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GINETTE HUGHES, Senior Vice President, Program Services

Ginette Hughes has been with the Foundation since December 1986, and was involved with the MarineLab program almost from its inception.  She started as the general office staff and administrative assistant to President Ian Koblick, but soon the growing MarineLab program required her full attention.  Art Mitchell provided the educational and staffing aspects, and Ginette created the booking, marketing, and evaluation system for MarineLab.  She has worked closely with the educational staff in program development and quality control issues throughout her career with the organization.  Ginette still actively supervises the coordination and reservations office, in addition to her overall duties as Senior Vice President, which include supervision of the entire MarineLab program, other Marine Resources Development Foundation programs, the physical facility, budgeting, planning, and human resources.

Through the years, Ginette has been responsible for all marketing, including brochure design, video production, and website design and creation.  She is the staff photographer and most of the pictures used in promotional materials were taken by Ginette.  She is a certified diver, although she spends more time above the water these days, racing sailboats. 

MARC GALLOWAY, Director
BS Biology, Florida State University

Marc graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, with a concentration in marine biology.   After graduation, he went to Hawaii ’s Volcanoes National Park to study the Hawaiian honeycreeper (a bird).   Less than a year later, Marc joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Belize , where he worked at the University of Belize ’s Institute of Marine Studies at Calabash Caye as their Research and Education Coordinator.  In Belize , Marc was responsible for scheduling and teaching educational groups from the USA , Australia , and the United Kingdom as well as other countries, and local students.   As the Research Coordinator, Marc ran the CARICOMP program, a collaborative effort amongst 30 researchers located throughout the Caribbean , studying productivity and interaction between the seagrass, mangrove, and coral reef communities of the area.    

Marc has extensive SCUBA experience, holding several research diving certifications including Cavern, Nitrox, Science, Drysuit, and Rescue, all acquired during his experience with the underwater archeology program at Florida State University .   He plans on getting his Divemaster certification within the next few months, and is in the process of obtaining his US Coast Guard Master’s License. 

JESSICA PULFER, Lead Field Instructor
BS in Marine Biology, University of West Alabama

Jessica began her marine science career soon after graduating by working as a Fisheries Observer aboard various commercial fishing vessels in the Bering Sea and Gulf and Alaska.  She collected biological data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration & the National Marine Fisheries Service.  Jessica has previous experience as a marine science instructor from Seacamp on Big Pine Key and as an environmental educator at the Wahsega 4-H Center in Dahlonega, GA.  

Jessica is also responsible for all laboratory equipment, technology, and snorkel gear as one of our Co-Lead Field Instructors.  She is a certified Divemaster and Coast Guard licensed Captain.

CHRISTOPHER OLSTAD, Operations Director for MarineLab Undersea Laboratory and Marine Ecology Field Instructor B.S. in Biology, Lynchburg College; Associate of Science in Underwater Technology, Florida Institute of Technology 

NICK FLAVIN, Marine Ecology Field Instructor
BS Psycho-Biology, Long Island University, Southampton College

Nick has a lot of marine science experience.  He studied biology, oceanography, geology and seamanship aboard two research schooners, the Westward off of Cape Cod and the Harvey Gamage on a Caribbean and US Atlantic coastline voyage.  He also spent time in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, traveling 1200 miles of coastline and various islands to compare and contrast a variety of reef ecosystems.  He focused on the bioturbation rate of several species of sea cucumbers on a variety of different substrates.   Nick also has spent time as a research assistant studying fish populations and water quality throughout Florida, including Florida Bay, and performed an independent study on the distribution of a invasive freshwater bivalve in north Florida.  After college, Nick worked at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (NY) on a NASA project involving behavioral studies for the “Mission to Mars” program.    He has experience working with and teaching children with both social and developmental learning issues, including ADHD, autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and others. 

KATIE FLAVIN, Marine Ecology Field Instructor
BS Biology - concentration Marine Science, Long Island University, Southampton College

Katie grew up in Long Island, NY, near the ocean, and continued her ocean experiences throughout college, working at the aquaculture lab.  She was an intern at the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery, where she learned all aspects of trout aquaculture, and also helped raise native turtles from egg to release.  Katie also studied seal behavior on Greater Gull Island off the tip of Long Island.   She spent a Semester at Sea on the schooner Harvey Gamage, sailing from St Thomas down to Grenada and back to Greenport, NY.  During that time, she participated in a biological survey of the Caribbean and Atlantic coast, and also studied the cultures of the Caribbean Islands.   After college, Katie worked for an environmental water testing company as an aquaculture assistant.  She then worked with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation in the shellfisheries department as part of a team which sampled certified shellfishing waters all around Long Island.  After that job, Katie was a marine educator with the Cornell Cooperative Extension, teaching marine science classes through the year and directing their camp during the summer of 2005.

MARTHA LOIZEAUX, Marine Ecology Field Instructor
BA Zoology, Ohio Wesleyan University

Martha’s interest in tropical marine ecology was sparked when she attended Broadreach summer programs in 1997, where she learned to dive while living aboard a yacht in the Caribbean.  While in college, she studied marine resources in the Turks and Caicos Islands and assisted in coral reef fish population studies.  She also was able to travel to the Galapagos Islands and Panama to study island biology, and worked at the New England Aquarium in Boston as a tropical aquarist.   Since graduating college, Martha has taught environmental education and other marine programs at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples, Camp Surf in San Diego, and the Key West Aquarium.  Most recently, she worked as a mate in Key West, and as a marine biology and dive instructor for Broadreach in the Caribbean where her passion first began.  Martha is also a Coast Guard licensed Captain.

SARAH EGNER, Marine Ecology Field Instructor
BS Biology, Wake Forest University, MS Marine Science, University of South Florida

Sarah has experience in both the marine science research and education fields.  She spent the summer of 2004 teaching marine science to high school students aboard a sailing vessel in the British Virgin Islands.  Her research has included queen conch, spiny lobster, and commercially important finfish.  She is also an experienced lifeguard and swim lesson instructor.  During her employment at Keys MarineLab, she spent a lot of time on the water as part of the team in charge of maintaining automated environmental monitoring stations throughout the Keys.  Sarah is a certified Divemaster.

KATE DEGNAN, Marine Ecology Field Instructor
BS Marine Biology, Roger Williams University

Kate comes to us from the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences,  where she was a guide and lecturer for visiting groups.  She also worked for the Audubon Society of Rhode Island Environmental Education Center, and personally developed curriculum on local habitats there.  Both Kate's parents are educators, so it is a natural fit for Kate in the MarineLab education program.

Kate is a Rescue Diver and is working towards her Divemaster.

MIKE MCCALLISTER, Marine Ecology Field Instructor
BS Marine Biology/Marine Science, University of Miami

Being a UM graduate, Mike has lots of experience with the south Florida subtropical/tropical ecosystem.  He is an experienced diver, having logged dives around the world, including Fiji and Australia.  Mike joins us after a stint in Cape May, NJ, working with Aquatic Discoveries as an instructor with their Science Education at Sea field trips for a variety of ages.  He also has worked with the South Florida Student Shark Research program.  Mike is a Rescue Diver and is working towards his Divemaster.

JESSICA HEINRITZ, MarineLab Coordinator
BS Recreation Management & Tourism
Arizona State University

Summers during college provided Jessica with an opportunity to travel and learn about the marine environments working aboard various recreational charter vessels from Maine to South Carolina to the US Virgin Islands.  Jessica eventually obtained a Bachelor of Science in Recreation Management and Tourism from Arizona State University in 2003, moved south to the Keys immediately after graduating, and has not looked back since.  She found her niche for quality customer service and planning in the exciting tourism industry here in Key Largo working for a local snorkeling company but after many years was ready for a new challenge.  With a combined foundation of education, experience, and passion for the Florida Keys and its environment, it seemed as if MarineLab was a perfect fit. Still relatively new to the staff, she is finding her way around quickly and is simply thrilled to be a part of a company dedicated to marine environmental awareness and learning, not to mention a cozy desk to call her own.

ARTHUR W. MITCHELL, RETIRED
Director of Curriculum Resources & Director of Education Emeritus
B.A. in Chemistry at Florida Atlantic University, 1970; M.S.T. in Marine Ecology at Florida Atlantic University, 1976 

Mr. Mitchell retired recently from MarineLab and Marine Resources Development Foundation, although he remains on the Board of Directors.  He is living in Delray Beach, Florida. 

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