Our Team: Staff
The Noyo Center for Marine Science is made up of an incredibly dedicated team of staff, board members and advisors. But the true heart of the organization is the ever-ready team of volunteers and docents. If you have interest in joining our team in some way, email info@noyocenter.org or fill out our volunteer application. We look forward to working with you!
At the Noyo Center for Marine Science, a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace is one where all employees, board members, and volunteers feel valued and respected, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education, or ability.
Ecological justice, environmental justice and social justice are important objectives for the organization, and in order to take care of and protect the environment, we must protect and take care of people. Any injustice that affects part of our community affects us all. We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and strive to ensure that all perspectives are heard. Diverse voices form the foundation upon which the Noyo Center for Marine Science advances ocean conservation through education, exploration and experience.
Staff
Sheila Semans, Executive Director
sheila@noyocenter.org
Sheila has led the development of the Noyo Center from its inception in 2015. She has worked in coastal and marine conservation for more than twenty-five years, most recently with the California State Coastal Conservancy where she served as senior staff to the California Ocean Protection Council. Sheila’s experience developing highly collaborative programs like the California Seafloor and Shoreline Mapping Program or the Coastal Ocean Currents Monitoring Program has enabled her to work with all of California’s marine labs, with local, state and federal agencies, and with academic and industry leaders conducting leading-edge marine research. When not at work, Sheila can usually be found on or near the ocean.
Michael Hicks, Development Director
michael@noyocenter.org
Michael joined the Noyo Center in 2022 after 10 years on the staff of the Reno Philharmonic in Reno, NV where he started as the Box Office Manager before being promoted to Development Director. Michael oversees the Noyo Center’s fundraising efforts, including individual giving, grant writing, corporate relationships, and legacy giving. He was born and raised in Montana in a small, agricultural town and has loved the outdoors since childhood. Michael has dreamt of living near the coast and is thrilled to make that dream a reality. His love for whales and passion for environmental conservation drew him to the organization. Michael is excited to expand the Noyo Center’s fundraising program as the organization continues to grow.
Lynne Sullivan, Operations Manager
lynne@noyocenter.org
Lynne joins our team after moving to the Mendocino Coast in 2019 from Indiana where she spent her career working to improve air quality with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. She and her husband enjoyed annual visits to California for 20 years and fell in love with the Mendocino coastal community. Since making the move here, Lynne enjoyed volunteering with the Noyo Center and helped to organize the Scavenger Hunt FUNdraisers. She says that her impression of the high level of knowledge, enthusiasm, and dedication of the Noyo Center’s staff, board, and volunteers made her decision to join the team as the new Operations Manager an easy one. She is looking forward to working closely with staff to support their efforts and explore new ideas to streamline operations as the organization grows.
Trey Petrey, Interpretive Facilities Manager
trey@noyocenter.org
Prior to joining the staff at Noyo Center in 2020, Trey worked with the Anderson Valley Land Trust as General Manager, assisting in the development of conservation easements, overseeing special events, managing the office, and coordinating their educational programs. Before moving to Mendocino County in 2014, he lived in the Bay Area and worked for over 18 years at the San Francisco Symphony. In addition to overseeing operations of the Discovery Center and retail, Trey is working with the Noyo Center team to enhance the variety of marine exhibits at the Discovery Center and continue expanding our diverse variety of educational programming.
Sarah Grimes, Marine Mammal Stranding Coordinator & Educator
sarah@noyocenter.org
As Stranding Coordinator, Sarah responds to all deceased marine mammals, working under a collaborative agreement with California Academy of Sciences as part of the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network. This data provides critical information on the status and threat of marine mammals along our coast, human interactions, and the health of our oceans. When not combing the beaches in search of clues relating to our coastal ecosystems, Sarah is in the classroom or out in the field giving a tour as one of our educators.
Richard Millis, Field Station and Marine Mammal Collections Manager
richard@noyocenter.org
Richard grew up in Fort Bragg received an Associates Degree in Marine Science at College of the Redwoods. As collections manager, Richard has taken a lead role in the collection and processing of all our marine mammal specimens, most notably our 26-ft killer whale. Richard recently took on the additional responsibilities of managing the Slack Tide Café, our café in Noyo Harbor, which opened in August 2022, and helps to support our educational programming and research.
Crans Squire, Marine Technology Coordinator
crans@noyocenter.org
A lifelong tinkerer and creator, as a kid growing up in Mendocino County, Crans spent many hours inventing contraptions in his father’s workshop. After receiving a B.S. Electronic Engineering from Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo he worked as a professional engineer in the Oceanographic, Medical and Environmental Industry. As a designer/engineer, Crans’s experience and skill solving technical challenges while mixing the mediums of art and technology to manifest unique creations has always been a passion and joy.
Sue Coulter, Education Coordinator
sue@noyocenter.org
Sue has spent the last 30 years teaching kids of all ages in many diverse contexts. A common theme in Sue’s teaching is to share her own insatiable curiosity about learning with the kids she comes in contact with. It is from her love of the ocean and her adoration of the wild beauty and nature here on the coast that Sue brings her gifts to the Noyo Center. Having started out in 2013 as one of Noyo Center’s naturalist/education team members, Sue now serves the center’s needs more fully as Education Program Coordinator. It is with great delight that Sue continues to explore and expand upon the education programs & camps for Noyo Center.
Leah Shirley, Discovery Center Docent & Retail Clerk
leah@noyocenter.org
Leah joined the Noyo Center as a retail clerk and docent in 2021, although she has been working with the organization as a volunteer for many years. She grew up in Forest Ranch, CA, and re-located to Fort Bragg in 2011. It was then that she got involved with the Noyo Center, cleaning blue whale bones and eventually participating in the articulation of the killer whale skeleton that is on display today. She has worked as an assistant educator, a docent at the Crow’s Nest Interpretive Center, and continues to assist in maintaining the tidepool aquarium there. Leah is trained in advanced dead marine mammal identification and has been a member of the Noyo Center’s stranding response team for many years. She is also a rescue volunteer for the Marine Mammal Center and a gray whale docent at the Point Cabrillo lighthouse. Leah is currently working towards her degree in biology at Mendocino College, inspired by her love for the ocean.
Debra Jones, Bookkeeper
debra@noyocenter.org
Debra joined our team in 2021 to assist in the management of Noyo Center’s financial transactions. She is a QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor and works for many small businesses and nonprofits within the community. After moving to the area in 2017, she began building a stronger connection with the natural environment and became eager to learn more. She completed a California Naturalist Program in 2019 and frequented Noyo Center’s science talks and community events. She loves exploring all the beautiful trails and beaches that the coast has to offer.
