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): Nicole, Hanna, Mike, Autumn
Not pictured: Stuart
Spring Season 2012
Staff bios:
Scott Cann, Full Time Captain Scott Cann has been sailing these furtile waters since he was a small boy. Upon graduating from WWU with a degree in Environmental Education, he ran away to sail upon bigger oceand 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 fourth season with Salish Sea Expeditions.
Allison Weide, Mate 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. Salish is excited to have Allison back for another season.
Autumn Taphorn, Mate Autumn hails from Fort Collins, CO and has spent the last 5 years traveling both coasts of the US and Canada sailing and learning a lot about life. She holds a USCG 100 ton masters license and was lucky enough to spend three previous seasons working with the wonderful and brilliant staff here at Salish before coming back again this spring. Though the sea is where she's most at home, Autumn has also tried her hand at artistry, sculpting, timber framing, gardening, fire dancing, bar tending and working as an EMT. She values music, art, courage, humor, absurdity and especially children because really, she's always just looking for a little mischief.
Sheldon Ito, Deckhand Sheldon joined Salish Sea Expeditions this spring from Boston, where he has taught English in the Boston Public Schools and led Outward Bound pulling boat expeditions. Originally from Hawai’i, he attended the University of Southern California and launched his maritime career as a production assistant on the movie Waterworld, where he worked with the stunt unit and often dressed as an oddly chunky resident of that post-apocalyptic world. Unlike T.R., he believes that Narsil could not beat a lightsaber, that, no, Han Solo was not strong enough in the Force to have become a Jedi in his younger days, and that Ravi Shankar, while a great musician, is a laughable name for a sword.
T.R., Deckhand Michael or T.R. grew up in Oklahoma and never had a single thought about sailboats until moving to Seattle. Before discovering that people could work on a sailboat as a career, he tried cooking, working in hospitals, driving tour busses, volunteer coordination, and a very brief stint as a telemarketer. Prior to the moving to the west coast he has made an honest go of living in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. Also before he blow out west he picked up a degree in History at the University of Oklahoma. Since sailing he has worked on the east coast, the Caribbean, Sea of Cortez, and of course his favorite the Salish Sea.
Stuart Ryan, Watershed Scientist 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. We welcome Stuart back for his second season with Salish.
Stephanie Jaeger, Program Coordinator Stephanie's fascination with the marine world as a kid inspired her to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Marine Science and Biology from Southampton College in NY. She continued on the path of scientific discovery and research, and completed a Master's degree in Oceanography at Oregon State University. Afterward, she joined the WA State Dept. of Ecology as an Environmental Specialist monitoring water quality in Puget Sound and Willapa Bay. Through years of volunteer educator opportunities, such as with Sound Experience aboard the Schooner Adventuress, she decided to pursue her passions for teaching and sailing on a full-time basis. She enjoys guiding students through the process of scientific discovery firsthand, such as sharing in a first view of plankton through a microscope. When not sailing, she likes to move by hiking shoes, bikes, kayaks, and nordic skis.
Allison Pfeiffer, Program Coordinator Allison is thrilled to be joining Salish for her second spring season. Allison lived on a hill in Seattle for the first 18 years of her life, at which point she was pulled away from the Sound and mountains to a small college in Minnesota where she studied geology and environmental science. During her time in school she spent a semester on the SSV Corwith Cramer with Sea Education Association, where she discovered a passion for shipboard science and the open water. These days, Allison splits her time between teaching science on sail boats, picking apples, and traveling.
Mary Kate Wheeler, Marine Scientist Having grown up on the shores of Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, NY, Mary Kate loves being on the water. An avid maker of things, she has built several wooden sea kayaks to explore the waterways of New York's Finger Lakes region and beyond. As a college student in Maine she gained an introduction to marine biology and field ecology, and spent a summer searching for the elusive submerged aquatic vegetation of Merrymeeting Bay. Following the lure of the Pacific Northwest she moved to Seattle after college, where she worked as an environmental educator and interpreted natural history on city beaches as a Seattle Aquarium volunteer. Mary Kate is eager to expand her sailing skills and share her passion for exploring the natural world with Salish participants. Off the water she enjoys growing, cooking and eating food, and playing with her German Shepherd puppy, Albert.
Nicole Casper, Marine Scientist Nicole grew up in New York City, and while she still considers herself a city girl, she has absolutely fallen in love with the waters and mountains of the Pacific Northwest. After living in Seattle and Bellingham for the past ten years, she considers it her second home. Her fascination with science and the environment began when she was little and her mother took her to the museum to dissect pregnant sharks. It continued through high school during a stint at a farm in Maine studying wetlands and compost piles, and flew off the radar in college when she spent a semester sailing with Sea Education Association studying myctophids. Since then, sailing and science have been her passion. She has worked as a naturalist among the tidepool creatures at the Seattle Aquarium and amidst penguins in far flung places like Antarctica. She is currently working on her masters degree in marine science at Western Washington University and is thrilled to join the staff at Salish.
Michael McKenzie, Onshore/Offshore Logistics Coordinator Mike has a hard time sitting still and prefers to be outside and on two wheels as much as possible. If you’re looking for a companion on a bike trip, give him a call. Originally from Maryland, he has spent the last few years hopping between the Northeast and West Coast working for different land conservation and restoration organizations. Since moving to Seattle in 2010, Mike has made it his mission to learn more about the mycology and sailing while living in the Pacific Northwest. An additional goal for 2012 is to build a banjo and learn to play it.
Hanna Bratton, Onshore/Offshore Logistics Coordinator Hanna has a perpetual curiosity about the world that has taken her all over the place. In the past five years, she was a springboard diver at the University of Pittsburgh, teaching middle-schoolers in an AmeriCorps program in Los Angeles, coaching a high school girls lacrosse team, volunteering on organic farms in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and meditating in the desert. Her passion for working with youth and wonderment at the natural environment has brought her to Salish and she looks forward learning more about sailing, discovering the Puget Sound, and making a difference.