Since childhood Lila has always maintained her fascination with mermaids and the ocean. This childlike wonder led her from her home in California to Seattle where she volunteered at a small student run aquarium while getting her A.S. in Biology. Her passion then led her to the island of Oahu where she earned her B.S. in Marine Biology from Hawaii Pacific University. Lila has worked as a fisheries biologist for NOAA in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, sailed 3000 nautical miles around the Caribbean, and studied environmental sustainability in Costa Rica. She is lifeguard certified and a skin diving instructor through NAUI. She has logged hundreds of SCUBA dives from locations such as California, Seattle, Maui, Oahu, and Norway. Her passion lies in advocating and educating people about the marine environment.

With an idea and unique skill-set of mermaid swimming, she dreamed of opening a mermaid school as a fun means of conservation outreach. Through mutual friends she met Tim, who wanted to open a mermaid school for the same reasons and Hawaii Mermaid Adventures was born in 2016.

She plans on being the first mermaid to swim with wild orca and also be the first mermaid to do a photoshoot on Antarctic sea ice.