Our STAFF Leaders

Vice President of Science and Operations

Andy is MARE’s lead scientist for collecting and analyzing video and still photographic ROV imagery. He oversees ROV operations at sea and supervises a team of biologists and GIS experts in our Blue Lake, California office. Andy is a marine biologist with over 23 years of experience planning and performing ROV field operations in California, Oregon and Washington state coastal waters. He is an expert ROV pilot and navigator who has lead or co-lead over 55 surveys, including baseline characterizations of MPAs around the Northern Channel Islands and within all of California’s MPA regions. Andy has a B.S. from Humboldt State University.

Director of Outreach & Community Engagement

Abby has spent the last decade of her career managing and advancing non-profit environmental education programs. Most recently, she held the position of Associate Director of Education at the Aquarium of the Bay. Previously, she was the LiMPETS Program Manager for the Greater Farallones Association. In that role, she trained and supported LiMPETS teachers and students in their coastal monitoring efforts. Abby earned her B.S. in Marine Biology from the U.C. Santa Cruz and her M.S. in Marine Resource Management from Oregon State University.

Chief Engineer

Kyle is MARE’s Chief Engineer, supporting offshore expeditions and maintaining our fleet of vehicles. He is a licensed electrical engineer and also a published scientist with a background in environmental systems. Kyle is talented in many aspects of engineering, fabrication, design and the sciences. He has worked in many facets of electrical design, from small-scale embedded circuit board designs that require nanowatt power consumption to megawatt-scale solar plus storage microgrid designs. Kyle is a licensed electrical engineer has B.S. in Environmental Resources Engineering form Humboldt State University.

Biologist – Video Analyst

John has worked for MARE since 2014. John is a AAUS scientific diver and has performed SCUBA-based PISCO biodiversity surveys, worked on the Channel Islands National Park Kelp Forest Monitoring Program, and conducts subtidal SCUBA surveys as part of both the MLPA baseline and long-term monitoring programs. John holds a B.S in Biology with a marine emphasis and a M.S. in Fisheries Biology from Humboldt State University studying abalone and sea urchin competition along the North Coast.

Biologist

Sam leads MARE’s video post-cruise analyses. He has an extensive background in conducting scientific research, having spent 11 years as a Pacific Halibut Commission Biologist in Alaska. He is a licensed drone pilot and has worked for MARE since 2016 serving in a variety of roles: ROV/drone pilot, navigator and video analyst. Sam has a B.S. in Fisheries Biology from Humboldt State University.

Software Engineer – Data Analyst

Isaac has worked for MARE since 2020. Isaac a large toolbox of Software Engineering skills including over 15 years of experience in Computer Programming, Mathematical Modelling and Statistical Analysis Isaac brings the expertise needed to adapt to a modern, complicated and changing technical environment. He has a M.S. in Computer Science with a focus on Machine Learning Research from Humboldt State University.