Anne Schlesinger - Education Program Manager

Anne was born and raised outside of Boston, MA (yes, she is an unabashed Red Sox fan), but has spent most of the past eight years in upstate New York, where her life-long interest in natural history transformed from hobby to career goal. Anne majored in English Literature in college and minored in geology and decided when she graduated that she wanted to pursue a career that combined her interests in science with her interests in communication and people. In that vein, she completed two interpretation internships with the National Park Service in California and Colorado and loved them so much that she promptly made her way back to New York for a third environmental education internship. After a year of working as an educator at a residential environmental education center in the Catskills, Anne decided to return to school for a masters in Environmental Interpretation at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, NY. She is passionate about environmental education and is extremely excited to be working as the Program Manager at the Marine Science Consortium.

Jaime Belanger - College Coordinator/Equipment Manager

When Jaime came to the MSC as a precollege instructor, she immediately fell in love with teaching. Since that first season on the eastern shore, Jaime has worked at environmental science organizations in Florida and New Hampshire . The field of outdoor education has allowed her to combine her two greatest passions – biology and conservation. Although working as the equipment manager at the MSC does not provide teaching opportunities, the job has some perks of its own (i.e. working as the mate on the consortium’s research vessel!). One certainty for Jaime is that she will never stray too far from the ocean or the world of teaching.

“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” ~e.e. cummings

Amber Saville-Andree - Master Precollege Instructor

Family and friends were surprised that Amber did not want to become a school teacher because she loved teaching and working with kids. Her response was always "I would love to teach but I couldn't do it in a class room. It would have to be in the field." After graduating in May Amber came to work at the MSC to do just that. She hopes that she can share her love and respect for the oceans and its inhabitants with the students that she teaches and that the MSC may impact their lives the way that it has impacted hers.

Brian McCormick- Master Precollege Instructor

Ever since he was a boy he has been interested in education and oceanography. It wasn’t until he lived in Washington State where the love of the ocean really came out. The pacific coast being so beautiful and so vast really embedded the idea in to his head. Once he got to Millersville University, his college advisor informed him that he would love taking an intro to Oceanography course. One of the first trips the class took was to the MSC. This trip made it official. He was going to graduate with the degree, and the rest is History.

Josie Thurmond- Master Precollege Instructor

Josie grew up in South Carolina not far from the coast. She has loved the productive smell of the marsh ever since. She moved to Virginia in high school and attended Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk. She graduated in May 2008 with an Inter-divisional degree concentrating in Biology, Environmental Studies, English, and Psychology. She spent the last year interning in Florida with the Sanibel-Captive Conservation Foundation. Josie loves people, animals, learning and all things sci-fi :-) She hopes to continue to educate people of all ages in environmental conservation and hopes to someday write environmental awareness literature.

Mark McMullen-Bushman- Precollege Instructor

Mark was raised in Chicago IL. He attended the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he received a BA in History. Although Mark grew up in the City of Chicago, he gained his love of all things outdoors through his many summers on the boundary waters of Minnesota. There,

on his family's island on Rainy Lake, Mark learned to canoe and swim. Mark began his journey as an Environmental Educator at the Jekyll Island 4-H Center in Georgia. There he was a kayak guide, animal caretaker and educator. Mark has traveled to the Netherlands, Italy,France, Canada, Samoa and Mexico and hopes to visit many more exotic locations, like the Eastern Shore! Some of his hobbies include playing bass guitar and drums, web design, swimming, kayaking and reading.

Eric Martin- Precollege Instructor

Eric grew up in a small town in northern Indiana where he first learned of his love of marine biology when he began scuba diving at the age of 12. Since that time he has continued to increase his knowledge of the ocean realm. He has earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and an associate’s degree chemistry from Purdue University. After college he headed down to warm Naples, Florida for an internship at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida where he performed environmental education and animal care for marine animals as well as reptiles and birds. From there he headed north to the more temperate North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island to work as an educator. His northward journey has now brought him here to continue educating the masses about the wonders of the marine world and have fun while doing it.

Allison Weide - Precollege Instructor

Allison comes to MSC after more than a year of sailing and teaching on several educational schooners along the East Coast, traveling to destinations including Charleston, New York, Boston, Baltimore, and the Dominican Republic. Before that she earned a degree in Environmental Studies and Anthropology at Bowdoin College in Maine. She is happiest while in, on, or near the water, and is looking forward to being land-based for a while!

Shira Greenbaum- Precollege Instructor

Shira grew up in Carmel, CA where she enjoyed the beach, tide pooling, hiking along the coast, and visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Since completing her SCUBA diving certifications, she has explored the waters of the Monterey Bay, the Channel Islands, Hawaii, Costa Rica and Bermuda. While in Bermuda, Shira studied at the Biological Institute of Oceanographic Sciences. Shira earned her degree in Marine Biology at UCLA in June 2009. She worked the past two summers in education at a marine biology focused summer camp on the San Francisco Bay. Shira is very excited about joining the MSC team this year and exploring the marine life on the East Coast.

Maggie Pletta- Precollege Instructor

Maggie grew up visiting Assateague Island and decided early on this was the place for her. Upon starting college at the University of Maryland College Park she began working every summer as a seasonal interpretive ranger at Assateague Island National Seashore, where her love of teaching and marine science flourished. After graduating from UMD in December 2009 with a BS in Environmental Restoration and Management, she knew that the Eastern Shore of Virginia was where she needed to be and that's exactly where she headed. Maggie will be the MSC Educator seen eating comb jellies and sea lettuce when feeling famished in the field.

Office and Support Staff

Mark Baylis - Sr. Boat Captain

John Besecker - Operations Manager

Kennie Godwin - Groundskeeper

Eunice Handy - Cook

Levolia Handy - Cafeteria Shift Leader

Clifton Johnson - Dishwasher

Phyllis Johnson - Cook

Diane Lynch - Registrar

Teshie Moore - Dishwasher

Adell Payton - Housekeeper

Francine Payton - Head Housekeeper

Cynthia Sheppard - Treasurer

Tony Smith - Maintenance Assistant

Robin Townsend - Cafeteria Shift Leader

Linda Wallop - Food Service Manager

Jimmy Whealton - Boat Captain