Meet the Team

Dr. Katy Croff Bell is the Founder and President of the Ocean Discovery League and a National Geographic Explorer. She is on a mission to make the deep sea more accessible to all.

Dr. Brian Kennedy is a deep sea ecologist whose research focuses on how environmental drivers influence deep sea organisms.

Tapas Dwivedi oversees product management of the Ocean Vision AI initiative, developing machine learning-powered tools for the automated analysis of ocean imagery.

Kylie Pasternak is an ocean technology operator and technician. She provides engineering support for product development and technical assistance to the user community.

Susan Poulton is a strategy and digital media specialist. Her work focuses on digital products, strategic planning, fundraising, and communications.

Katie Leeper oversees community engagement activities for all of Ocean Discovery League's projects, connecting our work with the broader ocean community.

Dr. Kristen Johannes is a cognitive scientist and marine conservationist. She develops interactive tools and data products to assess capacity and guide global deep-seafloor exploration.

Jon Ferguson is a creative technologist supporting the engineering of the Maka Niu interface and data analysis for the Global Deep-Sea Capacity Assessment.

Dr. Jessica Sandoval is a robotics engineer and ROV technologist. She oversees strategic planning and development of our next-generation modular sensors & systems.

Nadiah Rosli is a program manager and communications specialist who is co-developing the Ocean Discovery League Fellowship program.

Dr. Maud Quinzin is an evolutionary and conservation biologist. She manages the data collection, analysis, and reporting of the Global Deep-Sea Capacity Assessment.

Dr. Dan Novy is an artist and engineer, focusing on creating enriched, active, and inspired media experiences. He contributes to sensors and systems development and outreach projects.