The Beach Reporter – Dolphins, Whales Move Closer to Shore As Coronavirus Keeps People Away

Lynne started as a volunteer at the Aquarium in February 2009 and joined the Board that July. She served as President from 2014 to 2016.

In 2007 she retired from a 45-year career that revolved around TV production, both as a college professor and practitioner. Among her positions were Vice Chair of the Communications Department at California State University, Fullerton and Director of Programming for Valley Cable TV.

Her TV producer credits include a 45-program music series for public broadcasting; she has written 12 textbooks about media; she has consulted in many countries including Australia, Malaysia, Russia and Swaziland; and she has received numerous outstanding educator awards. Her past volunteer work included Governor of the TV Academy and President of the Broadcast Education Association.

With her husband Paul, she has lived in Manhattan Beach since 1961 and raised three sons. It was her love of the ocean and her trips to the Aquarium with her grandchildren that inspired her to start volunteering. She is particularly interested in encouraging young people to consider science-oriented careers.

John is a retired Professor of Biology at California State University, Dominguez Hills. His primary teaching responsibility was genetics. He served as Biology Department Chair and was Co-founder and Director of the MS in Environmental Sciences Program. Prior to that, he was a Senior Research Fellow at Cal Tech’s Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory in Corona Del Mar.

He attended UC Santa Barbara for his undergraduate and graduate education. His research focused on evolutionary and ecological genetics, emphasizing marine invertebrates, reptiles, and bacteria. He has been on the Board of Directors of the Southern California Academy of Sciences since 1999, and has served as President, Vice President, and Secretary.

He and his wife, Diane, have lived in Manhattan Beach since 2004; they have three children and four grandchildren, who attend local schools. His goal on the Roundhouse Board is to promote the Aquarium as a community resource for information and education; this includes sponsorship of public lectures on issues of current interest in marine science.

Valerie followed the path of many staff members. She started as a volunteer in 2003, became a part-time employee in 2004, and moved to fulltime staff (Co-director) in 2007. Her current responsibilities include grant writing/tracking, teaching classes, assisting with curriculum development, event planning, assisting the aquarist when needed and a variety of other jobs.

She has a M. S. in biology from Cal State Long Beach where she focused her research on phytoplankton. Plankton and seaweed are still her favorite topics to discuss and teach. She is glad the Roundhouse provides a beautiful and safe place for people of all ages to learn about the oceans, marine life and the environment. When she teaches, she tries to emphasize that science is important and fun. Her personal life focuses on her two children who love to visit mommy at work and pose for pictures with the various animals.

Chuck has served on the Aquarium’s Board of Directors as Treasurer since 2006. Since 1988, he and his wife Marilyn have lived in Manhattan Beach, a short beautiful walk to the Aquarium. They have two grown sons and three grandsons.

Chuck was an All-American High School and College Swimmer at Burbank High School and the University of Southern California, where he obtained his BA and MBA degrees. He still lap swims almost daily.

His career included over 20 years of administrative experience with city government (City of Long Beach) and public agencies (Central and West Basin Water Districts and LA County Metro Transportation Authority). In the past, he has served on the LA County Beach Commission, the Manhattan Beach Planning Commission and the Coordinating Council.

As an avid ocean swimmer, he has had many conversations with the Aquarium staff about swimming with dolphins, staying away from harbor seals when they are feeding and avoiding stepping on a stingray. He loves to share his marine experiences with the Aquarium’s visitors as part of protecting our wonderful ocean.

Eric has been with the Roundhouse Aquarium since the year 2000. He started as an Aquarist Assistant and moved his way up to Co-director in 2004. He has nearly 30 years of teaching experience. In 2011 Eric was honored with the American Meteorological Society’s award for Outstanding Non-Formal Educator for his great teaching at the Roundhouse.

Prior to the Roundhouse, Eric worked for many years as an educator in the animal care unit at the former Marineland of the Pacific. Since then, he has been working in conjunction with the Center for Whale Research on the orca project and with Cascadia Research working on blue whale and humpback projects.

Eric continues with his work by taking his boat and camera out often to document the whales and dolphins that roam in the Santa Monica Bay. The Roundhouse uses his footage for field trips and to help educate the children about the wonders of the ocean.