Raychel's an honor student from Morehead City, North Carolina where her father is Director of Husbandry at Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium. She loves swimming, boating and is a proficient sailing enthusiast. Raychel's been a soccer player since the age of four and now plays on her school's varsity team. Her favorite subject is Spanish and she's an active member in Spanish Club as well as Key Club, She loves all kinds of music and has three cats; Zena, Tip and Mitten.

Kara is a self-described daredevil from Maryland with a strong interest in marine biology. She loves animals and the outdoors, and is a year round sports enthusiast. She's known on her various athletic teams as an outstanding defensive soccer player, a top defensive guard in basketball, and a valued freestyle swimmer. Kara is also a member of her school’s choral group and participates in the Buddy Program, an after-school support group designed to help children with mental disabilities. Kara also enjoys lacrosse, rock climbing, and taking care of her Pug named Bandit. Once in college, Kara plans to major in psychology and history.

 

 

Jillian is an honor student from Maryland whose three greatest passions are art, animals and protecting the environment. She currently studies at the Carver Center for Art and Technology, where her favorite mediums are oil paint, traditional black & white photography and oil-based clay sculpture. Jillian also enjoys camping, drawing in her sketchbook and surfing at her home town in Long Island. Jillian hopes to inspire others to preserve nature by sharing its beauty and expressiveness through her art.

Lauren is a home-schooled student who lives in Texas. She loves kayaking, horseback riding, baking, listening to her favorite music and reading. Her favorite subject in school is science. Lauren loves animals. She has a horse named Sugar Baby, a cat named Bella, and many other animals that live on her family’s ranch. After swimming with the manatees, she now has adopted two manatees, Amanda and Rosie, from “Save the Manatee Club.” Her goal is to adopt all the manatees from the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Florida.

Drew lives in Maryland and loves exploring nature while learning about plants, animals and the world’s delicate eco-systems. He’s an active Cub Scout and his favorite activities include camping, swimming, archery and helping his fellow Webelos clean up local streams. Drew’s favorite subject is geography and he plans to one day travel the world. He’s already been to Europe where he spent days trekking through Italy. Drew also loves to play the drums and hopes to form his own band.

Jim spent 20 years in the marine industry as the owner/operator of a marina, and also worked as a scuba service technician for 18 years. Jim has been an active diver since 1969, and has been a certified SCUBA instructor for 34 years. Currently he holds the diving specialty titles of Master Instructor and DAN O2 Instructor. He turned his lifelong interest in videography into a profession 16 years ago, when he joined forces with George to begin working on their long series of environmental and underwater documentaries. He was also chief videographer and editor on a nationally syndicated health program for 4 years, and created weather-related health segments for the Weather Channel during that time. Jim’s experienced eye and meticulous attention to detail make him a valued addition to the Aqua Kids staff.

George is a true hands-on producer, whose talent for creating award-winning television is second only to his inexhaustible enthusiasm for documenting the extraordinary beauty of the undersea world. Not satisfied with the traditional role of producer, George has honed his skills as an underwater cameraman and certified SCUBA instructor in order to share his love for marine life with others, and to educate them as to their endangered existence and the importance of preserving their fragile environments. In addition to the multiple Emmy and Telly award-winning Aqua Kids, George has produced numerous nationally and locally distributed television programs. His work has also appeared on NBC, ABC, CNN, The Discovery Channel, the History Channel, Animal Planet, the Nashville Network and various national affiliate television stations.

Dr. Juli Goldstein is a Research Professor at Florida Atlantic University and is also the Staff Veterinarian and Medical Manager at the renowned Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. Through the Institute’s Marine Mammal program, Dr. Juli cares for sick and injured marine mammals, studies heart diseases found in whales, and studies the health of local dolphin populations. When not rescuing stranded marine life, Dr. Juli travels the world lecturing about human and animal health, and was Ms. Florida for 2009!

Steve McCulloch, Science Advisor
Stephen McCulloch has more than thirty-years experience working within the marine mammal industry and research community. In 1997, Steve founded the Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Program at the renowned Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and has worked to create a world-class, multi-disciplinary research environment.  Steve’s life mission is to ‘Protect Wild Dolphins and Whales’; Steve has received international recognition from his peers in areas of research and technologies innovations, and also serves a number of organizations involved in environmental responsibility, education, art and science. Through such leadership and entrepreneurial efforts, Harbor Branch and Florida Atlantic University have gained recognition for the high quality and content of several innovative marine mammal research and conservation programs that benefit others from around the world.