Exploring Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary at Scale

Russ Green is the superintendent of NOAA’s Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Russ has worked in Great Lakes conservation for over 20 years, getting his start as a maritime archaeologist for the state of Wisconsin and later as research coordinator and deputy superintendent at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. After graduating from the University of Rhode Island, he spent time as a college football coach, commercial fisherman, and small business owner before making his way to East Carolina University for a graduate degree in maritime studies. He’s contributed to dozens of maritime archaeology projects along the east and west coasts, Bermuda, Micronesia, and Japan. Trained in mixed gas and rebreather diving, Russ has led technical diving expeditions in the Great Lakes and worked on the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor off North Carolina.

Caitlin Zant is the research and communications specialist at NOAA’s Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Prior to this, Caitlin worked as a maritime archaeologist for the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Maritime Preservation and Archaeology Program for over eight years following her graduate studies in maritime studies at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. Caitlin has been involved in numerous Great Lakes archaeological projects, public presentations, workshops, and outreach events, and has assisted in nominating over 25 Wisconsin shipwrecks to the national and state registers of historic places. Caitlin also holds a Bachelor of Arts in history, geography, and GIS.

With 22 years of experience with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), Brad Hibbard is an ROV supervisor certified by the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI). He’s been a lead pilot for 16 years and a project manager for 13 years. The majority of that time he spent on inshore structural inspection including hydroelectric plants, nuclear plants, large water intake systems, large sewers, treatment plants, and ocean outfalls. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering, Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. Brad is also trained in hazardous waste operations and emergency response (HAZWOPER) and confined space entry.

Lieutenant Dale J. Gump serves in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and is a portfolio manager with NOAA Ocean Exploration. He’s responsible for analyzing emerging technologies to guide federal investments and operationalizing a national ocean exploration strategy. At NOAA, Dale’s sea assignments have included operations officer aboard NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, where he led multidisciplinary scientific mission planning and execution, and junior officer aboard NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson, where he served as a deck watch officer, hydrographer, and small boat coxswain. Shore assignments have included a congressional detail at the House Natural Resources Committee and flag lieutenant for the director of NOAA Corps and Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. Dale served as an enlisted member of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Navy Reserves for 11 years. He was a divisional leading petty officer aboard the nuclear attack submarine USS Memphis, a work center supervisor for the director of naval intelligence, and an antisubmarine warfare watch floor supervisor in operational theaters around the world. Dale holds a Bachelor of Science from Columbia University, a Master of Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School. His personal decorations include the Department of Commerce Gold Medal (two), the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal, the NOAA Corps Commendation Medal (two), and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.

Andrew Yagiela is a research vessel captain for NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) based at the Lake Michigan Field Station in Muskegon, Michigan. He has over twenty years of experience operating and maintaining the vessels in GLERL’s fleet. He has experience with many types of scientific expeditions, including mooring and buoy deployments and retrievals, biological sample collection, marine instrumentation, diver support, remotely operated vehicle/autonomous underwater vehicle operations, sonar mapping, fisheries acoustics, and towed instrumentation. Andrew has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan.