Program Staff
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Salish's highly motivated and qualified program staff.
Salish Sea Expeditions has a history of attracting and retaining highly qualified staff, and the 2011-12 season is no different. We have a great group of both new and returning staff members who bring with them a strong understanding of the program, a love of science and sailing, and an enthusiasm for working with students.
Front row (left-right): Becca, Jessica, Allison, Kelly, Hazel, Matt, Christopher
Not pictured: Dan Tucker, Jason Winters
Fall Season 2011
Staff bios:
Scott Cann, Full Time Captain
Scott Cann has been sailing these fertile waters since he was a small boy. Upon graduating from WWU with a degree in Environmental Education, he ran away to sail upon bigger oceans aboard a square rigger. He soon realized there was no better place in the world. It took 14 years, a handful of educational schooners, a few stinks on tugs and a few years as a marine tech before he found his way home. Scott has been with Salish since 2007 as Captain and relief Captain. Salish is excited to now have him aboard as the year round captain of the good ship Carlyn.
Dan Stone, Captain
Dan grew up on the coast of Massachusetts on Buzzards Bay with his Dad and brothers. While here he learned the joys of being on the ocean, from sailing, to fishing, and diving. Life on the water took a brief hiatus during high school and college in Vermont, where the mountain life took over. Skiing, hiking, camping and combinations thereof all became, and remain, major hobbies. In addition to his interests in the mountains and on the water, he enjoy all things outdoors, from barbecuing with friends to playing sports. Ultimate frisbee, tennis, wiffle ball are among the favorites to play, but when it comes to being a fan, baseball and ice hockey reign supreme. Dan’s love of the water has taken command, however, bearing down in full force during a semester abroad with the Woods Hole SEA Semester program. Since then, he has worked on a few different ships, his favorites being those with a science and teaching component. It is no surprise that Dan is now working his third season with Salish Sea Expeditions.
Jessica Williams, Mate
Jessica grew up here in the Puget Sound and attended The Evergreen State College in Olympia where she first started sailing as a living. She is completely and utterly obsessed with Cephalopods, coffee ice cream and her dog. Jessica enjoys cliff jumping, being bare foot, and sleeping. Jessica feels she is rather impulsive and sailing has been a wonderful energy outlet for her. Jessica has spent the last 5 years living in Boston and working for Outward Bound and is excited to be back in Washington, working and exploring in the best place in the Universe!
Dan Tucker, Mate
Dan started sailing about 5 years ago, working with troubled and at-risk youth aboard two tallships in Los Angeles. Since his time in Los Angeles he has sailed in Maine, the Bahamas and the South Pacific. Dan has been involved in programs ranging from at-risk youth, marine sciences, to chartered vacations and cargo-haul.ing. He has worked onboard old traditionally rigged ships, and Carlyn, his first modern sailing yacht experience. This past summer Dan worked onboard Carlyn with Four Winds, Westward Ho camp on Orcas. Dan is look forward to returning to Salish for a third season and learning more about the marine world. “I never want to waste a day, and thus I endeavor to learn something new every day. “
Steve Backus, Deckhand
Steve is a sailor from the swamps of eastern North Carolina. He learned sailing by crewing on racing boats before purchasing his own 29 foot sloop in 2009. In that boat he's traveled the eastern US seaboard (from Maine to the Florida Keys) along with the islands of the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and the uninhabited Cay Sal Bank. He's also participated in many races throughout North Carolina and Washington, voyages in the Puget Sound, and competitions in Iceland. Being mostly self-taught has helped him guide his crew and friends through the sometimes difficult and trying processes of learning about the sea and how to sail. Steve's commitment to the Do-It-Yourself ethic makes most of his life's activities a learning experience, and sailing offers no shortage of challenges. Steve has just finished up a motorcycle trip up the west coast after traveling through Canada. He has a passion for learning through adventure.
Allison Weide, Deckhand
Allison loves being in, on, or near the water. After growing up in the foothills of North Carolina, she went to college in coastal Maine, where she was on the crew team and majored in Environmental Studies. Since graduating from Bowdoin, Allison has taught marine science and worked on sailboats in South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and California. When she gets time off from working on boats she often ends up sailing on other boats just for fun.
Kelley Garrison, Watershed Scientist
Kelley joins Salish again for her second season. Kelley grew up with a fascination of all things water-related which led her to pursue a B.S. in Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont, with a focus on community development and water resources. After jumping around the country a bit, engaging in various water gigs along the way, she ended up in Montana to pursue yet another Environmental Studies degree with a focus in hydrology. No matter what she's studying however, she is at her happiest engaging students in the natural world through various watershed education programs, working for programs in VT, MT, and Honduras. When she's not geeking out on water, you can find her running, hiking, or badly strumming on her guitar.
Hazel Levine, Program Coordinator
Hazel grew up on Cape Cod, Massachusetts where she spent her winters hiking along deserted sandy beaches and her summers were spent snorkeling in the sun. Hazel’s intense love of the ocean guided her towards a career in the aquatic sciences. To accomplish this, she received a B.S. in Biology from the University of Massachusetts (1998) and an M.S. in Biology from the University of Minnesota (2003). She has worked as a marine technician on the coasts of Panama, Nova Scotia, North Carolina, Hawaii, and the Pacific Northwest (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Duke University, Hawaii Volcanoes and Olympic National Park). She also spent eleven years as a seaside naturalist at the Newfound Harbor Marine Institute, Woods Hole Children’s School of Science, and Olympic Park Institute. Hazel jumps at any opportunity to work close to the ocean and is excited to return to Salish Sea Expeditions.
Becca Bukler, Program Coordinator
Becca grew up with her feet stuck in the mud of a salt marsh in southern Rhode Island. This inspired her to earn a degree in Environmental Analysis and Policy at Boston University. Life at a desk analyzing policy, however, didn’t quite satisfy the need for wind in her hair and mud between her toes, so she entered the world of Environmental Education, drawing on experiences as a summer camp counselor and sailing instructor. Becca loves sharing her passion for the natural world with students as has taught both on land and at sea in California, Alaska, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Stuart Ryan, Marine Scientist/ Educator
Stuart likes being outdoors. When he is forced to be inside for too long he tends to pace back and forth. So naturally he has found himself wandering around quite a bit. He started wandering around when he was quite young. His family moved to London and then later to Zurich, living in Europe for 9 years before he went to college in the state of Maine. Here Stuart studied biology and became fascinated by mudflats, plankton, oceanography and how unbelievably dynamic marine ecosystems are. Post College Stuart moved to Seattle to be able to follow his dual passions for marine science/sailing and Skiing/mountaineering. Since moving to the Puget Sound Stuart has worked as an Outdoor Educator during the spring summer and fall seasons and Ski Technician during the winter. When he is forced to be inside he likes dinner parties and the board game ticket to ride.
Chrissy Dykeman, Marine Scientist/Educator
Chrissy grew up in upstate New York, a long way from the ocean, but knew from a young age that she wanted to pursue marine biology. She has a B.S. from Cornell University, where she studied Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. During her junior year at Cornell she studied with Sea Education Association, and sailed aboard their 135 foot tall ship the SSV Robert C Seamans from San Diego, California to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Chrissy has also spent time at Shoals Marine Lab, on Appledore Island, Maine, where she studied marine invertebrates during her time at Cornell. Last fall Chrissy studied at Friday Harbor Labs and fell in love with the Pacific North West. She has recently sailed again aboard the Seamans and the Hawaiian Island as an Assistant Scientist. Chrissy is looking forward to her time with Salish and is excited to combine her love of sailing and the Pacific Northwest, and is eager to gain more experience working with younger students while sailing aboard the Carlyn.
Christopher Dunham, Onshore/Offshore Logistics Coordinator
Christopher is originally from the northwest suburbs of Chicago and left home to go to school at Northland College on the shores of Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin. While pursuing a degree in Outdoor Education he had the unique opportunity to become involved in a program the college offers to regional middle school students known as Apostle Islands School. During the two years with the program Christopher worked as both an educator as well as a logistics coordinator for the program. Since graduating he has worked as a sea kayak guide in the Apostle Islands and more recently moved to the Pacific Northwest where he’s been in an environmental education internship with the BLM in Newport, Oregon. Christopher really enjoying riding bikes (both mountain & road) and take every opportunity he can get to explore the natural wonders that are in abundance in the northwest. Christopher is eagerly awaiting his arrival to Salish, this will be his first exposure to the Puget Sound!
Matt Szymanowicz, Onshore/Offshore Logistics Coordinator