Our mission: to promote the responsible and sustainable use of marine resources
through education, research, and collaboration


Board of Directors

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Ian Koblick

Founder, and Chairman of the Board

Ian Koblick pioneered undersea living in the 1970s as an Aquanaut in the Tektite I undersea living project in the Virgin Islands. At the conclusion of Tektite I, Ian became a project manager of Tektite II, while serving as a special Assistant to the Governor of the VI. In that role he helped manage the science missions, including the first all-female crew in an undersea living project.

Buoyed by the success of Tektite, Ian established the Marine Resources Development Foundation (MRDF) in 1970 and was invited by the governor of Puerto Rico to create an undersea living program dubbed PRINUL (Puerto Rico International Undersea Laboratory). Ian designed the sophisticated undersea lab of PRINUL, called La Chalupa, and managed the program from 1971 to 1976.

In 1976, Ian moved MRDF to Broward County, Florida and began working with the US Department of Commerce on the creation of a national ocean program. He was the consulting editor of the NOAA Diving Manual. He also provided environmental consultation for the Port Everglades Authority in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and served on the NOVA University Ocean Science Center advisory board. In 1981, MRDF acquired The Golden Venturea 147-foot research vessel equipped for undersea exploration and used it to locate and uncover artifacts from the sunken Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha.

In 1984 Ian collaborated with Jim Miller to publish the definitive book, “Living and Working in the Sea.” Ian and his partner Dr. Neil Monney found and re-acquired the La Chalupa habitat used in PRINUL and converted it into the world’s first undersea hotel, Jules Undersea Lodge. Since its opening in 1986 Jules has hosted over 10,000 guests including astronauts, marine scientists, celebrities and heads of state. Ian and Neil donated the habitat back to MRDF, and  Jules served as a research platform for a NASA sponsored mission in 1992, “La Chalupa-30.” In 1996, Ian joined up with his old friend and Mercury astronaut, Scott Carpenter and they developed the “Scott Carpenter Man In The Sea Program,” which ran until 1999. Ian served on the US/Japan committee for natural resources from 1972-1985 and currently serves on the selection committee for the Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Ian’s current awards and honors include:

HONORS AND AWARDS

2021  Diving Pioneer Award , Historical Diving Society
2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 Carried the Explorers Club Flag
1997 - Medal of Honor, The Daughters of the American Revolution -
1993 - Who's Who in Diving
1991 - Who's Who in Leading American Executives
1991 - Recipient of the NOGI Award for "Distinguished Service"
1991 -  board Member of "Sea Space Symposium"
1989 - 1994 - American Men and Women of Science
1986 – Explorers Club Lowell Thomas Award for Underwater Exploration


  PROFESSIONAL AND HONORARY SOCIETIES
Explorers Club Member FM 78
Blue Key National Honor Fraternity (Academic)
Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity, Beta Omega Chapter

 Omicron Theta Epsilon (Honorary Biological Science Fraternity) 

Leadership

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Ginette Hughes

Chief Executive Officer

Ms. Hughes has been with the Foundation since 1986 and was instrumental in designing the marketing and coordination of the MarineLab program. Through the years she has become responsible for the day to day activities of the Foundation, including computer resources, human resources, and marketing/public relations, in addition to supervising the program development, planning, and coordination for all programs. She is also responsible for long range program planning for the Foundation, including financial forecasts and budgets. Upon her promotion to CEO in December of 2017, she added fundraising and grantwriting to her job duties.

She attended Ohio Wesleyan University as a National Merit Scholar before earning her Bachelor's of Business Administration degree from Florida International University. Ginette is a 2005 graduate of Leadership Monroe County and has served on the boards of several organizations in the community.

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Sarah Egner

Senior Vice President, Programs

Sarah became Director in charge of our Research & Development programs in 2013 and Director of the entire MarineLab Education program in late 2018. She is responsible for the MarineLab Education program’s curriculum, staff training, citizen science partnerships, and professional relationships. Sarah is published in various scientific journals and has written articles for the Divers Alert Network magazine, Alert Diver. She also holds a US Coast Guard Master's License. Sarah has an MS in Marine Science from the University of South Florida and an Ed.S. in Curriculum Development from the University of Florida.

History

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In 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated, helping to launch the environmental movement. That same year, Marine Resources Development Foundation was established. Even before MRDF came into existence, its founder and President, Ian G. Koblick, pioneered projects that enhanced our understanding of the ocean.

From underwater habitats to educational programs to special events highlighting our ocean's resources, MRDF's history spans nearly 50 years of technology, science advancement, and education.

In the early years, MRDF worked closely with the governments of the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. It helped these islands establish ocean policies, set up marine training programs, operate undersea labs, improve fisheries techniques, test new diving equipment, initiate environmental management strategies, and develop marine archeological and commercial diving techniques. The underwater technology and hardware used in these projects was designed and developed by MRDF, contributing to tools available for undersea exploration. When the Foundation moved to Ft Lauderdale, Florida, in 1976, it became involved with the US Department of Commerce on the creation of a national ocean program.

In the mid 1980's, MRDF turned its sights on Key Largo and relocated to its current campus. The MarineLab Undersea Laboratory was emplaced and hosted its first Aquanauts in 1984, and in 1985 the first MarineLab Environmental Education snorkel program was held. In the subsequent years, MRDF briefly expanded its environmental education programs to include freshwater ecology at the Tugaloo Environmental Education Center in South Carolina and added a technology program called the Scott Carpenter Man In The Sea Program, both of which programs ended in the late 1990s. Currently, MRDF is focused on expanding its MarineLab Education Programs to include virtual and online learning, and seeking to improve its facility.