Sonia Kumar
President
Sonia is a Juneau-based Master's student of Marine Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where she studies Cook Inlet beluga whale acoustics and anthropogenic noise disturbance using passive acoustic monitoring and eDNA. She loves to sing, hike, and spend time with her retired sled dog, Sumlin!
Chelsea Kovalcsik
Vice President
Based out of Anchorage, Chelsea is a Marine Biology Master's student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks studying harmful algal bloom toxins and microplastic contamination in northern fur seals. She works for the Aleut community of St. Paul Island as a marine mammal disentanglement and bio-sampling Island Sentinel, and when she isn't working, you can find her biking with her dog or playing ultimate frisbee!
Chloe Kotik
Secretary
Chloe is a killer whale researcher and PhD student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Originally from Boston, MA, she completed her B.Sc. and M.Sc at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography using drone photogrammetry to examine the size, growth, and body condition of Bigg's and Southern Resident killer whales before moving to Washington. Now a Seattle resident, she currently researches the life history and toxic anthropogenic contamination of mammal-eating killer whales in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Jessie Hoffman
Treasurer
Jessie is a PhD student of Marine Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks but is based in Hawaii, where she studies the physiological effects of entanglement and ship strikes on humpback whales with the Pacific Whale Foundation. Jessie also has several years of experience using drones to survey humpbacks and spinner dolphins off Maui and Oahu!
Tony Blade
Undergraduate Representative - Fairbanks
Originally from sunny San Diego, Tony is now an undergraduate student in the Horstmann marine mammal lab at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he studies microplastic contamination in walruses using muscle, blubber, and liver samples from subsistence hunts.
Juneau Chambley
Undergraduate Representative - Juneau
Based in her namesake, Juneau is an undergraduate student of Marine Biology at the University of Alaska Southeast. After spending summers deckhanding on whale watch and glacier fjords tour vessels, she is hoping to pursue a career in marine wildlife rehabilitation!