Reef Saver: Steve LaFranchi

It started with a six-year-old boy, an old mask, and a tide pool in California. His uncle dunked his head in and something shifted that has never shifted back.

Chris LaFranchi has spent his career following that spark, from tide pools to the Pacific, from marine biology to economics, from Southern Africa to remote islands in Palau. Today he is the founder and chairman of One Reef Worldwide Stewardship, a nonprofit that partners directly with Indigenous Pacific Island communities to protect coral reefs, preserve centuries-old cultures, and build climate resilience from the inside out.

In this episode of Mode to Joy, host Monica Lyle sits down with Chris for a wide-ranging, deeply moving conversation about what it really takes to build something from nothing, why the communities you serve are often the best teachers you will ever have, and how a spark of childhood wonder can sustain you through decades of hard, uncertain, meaningful work.

Listen below, or via your favorite podcast player.

In This Episode, You'll Hear:

  • What coral reefs actually are, why they matter so much, and why a small shift in climate is an existential threat to them

  • How watching Jacques Cousteau as a kid in West Los Angeles set the whole journey in motion

  • Why Chris left a doctoral program in marine biology and discovered that saving nature is really about working with people and economics

  • The moment Pacific Island elders in Palau completely upended everything he thought he knew about conservation

  • How One Reef's model works: direct partnerships with Indigenous stewards across seven Pacific nations

  • The story of negotiating the first formal stewardship agreement with the people of Hatohobei in Palau

  • What a Nobel Prize-winning economist named Elinor Ostrom taught him about communities and the "tragedy of the commons"

  • The inner challenges of founding a nonprofit: imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and finding the grit to keep going

  • Why helping other people succeed became his greatest source of energy and meaning

  • What comes next for Chris as he transitions out of the founder CEO role, and what legacy he hopes to leave behind

Key Takeaways

→ Go back to fundamentals. When things get hard, Chris asks himself: what is really important here? What is fundamental? That habit has guided every major decision he has made.

→ The communities you serve are your greatest teachers. Chris arrived in the Pacific with a fully formed model, and the elders politely and patiently took it apart and rebuilt it with him. Humility and openness to being wrong are not just virtues; they are professional skills.

→ Incentives are not always the answer. In the Pacific, communities do not need to be convinced to protect their reefs. They need good partners, resources, and recognition. Understanding that difference changed everything about how One Reef operates.

→ A spark from childhood is a legitimate career compass. Chris has returned to the memory of that tide pool again and again throughout his life. The things that genuinely captivate us early, before we know we are supposed to be practical, are worth taking seriously.

→ Helping other people excel is an endless source of energy. Accolades are nice. Money is useful. But watching someone else do something extraordinary because you helped them get there? That, Chris says, is what really keeps the fire going.

→ Do not romanticize it. Chris is honest: launching a nonprofit is hard, most do not survive, and you cannot fool yourself into thinking it will be easy. But if it is genuinely aligned with who you are, the difficult parts become navigable.

About Chris LaFranchi

Chris LaFranchi is the founder and chairman of One Reef Worldwide Stewardship, a nonprofit organization partnering directly with Indigenous Pacific Island communities across seven countries to protect coral reefs, build climate resilience, and preserve ancestral cultures. His career in conservation began in marine biology before shifting to economics and community-based natural resource management. He has worked with the World Wildlife Fund, led community conservation projects in Southern Africa and Papua New Guinea, and spent years building the relationships and model that became One Reef. He recently transitioned from the CEO role to focus on partnerships, strategy, and mentorship as the organization enters its next chapter.

Resources and References Mentioned

  • One Reef Worldwide Stewardship: onereef.org

  • Elinor Ostrom, Nobel Prize-winning economist and pioneer in community-based resource management

  • The people of Hatohobei, Republic of Palau

  • World Wildlife Fund

  • Jacques Cousteau

About Mode To Joy

Mode to Joy is hosted by Monica Lyle, and explores the intersection of passion and profession. After 30 years as an executive coach, Monica is on a mission to help more people do what they love and love what they do. Each episode features a guest who has found a way to make their life's work feel like their life's calling. May their stories inspire you to find your own way to bring more life to your work and joy to your life.

Here are a few ways to connect:

© Mode To Joy 2026