ABOUT US
The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary office is co-located with the NOAA Fisheries Lab at historic Fort Crockett in Galveston, Texas.
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
4700 Avenue U, Bldg. 216
Galveston, TX 77551
Phone: (409) 621-5151
Fax: (409) 621-1316
flowergarden@noaa.gov
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MEET THE STAFF
Management
G.P. Schmahl, Sanctuary Superintendent
(409) 621-5151, ext. 102
george.schmahl@noaa.gov
Administration
Irene Arthur, Administrative Program Specialist
(409) 621-5151, ext. 100
irene.olivares-arthur@noaa.gov
Education & Outreach
Shelley Du Puy, Education & Outreach Coordinator
(409) 621-5151, ext. 106
shelley.dupuy@noaa.gov
Kelly Drinnen, Outreach Specialist & Web Coordinator
(409) 621-5151, ext. 105
kelly.drinnen@noaa.gov
Operations
Marc Weekley, Operations Coordinator
(409) 621-5151, ext. 104
marc.weekley@noaa.gov
Darrell Walker, Captain, R/V MANTA
darryl.walker@noaa.gov
Mike Shetler, First Mate, R/V MANTA
Research & Monitoring
Emma Hickerson, Research & Permits Coordinator
(409) 621-5151, ext. 111
emma.hickerson@noaa.gov
Ryan Eckert, Research Assistant
(409) 621-5151, x126
ryan.eckert@noaa.gov
John Embesi, Research Specialist
(409) 621-5151, ext. 124
john.embesi@noaa.gov
Michelle Johnston, Research Ecologist
(409) 621-5151, ext. 127
michelle.a.johnston@noaa.gov
Marissa Nuttall, Research Assistant
(409) 621-5151, ext. 108
marissa.nuttall@noaa.gov
Sanctuary Advisory Council
Jennifer Morgan, Sanctuary Advisory Council Coordinator
(409) 621-5151, ext. 103
jennifer.morgan@noaa.gov
Southeast Region - National Marine Sanctuaries
Bill Kiene, Associate Science Coordinator
(409) 621-5151, ext. 109
william.kiene@noaa.gov
Irene Arthur
Administrative Program Specialist
irene.olivares-arthur@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 100
Irene Arthur joined the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary team in 2001. As the sanctuary's Administrative Program Specialist, she is responsible for providing primary program support in the areas of administration, budgeting, procurement and fiscal planning for the FGBNMS. Specifically, she develops annual budgets, tracks and verifies budget status, prepares periodic status reports, analyzes and manages fiscal year procurement actions and prepares acquisitions for technical contract services. She manages administrative record-keeping and prepares travel arrangements for sanctuary staff. She is a 1988 graduate of Texas A&M University having earned a BS in Psychology and Accounting.
Kelly Drinnen
Education Specialist
kelly.drinnen@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 105
Kelly Drinnen joined the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary team in August 2004. As Education Specialist, she is responsible for developing, revising and maintaining many of the communication tools used to share sanctuary information with the public. She also conducts workshops and presentations. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from James Madison University and has over 13 years experience with informal science education from Moody Gardens and Sea World of Florida, as well as two years of experience in a 4th grade classroom. Kelly comes from a family full of educators and likes to say she has "teaching in her genes." This, coupled with her love of the ocean, and wildlife in general, led her to a career in informal education where she gets to share her interests in two languages and meet people from around the world. Kelly is also a certified SCUBA diver and former Down Under, Out Yonder workshop participant.
John Embesi
Research Specialist
john.embesi@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 124
John Embesi joined the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary team as a Research Specialist in 2009. As a Research Specialist, his responsibilities include continuing the long term monitoring of the banks within the sanctuary and providing support to the FGBNMS research team and partners on various projects. Prior to joining the FGBNMS team, he spent ten years as a Research Specialist and Diving Safety Officer with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Artificial Reef Program.
Shelley Du Puy
Education & Outreach Coordinator
shelley.dupuy@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 106
Shelley Du Puy joined NOAA's Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary team in 1994. As the sanctuary's Education & Outreach Coordinator, she is responsible for coordinating all education, outreach, public relations and non-research volunteer activities for the sanctuary. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Science from Texas A&M University at Galveston and has over 30 years of experience with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in areas ranging from fisheries data collection to wetlands conservation to environmental education. While working as a Fisheries Biologist, Shelley observed that many people had little or no concept of how activities on land and in coastal areas affected the larger ecosystem. This was the motivating factor in her decision to focus her career on the education aspects of natural resource management.
Emma Hickerson
Research Coordinator
emma.hickerson@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 111
Emma Hickerson has held the position of Research Coordinator at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary since 1997. She has focused her research efforts in the Gulf of Mexico since 1994, and has led and participated in close to 100 cruises in this region. These cruises included submersible, ROV and SCUBA operations. Emma conducted her Master's thesis project at the sanctuary where she studied the movements of loggerhead sea turtles using radio and satellite telemetry technology. Her sanctuary research has focused on the collection of high resolution multibeam bathymetry, and habitat characterization both within and in the vicinity of the FGBNMS. Emma's interests and strengths include marine biology and ecology, underwater photography and videography, underwater exploration and technology, science interpretation through multimedia production and SCUBA diving. (Photo by Joyce & Frank Burek).
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Michelle Johnston
Research Ecologist
michelle.a.johnston@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 127
Michelle joined the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary research team in 2011. As a research ecologist and NOAA science diver, she manages the sanctuary’s long-term coral monitoring project and battles invasive lionfish! Michelle has previously been a scuba dive team member at the Living Seas Aquarium in Florida, a sea turtle field biologist in South Carolina, and a marine educator and surf instructor in North Carolina, Australia, the Bahamas and Hawaii. Michelle's academic studies started at UNCW in marine biology where she rehabilitated sick and injured sea turtles, and continued at the University of South Carolina where she completed her M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Health Science researching bacterial pathogens in coastal waters. After graduate school, Michelle was awarded a NOAA Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy fellowship with NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
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Bill Kiene
Associate Science Coordinator,
Southeast Region
william.kiene@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 109
Bill came to Galveston from Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary in October 2007.
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Jennifer Morgan
Sanctuary Advisory Council
Coordinator
jennifer.morgan@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 103
Jennifer Morgan joined the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary team in July 2005. As the Sanctuary Advisory Council Coordinator, she is responsible for facilitating and supporting the work of the advisory council and assisting with the management plan review for the sanctuary. She holds a M.S. degree in zoology from Texas A&M University and a B.A. in zoology from Ohio Wesleyan University. Jennifer previously worked with an advisory committee as the curriculum coordinator for the Texas Master Naturalist program. She has also coordinated and taught summer youth education programs in marine science for Duke University. Jennifer's interests are in increasing public awareness of natural resources and in making scientific tools, such as natural history collections, accessible to the public.
Marissa Nuttall
Research Assistant
marissa.nuttall@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 114
Marissa joined the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary team in 2007 as a research assistant. Her research involvement at the sanctuary includes the cataloging, visual identification, and passive acoustic tracking of manta rays; image analysis for the Long-Term Monitoring of Stetson Bank; and image analysis and GIS mapping for Deep Fish Habitat Characterization. She is currently a graduate student at Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) and holds a B.S. in Marine Biology from TAMUG. Marissa is also an AAUS scientific diver and NAUI Dive Master.
George P. Schmahl
Superintendent
george.schmahl@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 102
G.P. Schmahl has been the manager of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary since March 1999. Prior to that he served for eight years as the Lower Keys Regional Manager of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in Key West, Florida. As sanctuary manager, he is involved with a broad array of Marine Protected Area management issues including research, education and resource protection. Since obtaining a graduate degree in Zoology from the University of Georgia, G.P. has held a variety of positions relating to marine research, coastal management, resource planning and environmental regulation. His primary interest is the ecology and management of coral reefs and associated ecosystems, and he has a specific interest and expertise in the biology and ecology of marine sponges.
Mike Shetler
First Mate, R/V MANTA
Mike joined the crew of the R/V MANTA in 2010. As First Mate, he is responsible for most of the engineerng duties on board the vessel. Mike came to the sanctuary team with a background in captaining a variety of vessels as well as PADI scuba certification. He is now also a NOAA Working Diver.
Darrell Walker
Captain, R/V MANTA
darrell.walker@noaa.gov
Darrell is a USCG licensed 100 ton Master and Captain of the NOAA research vessel R/V MANTA. His passion is the sea and he believes the precious resource of natural reefs in the Gulf Of Mexico should be cherished and protected for present and future generations. Darryl became Captain of the R/V MANTA in 2009. He is also co-owner of True Blue Watersports out of Lake Charles, LA and has been diving for the past 30 years. He is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and a NOAA Working Diver.
Marc Weekley
Operations Coordinator
marc.weekley@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 104
Marc Weekley joined the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary team in June 2010. He is a NOAA Corps officer whose previous assignment was at the South Pole. Before becoming a NOAA Corps Officer, Marc was an aquarist at the Florida Aquarium.
