Meet Our Staff
Carol Bernthal
(360) 406-2075
E-mail: Carol.Bernthal@noaa.gov
Carol Bernthal is the Superintendent of Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Her responsibilities at the sanctuary include all aspects of management of the site and staff, policy development, interaction with the Olympic Coast Sanctuary Advisory Council, working with local, state, federal agencies and tribes, and serving as a member of the National Marine Sanctuary Programs' Leadership Team.
Carol's past work and educational experience
combines natural resource management and environmental policy, with a special emphasis on working with tribal governments. Carol graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1985 with an undergraduate degree in Biological Aspects of Conservation and a minor in Environmental Science. She has worked for a variety of county, federal, and state agencies in subjects as diverse as growth management, forestland conservation, watershed restoration and protection, fisheries, and plant ecology. Prior to working for NOAA, Carol served as the Senior Habitat Biologist and Habitat Program Manager for the Point No Point Treaty Council, a consortium of four Native American Tribes on the Olympic Peninsula.
Chris Butler-Minor
(360) 406-2092
E-mail: Chris.ButlerMinor@noaa.gov
Chris joined OCNMS in July 2017 as the Community Engagement Specialist. In this position she supports the Sanctuary Advisory Council and manages the Olympic Coast Discovery Center. She also coordinates sanctuary volunteers. She represents the sanctuary on travel and tourism and is the coordinator for the site's NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring project. Linking education and policy by engaging sanctuary stakeholders, partners, the general public, and visitors is an important priority for Chris.
Following her life-long love of natural environments, Chris transitioned from the financial industry as a risk manager to earn her BA in Environmental Policy & Planning from Western Washington University’s Huxley College of the Environment on the Peninsulas. She also holds a Masters of Environmental Management degree from Portland State University. Over the past three years she has run a Citizen Science estuarine habitat monitoring project on the Kitsap Peninsula. Working on this and other projects, she has found that volunteering and working with others to encourage community participation that facilitates personal and public level connections in supporting sustainable enjoyment of natural resources is one of her greatest passions.
Carey Floyd
(360) 406-2086
E-mail: Carey.Floyd@noaa.gov
Carey Floyd has been a graphic artist in the Puget Sound area since 1996. She
started contracting with Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in 2001. Her work for the
sanctuary includes graphic design, web design, posters, illustrations, video editing, and large-scale
event displays. Carey spends much of her free time asleep, entertaining cats, or on her motorcycle.
George Galasso
(360) 406-2080
E-mail: George.Galasso@noaa.gov
George Galasso has worked for NOAA since
1982
and has been Deputy Superintendent for Policy & Programs since the 1994
designation. George has a B.S. in Environmental Resource Management from the College of
Environmental Science and Forestry and a Masters of Marine Affairs from the University of
Washington.
Since joining NOAA, George has served on three NOAA vessels, piloting
vessels through the inside passage of BC and Alaska and participating in research cruises from the
Arctic to the South Pacific. He has years of experience in policy analysis, operational planning,
data collection and analysis. He is currently involved in implementing the sanctuary's revised
management plan and managing sanctuary resource protection programs.
Kevin Grant
(360) 406-2078
E-mail: Kevin.Grant@noaa.gov
In 1996 Kevin received a B.S. in Biology/Environmental Science from the University of
Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Kevin then served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching high school
science in the Solomon Islands. After returning from the Peace Corps he worked as a Fisheries Biologist
with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission conducting fisheries-independent monitoring
along the Florida panhandle.
In 2004 Kevin earned a Master of Marine Affairs degree from the University
of Washington’s School of Marine Affairs. He spent a year as a John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow at
the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Since then, Kevin
spent almost three years in Hawaii working as a Policy Specialist with Papahānaumokuākea Marine
National Monument and four years as the Deputy Superintendent of National Marine Sanctuary of American
Samoa (formerly Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary). Since July 2012 Kevin has been the Deputy
Superintendent of Administration and Operations at Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
At various
points in his career, Kevin worked as a Fisheries Observer in Alaska, assisted NOAA's Northwest
Fisheries Science Center in developing Community Profiles for West Coast and North Pacific Fisheries,
and assisted in a pilot study to develop survey methodology and a sampling strategy for assessment of
coastal shark populations.
Anna M. Hallingstad, LTJG/NOAA
(360) 406-2081
E-mail: Anna.Hallingstad@noaa.gov
Lieutenant (junior grade) Anna Hallingstad joined Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary as the Vessel Operations Coordinator in June 2019. Previously, she served for two years as a junior officer aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, where she became qualified as an Officer of the Deck and supported the ship's ocean exploration mission, including deep sea mapping and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations.
LTJG Hallingstad hails from Anacortes, WA and earned her B.S. and M.S. in Earth Systems from Stanford University. She is thrilled to contribute to the sanctuary's mission, and to the understanding and conservation of the nation's marine ecosystems.
Nicole Harris
(360) 406-2082
E-mail: Nicole.Harris@noaa.gov
Nicole Harris is the Education Specialist with Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Nicole plans
and implements education activities for classrooms, field investigations, teacher workshops, and
presentations to local and regional organizations, hoping to inspire stewards to our marine environment
in all of our activities. She also assists in the coordination and implementation of volunteer coastal
cleanups. With so much to love about this job, the best part is that the "classroom" is the beach.
With a background in Early Childhood Education, a BA in Environmental Policy and a minor in
Environmental Science from Western Washington University’s Huxley College of the Environment, she
worked as a nearshore biologist along the central coast of Strait of Juan de Fuca before joining the
sanctuary team.
Nicole moved to the Olympic Peninsula in 1997. She likes to split her time in nature between hiking
the forests of Olympic Mountains, exploring the area beaches, and fishing the waters of the Pacific. A
bead-maker in her "spare" time, Nicole loves shiny sparkly things and escapes to her lampwork studio to
put all that ocean inspiration into her bead making whenever possible.
Kathy Hough
(360) 406-2091
E-mail: Kathy.Hough@noaa.gov
Kathy Hough has worked as a Biologist or Survey Technician since receiving her Bachelor's Degree. After working for a
couple of non-profit organizations on various research projects, she joined NOAA. She has been with NOAA, in one capacity
or another, since the late 1990s. After approximately eight years working at-sea, she joined Olympic Coast's team and is
glad to be on land! She works on sanctuary mooring and habitat mapping programs.
Holly Keedy
E-mail: Holly.Keedy@noaa.gov
Holly Keedy is serving as a Washington Service Corps AmeriCorps member at Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary as Education and Stewardship Specialist. Holly earned her Master of Science in Environmental Science, Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, and Bachelor of Science in Clinical Laboratory Science from California State University Dominguez Hills. Before serving in AmeriCorps, Holly created and taught curriculum for non-profits, interned as a chemist at a water recycling facility, and served in the Los Angeles Conservation Corps. She hopes to pursue a career that focuses on water quality when her term is over. In her free time, Holly enjoys being outdoors, fishing, hiking, and spending time with her dog Nebula.
Jacqueline Laverdure
(360) 406-2084
E-mail: Jacqueline.Laverdure@noaa.gov
Jacqueline Laverdure is Education and Outreach Coordinator for
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Jacqueline develops and implements sanctuary education,
outreach and communications plans that support the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary educational mission to inspire ocean conservation using
the concepts of Ocean Literacy. She conducts teacher workshops, student field studies, and
tribal youth programs.
Prior to her work with Olympic Coast, she was an outreach program coordinator
for NOAA Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. She also crewed and skippered vessels in Key West,
Florida for close to fourteen years, sailed the Atlantic Seaboard, completed a trans-Atlantic voyage,
and logged over 16,000 nautical miles sailing the coastal waters of Venezuela and the Caribbean.
Jacqueline is originally from Brookfield, Connecticut, and graduated from the
University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Sciences and Marketing. She
has worked in marine conservation and outreach since 1992 and holds a United States Coast Guard
100 Gross Tons Masters license.
Cheyenne Palmo
E-mail: Cheyenne.Palmo@noaa.gov
Cheyenne Palmo is serving as a Washington Service Corps AmeriCorps member at Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary as Education and Stewardship Specialist. Cheyenne relocated to Washington from Richmond, Virginia to serve as an AmeriCorps service member with the education team at Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. She received her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with a minor in Environmental Sustainability from the University of Mary Washington. Through her collegiate career, she discovered her passion for climate justice and environmental communication. Cheyenne hopes to continue outreach work with vulnerable coastal communities after her service term. In her free time, Cheyenne can be found hiking through Olympic National Park or playing ultimate frisbee. Fitting to the Olympic Coast, her favorite animal is an orca!
Robert Rountree
(360) 406-2092
E-mail: Robert.Rountree@noaa.gov
Rob started as a volunteer with Olympic Coast Discovery Center in 2005 before joining the staff the following year. He grew up in Atlantic Beach, Florida, and joined the U.S. Coast Guard after high school. Retiring after a 20 year career which took him from Florida to Maine to California to Guam and a dozen foreign countries, he was impressed with the importance of the ocean and how people interact with it. He hopes to pass this on to volunteers and visitors to Olympic Coast Discovery Center.
Jenny Waddell
(360) 406-2088
E-mail: Jenny.Waddell@noaa.gov
Jenny joined the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary team as sanctuary research
coordinator in the summer of 2016. With a background in wildlife biology, a B.S. in
Conservation and Resource Studies from UC Berkeley and a Master's of Marine Affairs
from the University of Washington, Jenny left Seattle in 2001 to work at NOAA headquarters,
first through a Knauss fellowship and then as a marine biologist with the National Centers
for Coastal Ocean Science, where she helped conduct biogeographic assessments of several
National Marine Sanctuaries and map benthic habitats of coral reef areas in the U.S.
Caribbean, Pacific Island Territories, and Micronesia. After several years as a team lead
at the Office for Coastal Management's Coral Reef Conservation Program - a position that
spread her focus across many different geographies around the globe - Jenny was eager to
return to more 'place-based' conservation efforts working as part of the OCNMS team to
protect the wild and wonderful outer coast of Washington.
Katie Wrubel
(360) 406-2081
E-mail: Katie.Wrubel@noaa.gov
Katie Wrubel is the Resource Protection Specialist for Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Katie completed her M.S. in Environmental Science at Washington State University Vancouver in 2013. Her thesis research looked at fish-habitat associations with a focus on biogenic structures (e.g., deep-sea corals and sponges) within OCNMS using archived remotely operated vehicle (ROV) video. Katie was selected as a NOAA Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar during her graduate studies (2011-2013). After graduate school, she was selected as a Washington Sea Grant Marc Hershman Marine Policy Fellow at The Nature Conservancy where she focused on marine spatial planning with tribal and non-tribal partners. Katie's fascination with deep-sea research started while she was an undergraduate at California State University Monterey Bay, where she graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Science, Technology, and Policy and a minor in Mathematics in 2010. As an undergraduate, she participated in an ongoing research partnership between the Institute for Applied Marine Ecology and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in their site characterization efforts and marine protected area monitoring activities, which included multiple towed camera sled and ROV cruises. From 2014-2020, Katie worked as the Natural Resource Policy Analyst for Makah Tribe in Neah Bay, Washington where she focused on the protection of tribal treaty rights, implementation of the Makah Ocean Policy, and the development of the Tribe’s climate change plans. She also served as the Tribal Caucus Coordinator for the West Coast Ocean Alliance from 2018-2020. .
Contact for page content: Kevin Grant
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