Advisory Board
MICHAEL REPPY
Stanford University, BA History, 1967. University of Southern California, MS Physical Therapy, 1979. Physical therapy practice 1980-2017, including private practice Santa Monica, CA, home care specialty with Marin Home Care and Sutter Care at Home, Marin County, CA. Now retired, and lives in Mill Valley, California.
Michael has spent over 30 years volunteering with Earth Island Institute, focusing on using ocean sailing and racing to support Earth Island campaigns, beginning with Dolphin Safe Tuna in early 1990's, and then Save Japan Dolphins to stop the capturing and slaughter of Dolphins in Taiji, Japan. Michael made three attempts to break the solo sailing record from San Francisco to Tokyo in support of this campaign. In 2018, Michael purchased the former sport fishing lodge, Pacific Outback Resort, Double Bay, Hanson Island, BC, Canada. For the past seven years, Michael has been directing the rebuilding of the facility to create the infrastructure for DOUBLE BAY SANCTUARY to be the retirement home for Corky.
ALEXANDRA MORTON
Alexandra Morton came to the coast of BC in 1979 looking for Corky's family. Having learned Corky's dialect, she sought to continue her orca language research with wild whales. In 1984 she began a long term language study on A clan orca in Echo Bay.
When salmon farms displaced the whales and impacted wild salmon, Morton embarked on a 40 - year effort to stop the harm generated by industrial salmon farms. Today half of the salmon farms in British Columbia are closed and wild salmon are rebounding where these closures have occurred.
Today, while Morton continues to work with First Nations who are trying to protect wild salmon from the remaining salmon farms, she has returned to research into what orca are talking about. The Double Bay Sanctuary will be hosting an underwater microphone which Alexandra will be using for this research.
Photo is 1982, Alex and Corky at Marineland. Photographer Robin Morton
Dr Paul Spong
Dr. Paul Spong is the President of the Pacific Orca Society, and founder of OrcaLab. He acquired a Ph.D. in physiological psychology from U.C.L.A. in 1966.
Dr. Spong began studying dolphins and orcas in 1967, initially in captivity, then in the wild. His insights led to his involvement in the save-the-whales movement during the 1970s.
In the 1980's, following the "moratorium" on commercial whaling, he returned to full-time research. His work is focused on the long-term life history of the 'Northern Resident Community' of British Columbia orcas and on the protection of orca habitat. He created the "Free Corky" campaign in 1990 and has worked tirelessly on behalf of captive whales and dolphins. At OrcaLab, he has been involved in implementing technology that connects people to the natural world via the Internet (Orca Live, explore). Of deep concern to him are climate change issues.
Helena Symonds
Helena Symonds is a co-director of OrcaLab. Helena obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre at the University of British Columbia. After receiving her teacher qualifications she taught at the Alert Bay School.
In partnership with Paul, she has been developing OrcaLab since 1979. Helena's special interests are in orca acoustics, social aspects of orca behaviour, and impacts of human activities on orca habitat.
Helena is largely responsible for the "assistant" programme which has brought more than 300 international volunteers to OrcaLab since 1983. With Japanese and American partners, Helena and Paul have brought the everyday life of orcas to the world via the Web. Together, they are involved in numerous quality-of-life issues that affect orcas and other marine wildlife, including commercial whaling, captivity, whale watching and Critical Habitat.
Megan Hockin-Bennett
Megan is an award winning filmmaker, podcast producer and conservationist. She grew up near London, England and currently lives on Vancouver Island. After finishing her degree in film she traveled to Canada in search of a life lived amongst wildlife and to make films about the natural world. She has spent the last 15 years making short films and working with OrcaLab.
These years have instilled an inherent passion for maintaining a respectful relationship with whales and nature. Megan is still part of the close knit community of North East Vancouver Island and is dedicated to the belief that through education, creativity, positive energy and conversation we can inspire people to create long lasting change to help sustain a healthier planet.
The Double Bay Sanctuary project and Corky's story is something that Megan deeply believes in and being part of the family is an honour and a privilege.
Naomi A. Rose, PhD
Naomi Rose is the senior scientist for marine mammal biology with the Marine Wildlife Program of the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) in Washington, DC. She campaigns internationally to end cetacean live capture, trade, and commercial display, and to improve captive marine mammal welfare.
She has been a member of the International Whaling Commission Scientific Committee since 2000, where she participates in the subcommittees on environmental concerns, small cetaceans, and whale watching.
Dr. Rose is also an AWI representative in a coalition of non-profit organizations devoted to defending and strengthening the US Marine Mammal Protection Act. She has testified before the US Congress four times, at the Canadian Parliament, and at several federal and state legislative and regulatory hearings. She gave a TedX Talk in Bend, Oregon in April 2015 on captive orca welfare.
She received a PhD in biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1992, where her dissertation examined the social dynamics of free-ranging male orcas. Dr. Rose has worked in the marine mammal advocacy field for over 30 years.
Carlos Díaz Barriga de los Cobos
Carlos is an international advisor, editor, and visual storyteller. He holds a BA in International Relations and is currently a master's student in Ethnology and Community Studies (Faculty of Anthropology). Together with his brother, he runs a publishing house in Mexico.
He has collaborated in Canada as a MITACS Globalink research intern at Royal Roads University. Have been a nature and landscape photographer across Mexico, Canada, and Europe, and served as a digital and print communications strategist for authors, public institutions, and private organizations in Mexico. At Double Bay Sanctuary, he has been part of the volunteer team during the summer and advises on community-led education, international outreach, and the protection of both natural and cultural heritage.
His master's research focuses on the legal and ontological significance of Culturally Modified Trees (CMTs) - cedar trees shaped by Indigenous bark harvesting. This research began after volunteering at the sanctuary, where he discovered the profound legacy and cultural history that surround the forests of Yukusam (Hanson Island) - the very location of Double Bay Sanctuary.
In his own words: "The sanctuary is not just its infrastructure. It is the community that makes the care of this ecosystem possible: staff, volunteers, First Nations, advisors, and supporters from all over the world - all united by a shared love for this cause, while protecting an environment that surprises us every day."
Charles Vinick
Charles Vinick is founding CEO of the Whale Sanctuary Project and has been leading non-profit environmental organizations for more than 40 years, including The Cousteau Society, the Jean-Michel Cousteau Institute and Ocean Futures Society. His work with the Cousteau family included advancing the expeditions of the ship, Calypso, throughout the world and serving as executive in charge of production for many television films. He was director of Parc Oceanique Cousteau in Paris and served for four years as director of the Keiko Project in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland.
In 2022, with Pritam Singh, Charles co-founded Friends of Toki, and he assembled and managed the team to care for Toki at the Miami Seaquarium, the first time external whale sanctuary advocates worked hand-inhand with the care team in a marine park.
In the private sector, Charles served as CEO of Aquantis Inc., a marine energy technology development company and as Chairman and CEO Ecosphere Technologies, Inc., a non-chemical water purification technology development company.
As CEO of the Whale Sanctuary Project he is leading the work to create the whale sanctuary in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia. He also currently serves on the Board of Ocean Futures Society and as President of the Board of Directors of Heal the Ocean. He has received commendations from the White House for his work with youth education and from the Los Angeles City Council for community environmentalism.
Mark Worthing
Mark Worthing is a settler of Scottish and English ancestry based on Vancouver Island. He is a multidisciplinary community organizer, researcher, and policy-analyst working at the intersections of environmental activism, applied conservation biology, decolonization and land-based methodologies.
Mark is experienced in direct-action, movement building, intersectional advocacy, and ecology field-work research with a focus on the landscapes of so-called British Columbia. He works with and for many coastal First Nations communities, bringing nearly two decades' experience working for many Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations at the global, national and grassroots levels.
Mark can be found somewhere between the old growth forests of coastal British Columbia, the boardroom tables of biodiversity-policy development, or global climate justice movement spaces where he centers a trauma-informed approach to healing, learning and creativity.
He is the Campaigns Manager and Policy Analyst at Awi'nakola Foundation as well as the Strategic Advisor at The Pacific Orca Society - Orcalab.
Jim Styers
50+ years in the Marine mammal, Aquarium and Zoological industry. Curator of Marine Mammals at the Seattle Aquarium. Director of Seward Otter Rescue Center during the Exxon/Valdez oil spill. Project manager in Iceland for the Free Willy/Keiko project with many other projects over the years.
Mr. Styers accomplishments include:
- Trained several Killer Whales from the Pacific NW of America
- Collected and transported many species of marine mammals worldwide.
- Head Trainer of the "Old" Seattle Aquarium
- Curator of Marine Mammals at the "New" City of Seattle Aquarium
- First in the world to successfully propagate sea otters in captivity.
- Trained sea lions for search and rescue
- Owned and operated "Diving Ventures Unlimited, a dive adventure company
- Advanced diving certificates
- Designed, built and Director of the "Wildlife Rescue Center" for EXXON, during the Exxon/Valdez oil spill. Largest rehabilitation center ever built. 85% survival.
- Conceived, owned and operated NW Marine Collectors, a small sea life collecting company, supplying many aquariums and zoos with sea life from the Pacific NW.
- Licensed United States Coast Guard Merchant Marine Officer
- Owner and CEO of Lazer Labels, Inc. Sold to Pioneer Manufacturing (Japan)
- Collected/transported 3 sea otters to Lisbon, Portugal for the "Year of the Ocean"
- Chief consultant for the Free Willy Keiko Foundation, in charge of design, construction, and deployment of Keiko's sea pen in Iceland
- Founder and Director of Fathom 23, Inc., Wildlife Rapid Response Team and Oil Spill Wildlife Management. (Consulting firms for marine mammal crisis/rehab.)
- Produced oil spill "wildlife contingency plans" for many major oil companies and the United States Navy.
- Conducted dolphin research in the Fiji Islands for 7 months.
- Head Consultant to the Myanmar Dolphin Project.
- Written and published travel articles for Thailand.
- Owner/partner of "Swim with the Sea Lions" in Koh Samui, Thailand
- SE Asia Manufactures Representative for several International companies.
- Lead Consultant: Toki's Sea Pen design, build and deployment. (until her death, Aug. 18, 2023)
- Currently: Consultant to Double Bay Sanctuary, BC, Canada. Sanctuary design.
- Currently: www.wdadvocacy.org FB: Whale & Dolphin Advocacy Group.
- Currently: SE Asia Manufactures Representative: Sub Sea Systems, Inc.
- www.subseasystems.com Living in Bangkok, Thailand.
- jstyers@subseasystems.com
Jeff Foster
Jeff Foster has spent his whole life around wild and exotic animals. He grew up as the son of a prominent zoo veterinarian, giving him experience caring for and managing animals from an early age.
Jeff has worked in the marine mammal field for 45 years. He got his start working for SeaWorld and the Seattle Marine Aquarium at the age of 15. He has worked in all facets of the marine mammal field including capture, animal husbandry, training, rehabilitation, research and reintroduction. And he has traveled the world helping to conserve and protect wild dolphins and other marine mammals.
Jeff has been credited for developing the first successful formula for a neonate cetacean as well as been instrumental in developing behavior enrichment devices for captive marine mammals. Jeff oversaw the humane captures of oiled sea otters during the Exxon Valdez oil spill. He was Director of Field Operations and Research for the Keiko Project and oversaw the day-to-day management of the project. He also oversaw the capture, rehab and successful reintroduction of Springer, the orphan killer whale. He was responsible for the Tom and Misha Project, the first successful reintroduction of bottlenose dolphins back into the wild. Jeff was instrumental in the developing the LIMPET tags in the study of marine mammals in the wild.
Jeff has received numerous accolades and awards for his contributions to the marine mammal field, including NOAA's Environmental Hero of the Year 2006, received for his dolphin rescue work during hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Southeast Asia.
Jeff is Site Search, Animal Transfer and Rehab Coordinator for the Whale Sanctuary Project in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Dr Justin Judge
Dr Justin Judge is an internationally experienced Senior Marine Ecologist, Drone Pilot, Board Member for several NGOs, and Senior Marine Mammal Observer with over 750 commercial days at sea.
Justin has strong professional experience in functional ecology, ecosystem management, regulatory interpretation, permitting, proposal development, and innovative survey design. His expertise lies with investigating the effects of anthropogenic and natural perturbations in ecosystems as well as providing associated mitigation services. He is based in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Michael Stocker
Michael is the founding director of Ocean Conservation Research, a scientific research and policy development organization focused on understanding the impacts of, and finding technical and policy solutions to the growing problem of human-generated ocean noise pollution. He is a technical generalist conversant in physics, acoustics, biology, electronics, and cultural history, with a gift for conveying complex scientific and technical issues in clear, understandable terms.
He has written and spoken about marine bio-acoustics since 1992, presenting in national and regional hearings, national and international television, radio and news publications, and in museums, schools, and universities.
His book titled “Hear Where We Are: Sound, Ecology, and Sense of Place” reveals how humans and other animals use sound and sound perception to establish their placement in their environment, and communicate that placement to others.
Michael is also a musician – performing original compositions and Jazz standards on piano, vibraphone, flute, and bass.
Jim Borrowman
Jim Borrowman is a charter member of the JSKWICS Board and has served in many capacities since 1993. He is currently Chairperson of the Board.
Jim has lived and worked in Telegraph Cove since 1975. He was the co-owner and operator of Stubbs Island Whale Watching - BC's first whale watching company - and Orcella Expeditions.
Jim was among advocates campaigning for the protection of the Robson Bight. With the protection of the Robson Bight (Michael Bigg) Ecological Reserve (RBMBER) in 1982, Jim has served as a volunteer park warden for over 40 years.
With the incredible help of hundreds of volunteers, Jim has been collecting marine mammal skeletons for over 45 years and this collection was the foundation of the WIC's accumulation of skeletons. Thanks to his efforts of collecting, flensing and cleaning many of the specimens in the WIC, the WIC's collection became the largest collection of marine mammals on display in Western Canada.
Since his retirement, Jim has dedicated much of his time to improving the Whale Interpretive Centre. His heart and soul is in the WIC and Telegraph Cove. Jim is dedicated to the rebuilding journey ahead.
Victoria Brims
Victoria is a marine wildlife conservation professional with more than 25 years of international experience across Australia, the United States, and Mexico, including high-profile projects focused on the conservation of endangered species. She specializes in animal husbandry, wildlife rescue, and the design of Aquatic Life Support Systems (LSS) and specialized infrastructure that support marine animal care, rehabilitation, and research.
As Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Mexico Marine Wildlife Rescue Center (MMWRC.org), Victoria provides strategic leadership, drawing on her technical expertise to develop the systems, infrastructure, and operational standards that support the organization's rescue, rehabilitation, research, and conservation programs. She brings to the board extensive experience in conservation leadership, organizational development, and the practical application of science and engineering to advance marine wildlife conservation.
Francisco 'Ricky' Rebolledo
Ricky is a marine mammal conservation specialist with more than 30 years of experience in Mexico. He specializes in marine mammal rescue, rehabilitation, and disentanglement, having developed his expertise alongside some of the region's leading marine mammal veterinarians and researchers. . Ricky is a founding member of Mexico's National Whale Disentanglement Network, serves as an instructor trained by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and regularly leads sea lion disentanglement operations in collaboration with government authorities in Mexico.
As Co-Founder and Director of Rescue Operations at the Mexico Marine Wildlife Rescue Center (MMWRC), Ricky provides operational leadership for marine wildlife emergency response and rehabilitation. He brings to the board extensive expertise in marine mammal rescue, response training, and conservation, with experience leading multidisciplinary teams and building response capacity across government agencies, military personnel, and conservation organizations.
