Crew

Abby is originally from St. Helens, Oregon but grew up visiting her family’s summer cabin on Stuart Island in the San Juan Islands. Summer boat trips around the islands, exploring tidepools, and whale watching as a child have been the catalyst for her pursuit of working whale watching seasons around the world. She graduated from Oregon State University in 2015 with a B.S. in Marketing and International Business and has spent much of her career working in the marine science field as a guide, naturalist, and photographer. Her passion for the marine environment has carried her to The Kingdom of Tonga as a whale guide and guest services manager, to the San Juan Islands as a whale watching naturalist, and to Maui as a professional whale watching and underwater photographer. She volunteers with the San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network, the National Park Service conducting bat counts, and Oregon State Parks for the bi-annual gray whale migration. Even on her days off she's in pursuit of a variety of wildlife and can often be found on the boat or a nearby shoreline with a fish, bird, or invertebrate ID book.

Bethany (also know as Betty) is from Minnesota! Growing up in "The Land of 10,000 Lakes" included annual summer trips up to Lake Superior and the North Shore, where she developed a love for hiking and the outdoors.  More recently, she discovered an interest in wild flower identification and a love for kayaking.  Betty has been on San Juan Island year round since 2016 and is returning for her 4th summer season with the company after spending her first winter away in New Zealand. If she's not at work, typically you'll find Betty whipping up a sweet treat, hiking with her camera and plant identification book, sneaking in some time on the water or enjoying a chat at a local coffee shop.

Brian grew up in northwest Ohio, spending his time outdoors canoeing, kayaking and hiking with family. Brian has worked on San Juan Island in eco­tourism since 1998 as a kayak guide, boat captain and operations manager. His favorite hobbies (other than sea kayaking!) include ultra­running, triathlon and Nordic/backcountry skiing. In the off season, Brian enjoys spending as much time as he can in the Rocky Mountain state with his Goodremont family, aka the "G pod."

Gabe is originally from Goldendale, WA on the East slopes of the Cascades Mtns. along the Columbia River, but has spent the last 13 years on Maui as a naturalist and captain aboard a snorkel and whale watch boat. He enjoys all ocean activities and loves hiking. Gabe loves to camp and hunt and is a big Seahawks fan. He graduated with a BS in Wildlife Ecology degree from Washington State University and spent 5 years after college working in remote areas of Eastern Washington studying mountain lions and mule deer for WDFW. Gabe loves and dedicates his life to protecting wildlife.

Born and raised in California, Haleigh has explored nearly every inch and ecosystem the golden state has to offer. She completed her undergraduate degree in Environmental Systems from the University of California, San Diego. In that time, she participated in a field research course to learn about California's ecology and conservation efforts. After practicing research on land, she took her skills to Scripps Institution of Oceanography to study the deep sea, investigating the ecosystems around stinky methane seeps and hypoxic zones on and around the seafloor. Haleigh applied her science background and interest in education as an Americorps Science Educator in San Francisco. Coming off of the long year of the pandemic and remote teaching, she spent the summer of 2021 connecting with guests over the unique fauna found in the Salish Sea. She's thrilled to return to the island for another summer of cetaceans, salmon, and stellar sunsets.

Kelly grew up in Cincinnati but has lived most of her adult life just across the river in Northern Kentucky. Even with her midwestern roots she has always been interested in the marine world. Yearly trips to the coast and growing up on movies like Free Willy and Flipper sparked her passion for marine mammals. She graduated college in 2016 with a degree in electronic media and has always enjoyed photography/videography. On an average day you can find her hiking in search of birds to photograph, binging a TV show or planning her next adventure. In 2018, she visited San Juan Islands for the first time and lived her childhood dream of seeing killer whales in the wild! The trip was so inspiring, she made it her mission to return to the island long term.

Laura is originally from upstate NY and graduated from The University of Vermont with a B.S in Animal Sciences and a concentration in pre-veterinary medicine.  Starting her whale-watching career in 2007, Laura has studied humpback whale behavior in the Gulf of Maine off of Massachusetts and has been hooked ever since.  Previously she was a clinical volunteer with a sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation department, working with Loggerhead, Green, and the critically endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles.  She also has a lot of experience with marine mammal stranding response and necropsies, which is very exciting and rewarding work!  Surrounding herself with orcas on the West Coast has been a life-long dream and Laura is so excited to share her knowledge about this outstanding ecosystem. When Laura is not reading about whales or studying newly published journal articles, she enjoys hiking and appreciating nature.  She is owned by a sassy feline of the utmost intelligence named Mya, and in her free time enjoys playing the violin or listening to local musicians!

Lauren joins us from Southeast Michigan. Growing up in the Great Lakes State, she has always spent her summers on the water or “Up-North” exploring in nature. Lauren loved life in Michigan, but had always craved more than the freshwater lakes could offer. She has been captivated by the ocean and the marine life that lies beneath for as long as she can remember. Graduating from Central Michigan University with a degree in Communication and Event Management, she went on to intern in Community Relations at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota, FL. Lauren became a certified Marine Naturalist through the Whale Museum on San Juan Island, in the hopes of gaining the knowledge needed to obtain a job working around her favorite animal; orca whales. And she did just that! This is her second season with San Juan Safaris, but her first as a Marine Naturalist. Lauren is excited to spend her summer showing our guests all the Salish Sea has to offer! If Lauren isn’t swimming or boating you can find her hammocking in the trees or enjoying live music with friends.

Mike's passions are the ocean and the mountains. He spends summers captaining our whale watch boats. Winters usually find him on snowy mountains skiing or traveling to exotic countries. Captain Mike has been with us since 2009. He is an avid sailor who has taught sailing. Mike is also an Emergency Medical Technician. Two years ago he traveled all over Thailand. We were concerned he might not come back. Lucky us, he did. Captain Mike tragically passed in 2019, but he will forever be in our hearts. See you on the water, Captain Mike.

Growing up in northern Wisconsin, Olivia spent the summers camping, hiking, exploring, and playing on the many freshwater lakes. Pulling from this love of the outdoors, she went on to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a B.S. in Biology, majoring in Zoology and a Captive Wildlife and Conservation Minor. Aside from a field study program on the Big Island of Hawaii, Olivia has spent years working in a wide array of places focusing on water testing, conservation, and animal husbandry. From there she moved down to Costa Rica to work at a wildlife sanctuary aiding in the rehabilitation and reintroduction of their terrestrial wildlife. Most recently, however, she has returned from down under where she spent the last year and a half in New Zealand working as a Marine Wildlife Guide on the Akaroa Harbor. As her passion grew from watching Mighty Joe Young and Free Willy while growing up, and working with these amazing creatures around the world, she is eager to be a part of a company that focuses on the conservation of our wildlife and, especially, the marine mammals that call the Pacific Northwest home.