was simply love at first sight. Ron continues to reside in Palau with his wife and two children for more than half of each year, spending the rest of his season leading trips through Galápagos, Burma, Borneo, Indonesia, and Australia.

His passion for conservation has led to success stories, including the establishment of Micronesia’s first shark sanctuary, the reduction of coral-consuming crown of thorns starfish, and the nomination for Palau as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ron’s current active research projects include a cetacean population study in Palau’s waters as well as work on the monumental publication of “Flowering Plants & Pollinators of Palau.”