Just a few of the guest lecturers and experts we’ve had:

Rachael Griffin  Rachael’s blogbook
Rachael Griffin (BSc Marine Biology) is an independent researcher and photographer located in Victoria BC Canada. A graduate from the University of British Columbia with a Marine Biology Major she specializes in whale research, bioacoustics, and wildlife photography. Her experience includes documenting bottlenose dolphin signature whistles in Mexico, determining significant changes in a solitary false killer whale to recognized acoustic signals, discovering new offshore killer whale calls, Luna stewardship and revealing his calls, vessel effects on killer whale behaviour, and recording ambient sound levels. She recently contributed to the development of the BeWhaleWise Guidelines, co-authored the paper Killer Whales are Capable of Vocal Learning, and is developing a online killer whale call catalogue.

Kari Koski of Soundwatch Boater Education Program
The boundary waters of the U.S. San Juan and Canadian Gulf islands, known as the Salish Sea, are one of the highest density whale-watching areas in the world. The boating traffic is high in the peak whale-watching season of May--September, not only for watching whales but for other activities such as sailing, kayaking and fishing.

The Whale Museum's Soundwatch Boater Education Program was created to respond to that traffic and its effects on marine species.

Known primarily for educating whale-watching boaters, Soundwatch also patrols the boundaries of marine protected areas, such as National Wildlife Refuges and Bottomfish Recovery Zones, and conducts bird surveys. The Soundwatch boat is also used for responding to strandings of marine mammals.

John Stern of the Northeast Pacific Minke Whale Project
John is a co-investigator for the NPMWP and has been involved with this project since 1980.  He started parallel studies in Monterey Bay, CA in 1984 and in the San Juan Islands in 2005 and near the San Francisco area in 2007.  The focus of his work is habitat use patterns.  He teaches in the Biology Department at San Francisco State Universtiy.

Bob Francis Professor School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences University of Washington
Bob’s training is in mathematics and statistics.  His research interests are in the area of fisheries oceanography. His research is particularly focused on “trying to understand the structure and dynamics of large marine ecosystems and how they are affected by harvest and physical forcing.”  
http://fish.washington.edu/people/francis/