Multidisciplinary ocean scientist by education; mariner, educator, and business entrepreneur by trade, I am a modern day explorer with the ocean being my home, my workplace, and my playground.
My broad-based skill set has brought me to work from both land and sea, everywhere from the North Pole down to Antarctica. A proud United States Coast Guard veteran, I have worked on a wide variety of motor and sailing boats, from buoy tenders, ice breakers, research and hydrographic vessels, to fishing, charter, diving and service support vessels. I have served in varying capacities, including as the captain, marine science technician, dive master, safety officer, scientist, educator, and even as the chef.
I am a hardworking, self-driven, efficient individual that can easily communicate across disciplines and work across industries, with high attention to detail, to come up with common sense solutions. With 16 years experience as instructor/ educator, and working in the service and tourism industry, 14 years as a professional mariner, over a decade managing international staff, and 5 years experience in project management and field observations, my expertise is as diverse as it is cohesive. My employment foundation is a combination of travel and logistics, customer service, accounting and grant writing, to construction and equipment fabrication, public speaking, networking, and educational outreach, in addition to my ocean sciences background.
A member national of the Explorer's Club and Fellow at the Royal Geographical Society, the course of my travels speaks for itself. I have been to all 50 States, all 13 Canadian Provinces and Territories, 6 out of 7 continents, 4 out of 5 oceans, and even the Geographic North Pole.
Only 5% of the ocean has been explored. Let me rephrase that- a planet home to 7 billion people, only 5% of the ocean floor has been seen by human eyes. I hope I am not the only person who thinks that is disturbing. The age of discovery is not over, from what we learn from our oceans, a database can be created of information needed to better understand global change, filling gaps in the unknown to convey reliable and honest science that is foundational to providing prescience about the future. Children are our future, so I also wish to continue teaching children how to enjoy all forms of water, and to instill in them a better appreciation to help preserve the world.