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.

Hannah Sarver is the LiMPETS Program Manager for the National Marine Sanctuary region based out of the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. She has a BS in Marine Science from Coastal Carolina University. Hannah has worked in Oregon, Louisiana, and South Carolina conducting marine science education programs ranging from the rocky intertidal, to Mississippi River Delta systems, and estuarine/sandy habitats. She is passionate about marine ecosystems, scientific research, and educating students on their importance and value.

Jaclyn Schneider is the Intertidal Ecologist and Program Coordinator for the Greater Farallones Association’s and Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary’s joint LiMPETS project. Working in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, she teaches middle, high school, college students and local community groups how to participate in the LiMPETS program. Jaclyn is a California native with years of experience as an outdoor educator and enjoys exploring the ocean with students. Jaclyn earned a BS in Marine Biology from Cal Poly Humboldt, where she managed Dr. Tissot’s Benthic Ecology Lab. During low tide she can usually be found with her head under a rock searching for invertebrates. She also enjoys spending time volunteering monitoring MARINe intertidal sites, scuba diving, and hiking with her dog, Dorid.

Jessie Alstatt is an advisor to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary LiMPETS team. Jessie is a long time researcher and scientific diver in the waters and shores of the Santa Barbara Channel and Channel Islands with emphasis on natural history, biodiversity and ecological surveys. She has worked with MARINe monitoring intertidal sites throughout southern California since 1992.

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.

Kacy Cooper is the 2023 Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary’s California Sea Grant State Fellow. She assists with LiMPETS programming in the Santa Barbara and Channel Island region. Kacy Cooper completed her masters degree in international environmental policy with a focus on ocean and coastal resource management from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, December 2022. Her main focus of work included developing a roadmap to authorizing pop-up fishing gear in the California Dungeness crab fishery. She also served as community engagement coordinator and founding board member of the Giant Giant Kelp Restoration Project, a citizen-science kelp restoration project in Monterey. Along with her professional work, Kacy is an avid diver, traveler, fantasy book reader, and animal enthusiast.

Kayla Carter is the 2023-24 Marine Science Education Fellow for the Greater Farallones Association’s and Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary’s joint LiMPETS project. She has a BS in Marine Biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. As a San Francisco Bay Area native, Kayla has always had a passion for the ocean. She hopes to further her career in marine science education to inspire future generations to fight for our oceans. She also enjoys infodumping about marine mammals, trying to find the motivation to paint, and spending time with her cat Kiki.

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.

Summer Traylor is the Program Associate for the Greater Farallones Association’s and Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary’s joint LiMPETS project. She holds a BA in Environmental Studies & Earth Science from UC Santa Cruz and a MEM in Environmental Science and Management from Portland State University. She’s worked all over the West on several different types of natural resource field crews and worked with seabirds, shorebirds, fish, marine mammals, and plants. Her recent research focuses on quantifying microplastics in fish species that are culturally and economically important to the West coast. Her interest in marine debris was fostered during her time in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, where marine debris negatively impact seabirds and marine mammals. Her favorite seabird is the Koa’e’ula.

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.