Our Research Team

Our Research Team

Chief Scientist  and Founder of Pacific Whale Foundation 
Greg Kaufman
Blogs by Greg
Greg Kaufman is the founder and president of Pacific Whale Foundation and author of numerous books, scientific and popular publications on cetaceans. A pioneer in non-invasive humpback whale research off Maui in the mid-1970s, Greg founded Pacific Whale Foundation in 1980, and committed his new organization to educating the public, from a scientific perspective, about whales and their ocean habitat. Greg oversees the longest running humpback whale research programme off Australia (began in 1984) and Ecuador. Greg is a world leader in addressing whale protection issues, and has pioneered responsible whale- and dolphin-watching programmes throughout the Pacific.  He is widely acknowledged as an innovator and leader in marine ecotourism. Greg is an Invited Participant to the International Whaling Commission’s Scientific Committee and is a contributor to the subcommittees on Whale-watching, Southern Hemisphere Whales and Bycatch, serves on the Hawaiian Island Humpback National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Committee, is a contributing member to the Southern Oceans Research Partnership, recently co-led the United Nations Environmental Programme's Regional Workshop on Marine Mammal Watching in the Wider Caribbean Region, and was the US delegate in a recent international workshop (held in Patagonia) to Develop a Five Year Global Plan for Whale-watching.

Senior Research Scientist, Australia and Hawaii Program 
Emmanuelle (Manue) Martinez, Ph.D, M.Sc, B.Sc (Hons)
Blogs by Manue

Manue joined the Research team in September 2012. Her main research focus is primarily in the conservation biology and behavioral ecology of cetaceans. Specific interests include evaluating short- and long-term effects of anthropogenic disturbance on marine mammals, in particular tourism.

She completed a Ph.D in Marine Science at Massey University (Auckland, New Zealand) examining the responses of the endangered and endemic South Island Hector’s dolphins to vessel activity, including dolphin-watching trips, in Akaroa Harbour. Manue obtained a M.Sc in Environmental Science from the University of Otago (Dunedin, New Zealand) and conducted a pre-disturbance study of Hector’s dolphins prior to the establishment of a dophin-watching operation at Motunau.

She also holds a B.Sc (Honours) in Zoology from the University of Leicester. Manue continues to collaborate with other colleagues working on a variety of species in different countries. She is still affiliated with the Coastal-Marine Research Group at Massey University as an Adjunct Research Associate, where she held a position as Research Associate between 2011 and 2012.

Research Director, Ecuador Research Program
Cristina Paola Castro A.
Blogs by Cristina
Cristina received her B.A. degree in Biology and Chemistry in the Central University of Ecuador in 1996, and was granted a doctorate in Biology from the Central University of Ecuador in 2001. Her research interests are in management and conservation of marine mammals in Ecuador. Since 1997 her studies have focused on the breeding grounds of humpback whales in the Machalilla National Park, Ecuador. Cristina has also directed programs of marine mammal environmental education programs, written books on environmental education for indigenous children living in the Ecuadorian jungle and coast.

Research Data Technician

Betsy Davidson
Blogs by Betsy
I have been pursuing my passion for the ocean and the amazing animals in it since the age of 12.  I graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in Marine Biology. Since then, I have been lucky enough to enjoy jobs across the marine biology field, including working as an aquarist, a marine mammal trainer, a marine science educator, a naturalist, and a researcher.  I then joined Pacific Whale Foundation, a perfect next step to combine my love for ocean animals with my interests of education, conservation, and research focusing on the animals I have come to love most, whales and dolphins.  I started with PWF in November of 2010 as a naturalist on our whale watch, dolphin watch, and snorkel trips educating the public.  During this time I also volunteered in the research department and became involved in PWFs Ocean Camps teaching our future generations the impacts that they and the ocean have on each other.  In April 2012 I accepted a full-time research position assisting with PWFs whale and dolphin research efforts, including several photo-identification catalogs, working as a Researcher on Board collecting opportunistic humpback whale "surprise encounter" data, and assisting with Odontocete Project field efforts.  I ultimately hope to continue on the path of dolphin research focusing on dolphin communication or cognition.

Research Analyst 
Jens Currie, B.Sc. (Hons), M.Sc. Biology
Blogs by Jens Currie

Jens is a marine biologist from Newfoundland, Canada with a strong passion for data collection and analytic problem solving in the fields of physical oceanography, biology and ecology. He has completed a B.Sc. Honours and M.Sc. in Biology at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. His interests lie in linking physical observations to observed biological changes and relating this, if appropriate, to anthropogenic factors. Previously he has worked for Fisheries and Oceans Canada as a physical scientist completing ecosystem based modeling and, prior to that, as a marine biologist researching community dependence on estuarine ecosystem goods and services in developing regions of South Africa. He has substantial experience in R programming language and its use for the development of oceanographic and ecological model assimilation techniques with emphasis on development, standardization and sharing of basic functions and packages.

Research Scientist 
Brianne Miller, MRes Marine Mammal Science, B.Sc. Biology
Blogs by Brianne Miller

Brianne joined the PWF Research Team in February 2013. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from McGill University (Montreal, Canada) and a Master of Research in Marine Mammal Science from the University of St Andrews (St Andrews, Scotland). Her primary research interest focuses on determining the impacts of anthropogenic and environmental stressors on marine mammal populations. Her Master’s thesis examined the relationship between static and dynamic environmental variables and the distribution of blue whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada.

As a marine biologist with five years of international field and research experience in aquatic biology, tropical ecology, and marine mammal science, Brianne is passionate about promoting ocean conservation through awareness, education, and research. While studying overseas, she organized a city-wide beach cleanup, a children’s workshop on marine mammal biology, and a public lecture series on marine conservation to promote ocean stewardship.

Brianne has worked for several marine conservation-based NGOs and has completed internships with Wildtracks Belize, Mote Marine Laboratory, and the United Nations Environment Program. Previous projects have included topics such as cichlid physiology, parrotfish behavioural ecology, community-based alternatives to unsustainable fishing, human-dolphin interactions, marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation, and an assessment of progress towards the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Brianne continues to collaborate with the Mingan Island Cetacean Study and the University of St Andrews on a blue whale habitat use study.

Naturalist 
Stephanie Currie,M.Sc., B.Sc.
Blogs by Stephanie Currie

Stephanie is a biologist from Newfoundland, Canada who is passionate about ocean conservation. She holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Environmental Science degrees from Memorial University of Newfoundland. She has strong knowledge about marine mammals, having co-taught the field course Biology of Marine Mammals at the Bonne Bay Marine Station in Norris Point, Newfoundland and at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre in St. Andrew’s, New Brunswick. She has assisted with research on captive harp and harbor seals and traveled to Belize, Central America to research Antillean manatee and dolphin populations. She has experience working in academia, government, and not-for-profit organizations; most recently educating South African communities on the sustainable use of ocean resources and the need for marine conservation. Her hobbies include scuba diving, snorkeling and photography.

Research Intern 
Davy Frey, B.Sc.
Blogs by Davy Frey

While home for me has always been Detroit, Michigan, having grown up visiting my grandparents that have lived in Maui for 30 years and experiencing PWF’s eco-tours, I found my love of the ocean and all of its mystery very young. I’ve always thought of myself as “Just a Maui boy, born and raised in South Detroit”. In 2012 I earned my B.S. degree in Biological Sciences with a Management minor from the University of Michigan Dearborn, where during my course of study I spent two summers at the University of Hawaii Hilo “diving into” the marine science world involving marine reptiles, sharks, rays, and coral reefs. I also spent a semester abroad at the University of Western Australia in Perth where I investigated intertidal sand-flat assemblages and planktonic impacts on fin-fishery.

From age 3 throughout university I played hockey, but after graduating I traded my skates and ice for snorkel gear and the ocean as I moved to Maui and joined the Pacific Whale Foundation as a research intern. Since becoming part of the research team I’ve participated in collecting data aboard our research vessel, Ultimate Whale Watch trips, and Research On Board program; as well as having helped with quality control and classification scoring of our Australian Humpback, False Killer Whale, and Bottlenose Dolphin catalogs. I’ve also been lucky enough to come at a time to help prepare and participate in the annual events; the Run and Walk for the Whales, Whale Day 2013, and the Great Whale Count as a site leader. The experience has been a living dream so far, leaving me excited for each and every day and the path that follows.

Check out our research blogs:

Notes from the Field - Australia is written during our field research season in Australia. Experience the life of a whale researcher by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

 

Notes from the Field - Ecuador is written by Cristina Castro, our Ecuador Project Research Director. 
Please follow this blog by clicking here.

 

 

Notes from the Field - Hawaii is written by Betsy Davidson
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Meet Former Staff and Interns:

Researcher
Casandra Chronik, M.Sc
Casandra is a passionate marine biologist from Vancouver BC, Canada, having earned a B.Sc in Marine Biology from the University of British Columbia, and a M.Sc in Marine Science & Management from Southern Cross University, Australia. She has worked as a naturalist in both Canadian and Australian waters for the past few years as well as a marine educator in various academic facilities. Her primary focus is on marine conservation and awareness and protection of the world's whales and dolphins. She has an extensive background in photographic identities of cetaceans and most recently developed the first humpback whale watch photo-identification catalogue in Coffs Harbour, NSW Australia. 

Itana Freire Silva
Blogs by Itana
Itana graduated with Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in 2009. She is passionate about marine mammals and conservation. Originally from Brazil, she developed this passion through her experience as an intern with the Aquatic Mammals Institute in her home country between 1997 and 2000. Itana was involved in the collection of behavioral data on the gray dolphin and on South Atlantic Humpback whales. She also participated in the recovery and rehabilitation of cetaceans and pinnipeds, and in educational programs involving fishermen, communities and schools. These were valuable experiences that defined her career aspirations.

Former Staff:
Research Assistant 
Dominique Richardson
Blogs by Dominique
Dominique graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2007. During her undergraduate career, she was fortunate enough to conduct conservation biology and animal behavior research in the field in Laikipia, Kenya on Gunther’s dik-dik. While living in the field, she had several close encounters with terrestrial, charismatic megafauna.

Former Staff:
Sarah Bade

Former Intern:
Lindsay Veazey
"I wake up every day so happy to be in Maui pursuing what I love. Practicing malama 'aina as a PWF intern is such an awesome way to spend my time; I've been eco-cruising with the company since I was 6 years old, and I think that early exposure to a culture of dedicated environmentalism really impacted the course of my studies and activities. I'm currently utilizing my skills as a statistical programmer to create a script for the computer to process some of our data, like anomalies in sea surface temperature near the Tasman Sea, or the range of a variety of cetaceans around Maui Nui. 

Former Intern:
Michelle Viengkone, B.S.

Michelle originates from Ontario, Canada where she attended and received her undergraduate degree from Queen’s University (Kingston). From a young age, wildlife and conservation have been strong passions of hers. She gained experience in the facets of biology throughout her undergraduate studies by being involved in a molecular ecology lab, field courses, and actively participating in academia. 

She hopes to pursue graduate studies in the future, and enjoyed her internship working on two projects involving the Maui Spinner Dolphins and the annual event, The Great Whale Count.  She considers herself fortunate to have been on Maui and to be a part of the research team here at Pacific Whale.

Former Intern:
Jayda  Guy
I was born in a small town in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. Since I was young, I have always been fascinated by nature and the outdoors. I graduated from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Science Honors and have had a wide range of experiences in the field. I have been very fortunate to have had research assistant experience counting Varroa mites in honeybee hives in the Kootenays and collecting DNA samples from the Massasauga Rattlesnake in Ontario. For my undergraduate thesis, my project focused on microhabitat selection of two small temperate snakes where I had the opportunity to organize and collect my own data from the field. I have also worked for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency setting up invasive insect traps in my home town. I have always been intrigued by marine wildlife and I feel so lucky to be a research intern here at the Pacific Whale Foundation in Maui. I helped on the Sea Turtle project where I am investigating feeding habitat characteristics and sea turtle abundance as well as continuing our sea turtle identification catalog.                                                                                 

Former Intern:
Emily Walker
Growing up on the Gulf of Mexico in the town of Sarasota, Florida it was easy to fall in love with the ocean and its inhabitants. I am especially interested in marine megafauna and how they can serve as indicators of the health of the environment around them. I have a degree in biology from the University of Central Florida and have pursued that passion through various field research positions. Before coming to Maui I worked at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center as part of their tagging program for nesting sea turtles and in the rehabilitation department caring for injured and sick marine, aquatic, and terrestrial turtles and birds. I have also worked as a marine endangered species observer and volunteered with studies in collecting behavioral data on dolphins, sea turtles, birds, and captive killer whales. 

Here at Pacific Whale Foundation I have focused on looking into the observations of opportunistic feeding of humpbacks off Eden, Australia by our research team in the past years while photographing flukes for the catalog. It has involved a large amount of data proofing and working in GIS to find fronts using sea surface temperatures. When not working on that project I have participated in the researcher on board program, cataloged new individuals in our fluke catalog, and performed fluke matching. 

Former Intern:
Oriol Giralt
I’m from Barcelona, a city situated on the Mediterranean Sea. I graduated from University of Barcelona with a Bachelor in Science in Biology. I choose this degree because I have always been interested in the sea and the animals that live in it, and I am fascinated by marine mammals. 

I spent the last three years working in a marine animal recovery center in Barcelona, where I had the opportunity to work with sea turtles, sea birds and cetaceans, as a member of a stranding network.  I had incredible experiences there such as witnessing turtle hatchings and tiny animals making their way to the water for the first time, as well as assisting live stranded dolphins back into the sea.

Coming to Maui and joining the Research Department as a Research Intern, allowed me to make my dream come true: collaborate in a research project about Humpback Whales. During my time here I’ve been taking part in different projects run by the foundation. My duties include a lot of office work, such as humpback whale sightings and feeding data organization and analysis, and Australian fluke photo-identification and matching. I also have been able to work in the field as a Researcher On Board during the end of the whale season, helped with land based project of tracking whales using a total station, and taking part in the Odontocete Research Project.

Former Intern:
Marshall Hawkins
I was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, several hundred miles from anything resembling an ocean, but marine life still managed to grab a foothold in my interests, and remained there my whole life. As a kid it was just books about sharks and whales from the local library, but after high school I pursued that interest in earnest. I graduated with a degree in marine biology from Texas A&M University in Galveston, and during my undergrad got to experience a lot of what the ocean had to offer. During my undergrad career, I got to assist in anchialine cave research in Bermuda, and worked at the universityas a dive master/training assistant for their SCUBA program. At the end of it all, it was the allure of the cetacean intelligence and cognition that led me to begin my path towards becoming a marine mammal scientist. In the near future, I hope to go to grad school to continue in that pursuit.

During my time as an intern, I’ve gotten to work with information on a number of species. Perhaps my biggest role has been assisting in the development of a long term bottlenose dolphin catalog, as well as further developing the pilot whale catalog. I’ve been a part of Pacific Whale Foundation's Odontocete Research Project as an observer, photographer and data recorder. I participated in PWF’s Researcher on Board program, helped man a shore based theodolite station, and even helped create a dolphin matching game foreducation.