Our Team

Chelsea started working with the Vantuna Research Group in 2007 as an undergraduate research assistant and went on to graduate from Occidental College with a B.A. in Biology with an emphasis in Marine Biology. She then worked as Research Associate and Grants Manager for the VRG from 2011 until 2021...

Jeremy earned his B.S. in Aquatic Biology from UC Santa Barbara in 2000. He later joined the VRG in 2009 as a post-doctoral researcher after earning his M.S. and Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Hawaii, Manoa. Jeremy is currently Associate Director of the VRG and an Assistant Professor in the...

Jonathan has been working for the VRG since 2006, originally as a Research Associate, and now as a Research Scientist. He got his B.S. from UNC Wilmington and M.S. from CSU Northdridge. He has served as a data manager, lab manager, and field research leader, in addition to authoring or co-authoring...

Zoë is a postdoctoral researcher with VRG working to better understand the impacts of artificial reef structures such as oil and gas platforms on biodiversity. After graduating from Yale College, she spent two years developing fisheries curriculum and scientific diving for the University of Alaska...

Julia earned her B.S. in Marine Science from the University of Maine, where she developed a keen interest in marine subtidal invertebrates. Her passion for subtidal kelps and marine ecology developed while studying the distribution of benthic flora and fauna in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, for her...

Jessica began working for the Vantuna Research Group in 2023 as a Seasonal Field Research Assistant and was subsequently hired as a full-time Research Assistant. In 2024, Jessica was promoted to Research Associate. She received a B.S. in Marine Biology from CSU Long Beach in 2018, and then a M.S. in...

Chessie has a B.S. in Marine Biology from California State University, Long Beach and a M.S. in Biology from Georgia Southern University. During her undergraduate studies she participated in several research projects including two separate independent research projects on kelp bass (Paralabrax...

Molly began working at the VRG as a seasonal field research assistant in July of 2023. She earned her M.S. in Marine Biology from Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi and a B.S. in Biochemistry from Arizona State University. Her master's research focused on the toxicity of anthropogenic chemicals...

Brian began working for the VRG in 2021 as a Research Associate and was recently hired by the Orange County Sanitation Districts, and now works as a Field Research Assistant. He received his B.S. in Marine Biology from California State University, Long Beach in 2016 and his M.S. in Biology from...

Gary Jordan has been associated with the Vantuna Research Group since April 1976.  In that year, Gary supervised the identification of larval fish collected from the various waterways of King Harbor Redondo Beach. In 1977, he became a part of the Taxonomic Quality Assurance Program (TQAP), a program...

Katie has been volunteering with the VRG studying larval taxonomy since October of 2021 and joined the lab as a Field Research Assistant in August of 2024. She graduated from the University of Washington in 2021 with a B.A. in Environmental Studies. After graduating, she worked as a wildlife camera...

Clay started working in the VRG in 2017 as an undergraduate research assistant. He graduated from Occidental in 2020 with a B.A. in Biology with an emphasis in Marine Biology and a minor in Spanish. Clay then worked as a Fisheries Observer off the coast of Oregon and Washington for a year and...

Bill has been diving with the VRG since 2007 but only recently joined as a staff member in 2020. Bill graduated from UCLA in 1986 with a B.S. in Geology and a focus in Paleobiology. He then worked as Supervising Scientist and Dive Safety Officer for the LA County Sanitation Districts from 1989-2020...

Mac began diving with the VRG as a Field Research Assistant in 2021 and joined as a full-time Research Assistant in 2022. He received a B.S. in Aquatic Biology from UC Santa Barbara in 2019. Prior to working with the VRG, he worked with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game on salmon escapement...

Daniel started working as a research assistant focusing on larval fish taxonomy for the VRG in 2016. He graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a B.S. in biology and emphasis in zoology in 2018. During his time at Cal Poly, he worked at the Rain Bird Biotrek providing educational tours where he handled...

Juliana started working at the VRG as a seasonal field research assistant in May of 2023. She received a B.S. in Environmental Science in 2018 from California Lutheran University where she studied succession of fouling communities and microplastic contamination in the Channel Island Harbor, Oxnard...