About Cristina

“Water flows through every aspect of our lives, following that flow makes us realize that everything is so vitally interconnected”  CZ

A shark ecologist and behaviorist, Cristina grew up between the savannah and the rainforest of the Congo, where she developed a passion for the outdoors and an understanding and appreciation for the wilderness and our relationship to the environments around us. Thanks to her family, she acquired an equal dedication to the ocean.

Thirty years ago, she journeyed to the Bahamas to learn how to scuba dive and immediately made The Bahamas her home and diving her life.

Today, she is a PADI Course Director, NSS-CDS Advanced Cave diving instructor, TDI Technical Instructor, Rebreather instructor, educator, speaker, writer, and photographer; Cristina speaks five languages: Italian, English, German, French, and Spanish. Some say she speaks a sixth one, “Shark.”

SHARKS 

Cristina works in the wild with sharks, where she has built a special relationship with a local shiver of Caribbean Reef sharks. Many recognize her and approach her touch. Cristina uses this connection to remove hooks from their mouths while at the same time educating the public about the plight of sharks, oceans, and the need to protect them.

During her career, she has met and worked with scientists, behaviorists, and divers in numerous locations worldwide and observed and worked with over twenty species of sharks.

Cristina has been instrumental in advancing the campaign that resulted in the 2011 declaration of The Bahamas as a shark sanctuary.

CAVES

Cristina is an active cave diving instructor and a passionate explorer. Caves and their exploration can be compared to outer space; they are as remote and unforgiving as the dark universe; they present dangerous obstacles but incredible rewards.

Cristina’s extensive work includes exploring new systems, making the record-breaking connection of a land cave with an ocean blue hole system, and conducting surveys, consulting, and conservation work.

PROJECTS

Cristina, an active supporter of the Bahamas National Trust, embarked on the 2020 Project in 2009, a government plan to protect twenty percent more of the archipelago by 2020.

Cristina submitted two significant projects: Ben’s Cave in Lucayan National Park on Grand Bahama Island and Sweeting’s Cay Zodiac System.

These two areas present the perfect combination of land, creek, mangroves, and cave passageways. They are vitally interconnected and require a comprehensive conservation plan to avoid damaging one area while exploiting another.

Together with her husband, Kewin Lorenzen, she added two systems they discovered in 2020. To date, Cristina has laid more than 120 km of lines in virgin passageways and surveyed twice as much.

Diving in caves, working with sharks, and being involved in their conservation efforts has allowed Cristina to see and prove that “Water flows through every aspect of our lives, following that flow makes us realize that everything is so vitally interconnected” – CZ.

CURRENTLY 

Cristina is a very active and passionate instructor, explorer,, and educator. She divides her attention between expeditions, managing her operation, working with sharks, and exploring caves.

As a public speaker, she has been inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame (2011), The Explorers Club (2013), and The Ocean Artists Society (2013). She is also a recipient of the Platinum Pro 5000.

Cristina is the founder of People of the Water, a 501c3 non-profit organization designed to broaden the conduct and distribution of training, education, research, and studies related to water, oceans, and environmental issues affecting the people and animals of said environments.

She actively supports the non-profit organizations of The Bahamas National Trust, the Women Divers Hall of Fame scholarships and training programs, the American Shark Conservancy, The Explorers Club, and Our World Underwater Scholarship Society.

Cristina believes that each one of us can make a difference and that “One small action is better than no big action.”