Portfolio

Randall Wells, Ph.D. Director Wells is also Chairman of the Board of the Dolphin Biology Research Institute, (DBRI) a Sarasota-based 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation established in 1982 to provide logistical support to the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program with research vessels, towing vehicles, computers, cameras, field equipment, etc., and serves as the DBRI Treasurer.

Ralph Piland President of the Board The Dolphin Biology Research Institute is a Sarasota-based 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation established in 1982 to provide logistical support to the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program with research vessels, towing vehicles, computers, cameras, field equipment, etc. Ralph Piland has served as a member of the Dolphin Biology

Blair Irvine, Ph.D. Vice President of the Board The Dolphin Biology Research Institute is a Sarasota-based 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation established in 1982 to provide logistical support to the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program with research vessels, towing vehicles, computers, cameras, field equipment, etc.

Michael Scott, Ph.D. Secretary of the Board The Dolphin Biology Research Institute is a Sarasota-based 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation established in 1982 to provide logistical support to the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program with research vessels, towing vehicles, computers, cameras, field equipment, etc. Michael Scott began his career studying dolphin communication as a graduate

Ramsey J. Frangie, MBA Board Member The Dolphin Biology Research Institute is a Sarasota-based 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation established in 1982 to provide logistical support to the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program with research vessels, towing vehicles, computers, cameras, field equipment, etc. Ramsey J. Frangie is the Sarasota-based business owner of Ramate Construction Inc.

Katherine A. McHugh, Ph.D. Deputy Program Director, Senior Scientist Dr. Katherine (Katie) McHugh is a Senior Scientist and Deputy Program Director employed by the Chicago Zoological Society and based at Mote Marine Laboratory as part of the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP), a partnership to engage in dolphin research, education, and conservation

Kim Bassos-Hull Senior Biologist, Mote Marine Laboratory Research Associate, SDRP Kim Bassos-Hull is a Research Associate with the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (since 1993) and a Senior Biologist with Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida (since 2001). Kim began her studies with dolphins in 1988 as an undergraduate at University of California

Elizabeth J. Berens McCabe Senior Researcher Elizabeth Berens McCabe received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Grand Valley State University in 1998 and her Masters in Biology from the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences at the University of Florida in 2005. She has worked with the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program since

Krystan Wilkinson, Ph.D. Staff Scientist Krystan Wilkinson is a Staff Scientist employed by the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP) and based at Mote Marine Laboratory as part of a partnership to engage in dolphin research, education and conservation action. Krystan is also an adjunct scientist with the Sharks & Rays Conservation Research

Jason B. Allen Lab Manager, Senior Researcher Jason Allen is the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP) Lab Manager and a Senior Researcher. He began his career working with the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle. While attending Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL, he joined the Eckerd College Dolphin Project (ECDP), a bottlenose

Kathryn Holmes, Ph.D. Staff Scientist, Sarasota Bay Listening Network Manager Dr. Kathryn Holmes earned her Ph.D. in Animal Behavior and Communication from The University of Western Australia with Shark Bay Dolphin Research in 2022 and is a former CZS-SDRP intern. For her Ph.D., she studied how juvenile male bottlenose dolphins develop social

Aaron A. Barleycorn Field Manager, Senior Researcher Aaron Barleycorn, B.S., is the Field Manager and a Senior Researcher with the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP). He began working with dolphins in 1999 with the Eckerd College Dolphin Project. After graduation from Eckerd in 2001, he worked in a pediatric immunology lab, but

Carolyn C. Cush Gulf of Mexico Dolphin Identification System (GoMDIS) curator Carolyn received her bachelor’s degree from Eckerd College in 2004, where she participated in the Eckerd College Dolphin Project — identifying, cataloging and archiving photo-identification data from the local bottlenose dolphin population. She then conducted right whale aerial surveys with a

Allison R. Honaker Research Assistant and Data Analyst Allison Honaker works part-time for the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. She began participating in photo-identification research with Mote Marine Laboratory’s Manatee Research Program in 2010 and now works full-time for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Manatee Photo-Identification Program. She received her Bachelor’s

Jonathan Crossman Staff Researcher Jonathan Crossman is a Staff Researcher with the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Covenant College in 2018, where he performed a literary thesis on human effects on southern resident killer whales. After graduating, he moved to Washington state to work on

Theresa Tatom-Naecker Ph.D. Student Theresa Tatom-Naecker is a second-year Ph.D. student with the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program and the University of California, Santa Cruz. She received a double major in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science from the University of Chicago in 2017. After graduating, Theresa was a research intern with the

Kylee DiMaggio Research Assistant Kylee DiMaggio is a Research Assistant with the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP). Kylee received dual B.S. degrees in Marine Biology and Environmental Science from the University of New England in 2019. She then joined SDRP as an intern in 2019 and began as a Masters student in

Robyn Faulkner Allen Staff Researcher II, Sample Coordinator Robyn Faulkner Allen is the Sample Coordinator and Staff Researcher II for the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP) Brookfield Zoo Chicago. Robyn has a BSc (Hons) in Animal Science from the University of Leeds, England. She has worked with and supervised a range of terrestrial

Cecilia Thompson Staff Researcher Cecilia Thompson is a Staff Researcher with the Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. Cecilia began studying marine mammals while completing her BSc degree in Marine Science at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. She gained valuable research experience while working with the Eckerd College Dolphin Project,