The Team
Snapshots at Sea is a project by the Happywhale.com team
The heart of Happywhale is powered by over 17,000 image contributors to date (see current statistics), contributing images and data for over a quarter million marine mammal encounters worldwide. About 2/3 of this data comes from research collaborators, and 1/3 from citizen scientists; we believe this is a very healthy balance 😃.
Happywhale team:
Ted Cheeseman - Co-founder & director
Ted co-founded Happywhale.com in 2015 with Ken Southerland as a research collaboration and citizen science web platform focused on whales and marine life. As a whale scientist with extensive eco-tourism and conservation science experience, his role involves harnessing the power of large collaborations to gather and analyze scientific data from diverse sources such as whale-focused tourism globally. This data provides unique insights into individual whales and their behaviors, to deepen our understanding and appreciation of healthy oceans. By making science accessible and engaging to the public, Ted and Happywhale strive to foster a greater appreciation for whales, ultimately aiming to bolster conservation efforts and reduce the impacts of human activity on marine ecosystems.
Ken Southerland - Co-Founder & lead developer
Ken is not just a co-founder and lead developer at Happywhale.com, but also a bona fide rocket scientist. With a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan, he initially aspired to conquer the final frontier. However, a childhood love for computer programming, kindled during late-night sessions on his family's Atari 800, eventually won out. Ken's impressive career includes designing the world's leading fine art cataloging system for museums at Gallery Systems and spearheading a GIS suite at the startup SAMsix, which helps utility companies map and perform network analysis. Over a 15-year tenure, he watched SAMsix grow into a successful enterprise. A passion for the outdoors, nurtured by family camping trips in the Smokey Mountains and canoeing along the Missouri river, became inextricably linked with marine life during a solo kayaking adventure in Alaska's Glacier Bay, where he witnessed a humpback whale's full breach. This awe-inspiring encounter cemented Ken's commitment to marine wildlife. Today, he feels incredibly fortunate to use his system architecture skills to contribute to marine wildlife awareness and protection.
Marilia Olio - Lead Data Manager
Marilia has a bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences with emphasis in Marine Biology from the Santa CecÃlia University in Brazil and a Master’s degree in Integrated Studies of the Oceans on the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries from the University of the Azores in Portugal. In her previous role, she has worked on research projects with marine mammals, on board vessels or land-based stations and also as Marine Mammal Observer and/or Passive Acoustic Monitoring operator onboard of a seismic vessel. In recent years, she has working as lead marine biologist, tourist guide and photographer onboard whale watching boats around the world. Her specialty is photo-identification of humpback whales and development of research programs within whale watching companies to contribute to science and enrich the whale watcher experience.
Hayley Newell - Data Manager
Originally from the East Coast, Hayley has a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art concentrating in black and white photography and classical oil painting. As a totally passionate and infatuated whale aficionado, she worked on a whale watching boat in Monterey Bay, California and learned to become an excellent naturalist. She also volunteered with a local cetacean researcher observing and documenting whale behavior. After relocating to Hawaii, Hayley then spent several years as a marine naturalist aboard tour boats educating the public on marine mammals. Hayley is an avid wildlife photographer and was lucky enough to be able to spend some time in Antarctica in 2019, a truly life-changing experience. Presently she is landlocked and might not be able to get on the water to be with the whales, but she continues to find joy with Happywhale keeping her connected to the sea.
