The Petersburg Marine Mammal Center is a fully volunteer led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. At the helm is an experienced team of biologists, educators and charter boat captains, all of whom live in Petersburg, Alaska. Several of our directors have been with PMMC since its inception in the 1990s.
Scott came to Petersburg as a college student in the late 1970s to work in the seafood industry and never left. He started his business—Tongass Kayak Adventures—in 1984 to help show people some of the wonders of Southeast Alaska.
He became involved with the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center at the end of the 90s and has served on the Board of Directors since 2005.
Scott’s broad involvement in PMMC activities range from volunteering to take summer science camp students whale watching to offering creative input on outreach. He has been involved with our stranding response program since we became an active member of the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network in 2008, and he ensures our equipment and gear is always ready to deploy!
Sunny is the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program agent in Petersburg. She first came to Petersburg in 1993 to work in the cannery and joined the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center Board of Directors 2011. In addition to her work with PMMC, as the community Sea Grant agent, she promotes marine education and works to meet the education needs of the commercial fishing fleet in the Petersburg area and around the state.
Sunny is the central figure working behind the scenes to plan and execute both our Summer Science Camp and the monthly Petersburg Science Series, a series of presentations adapted for the general public on science-related topics.
Barry is retired after a career as a marine fisheries biologist and a second career as a marine ecotour operator.
Since retiring from his biology career in 1995, he has worked with whale researchers in advisory, active, and supporting roles. He is trained in large whale disentanglement and marine mammal necropsy.
A better understanding of marine mammal populations, food preferences, and animal behavior is becoming increasingly important as both human on-water activities and marine mammal populations increase. It is Barry’s hope that the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center continues supporting those seeking answers to those questions and helps share that information with the public.
Barry is a founding member of PMMC and has served on the Board of Directors in a number of capacities since its inception in 1998.
Ro came to Alaska in 1990 after growing up in Madrid, Spain and finishing her Bachelor of Science in Zoology. She followed her love for nature and wildlife to Southeast Alaska where the beauty and immensity captivated her and she decided to make it her home. She loves working with numbers and her passion has always been the sea so working as the financial controller in a hospital by the water is the perfect place for her. She loves being on the water so much that on her time off she is often seen buzzing around in her skiff—visiting LeConte Glacier or circumnavigating Kupreanof Island!
Ro joined PMMC’s Board of Directors in 2019 and is integral to keeping our paperwork and finances in order.
Toby has been captivated by wildlife since he was very young growing up in Michigan. After studying wildlife biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of Montana, he began working for the US Forest Service where he gained valuable experience in managing complex ecosystems and wildland fire. His experience with governmental agencies and the incident command system is helpful for marine mammal entanglement and marine environment disaster response. He has a particular affinity for animal welfare and for a time managed a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facility in Cambodia. Toby is a wildlife biologist for the Forest Service in Petersburg.
Toby has been a board member since 2019. As PMMC’s Stranding Response Coordinator, he leads our marine mammal stranding program and works to keep our volunteers actively engaged and informed.
As a longtime former commercial fisherman and current owner/operator of Alaska Sea Adventures, Dennis draws on a wide range of experience and demonstrates a deep breadth of local and regional knowledge.
With an education in marine biology and an unending enthusiasm for our abundantly rich ecosystem, he generously shares his 45 years of experience on local waters with the scientific community and with his enthusiastic guests aboard the M/V Northern Song.
A dedicated steward of our marine ecosystem, Dennis enjoys promoting further education and understanding of our diverse local marine mammal population.
He is proud to have served on Petersburg Marine Mammal Center’s Board of Directors since 2004.
Jeff loves to scuba dive and is excited to get in the water most days. He is a retired research diver and dive master for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. During his 20-year career he conducted over 7,000 cold water dives in Southeast Alaska doing surveys and training and is currently assigned to the R/V Kestrel out of Petersburg.
Jeff was previously a commercial fisherman. The Petersburg Marine Mammal Center is a vital component of the Petersburg commercial fishing fleet, and Jeff joined the Board of Directors in 2015 to help strengthen community relationships.
Following a career in non-profit outreach, Kelly joined the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center as a volunteer in late 2016. She initiated the development of PMMC’s strategic plan and helps implement our programs and coordinate our daily operations.
Kelly is a natural history documentary filmmaker, and in summertime she operates a water taxi business in Petersburg, Alaska.
Eli (Lee) Ribich was an original member of the ad hoc committee seeking to establish a science community focusing on the marine mammals, chiefly humpback whales, with whom we share our local waters. This committee evolved into the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which eventually became the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center.
Once established, the Board of Directors chose Lee to serve as President, a position he served in for many years. He helped to develop programs, facilitated those programs’ growth, encouraged the involvement of young people, and emphasized the educational component of the PMMC mission.
Lee remains a member of the Board of Directors in the capacity of Member Emeritus and participates as provider of humor when allowed and history when forgotten.