Created in 2002, the LiMPETS Network is a collaborative effort among Greater Farallones Association, the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, and California’s National Marine Sanctuaries. We use student-friendly protocols for monitoring coastal ecosystems, developed with the expertise of Dr. John Pearse, Dr. Jennifer Salzman, and many others.
Meet the LiMPETS team:
Lila Glansberg is the LiMPETS Program Coordinator for the Greater Farallones Association. She has a B.S. in Marine Science from Stony Brook University and is completing her Master’s degree at Cal Poly Humboldt. Lila has several years of experience in marine science education, much of it spent teaching from the deck of a boat. She also holds a U.S. Coast Guard captain’s license and a California teaching credential. Originally from upstate New York, Lila is excited to now call the Bay Area home. In her free time, she enjoys playing music, getting outdoors, and playing both board and video games.
Claire Fackler supports the whole LiMPETS network. Based in Santa Barbara, California, she works on regional, national and international education programs for the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries to inspire ocean and climate literacy and conservation, as well as to bring the ocean into classrooms.
Julie Bursek oversees LiMPETS for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary region, which includes Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties. She is the Education Coordinator for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.
Keighley Lane is the LiMPETS Coordinator for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary region, which includes Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties. She has a graduate degree in Marine Biodiversity & Conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science from Smith College. Keighley has worked in Colorado, Hawai’i, and the San Juan Islands. She is passionate about community-building and place-based management. In her free time, She can usually be found freediving, surfing, or road-tripping around the West.
Lisa Uttal is an education liaison for Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) LiMPETS program. She develops and designs MBNMS programs and exhibits using current scientific research as the basis for a variety of learning experiences.
Maria Madrigal is an Education Specialist with USC Sea Grant and leads LiMPETS efforts in Southern California, specifically the Los Angeles Region. Maria received a BA in Studio Arts with a minor in Natural Sciences from Loyola Marymount University and a MS in Ecological Teaching and Learning from Lesley University. She has over 20 years of experience leading marine science education programs. She also authored the marine biology book that is part of a STEAM powered career book series for children with the global education organization and nonprofit publisher Room to Read.
Dawn Murray, Ph.D., was a Sea Grant fellow and one of the founding members of the rocky intertidal monitoring protocols for LiMPETS working with Dr. John Pearse. For her dissertation at the University of California Santa Cruz, she studied the effects of geology on intertidal ecology in Monterey Bay. As a professor in Santa Barbara, she serves on the LiMPETS Science Advisory Panel and teaches marine conservation, bringing her students into the intertidal for experiential learning.
John Pearse, Ph.D., was a world-renowned invertebrate zoologist and biology professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He taught courses and did research in kelp forest and intertidal ecology in central California at the University for 26 years before devoting his time to help develop the LiMPETS program. He was also the president of the California Academy of Sciences.
