Marine Careers Day 2026 Speaker Bios

Christopher Drew is a founder of Scuba.Tech and a videographer with Dive Voyager Expeditions. He dives and teaches on NJ and NY shipwrecks, leading open-source marine STEM research that empowers local students. His passion is underwater 3D imaging and video, turning epic dives into lessons to share with the world.

Joshua Gross is a scuba diver and co-founder/Manager of Research at Scuba.Tech. He builds STEM programs, explores well-known reefs, and develops open-source software when he isn’t teaching students about the fundamentals of ROVs. When not working he enjoys skiing, fine art, and sailing!

Hayes founded Aqua Survey, Inc. (ASI) in 1975.  He graduated Fairleigh Dickenson University in 1974 with a B.S. in Marine Biology. ASI is a national leader in providing geophysical surveying, sediment ecotoxicology and vibracoring.  His career has taken him to Egypt, Australia, Belgium, Mexico, East Germany and many other countries in addition to most states domestically.  Hayes has enjoyed growing his business with an emphasis on inventing new electronics to better find archeological artifacts, unexploded bombs, gold nuggets and treasure.  He likes to use short and feature documentaries to portray his field.  Hayes has funded and constructed four schools in impoverished, remote jungle villages in Laos.  He is currently developing the next generation of hybrid metal detection equipment, writing a book regarding his experiences and leading an expedition to survey/locate/recover lost Buddhist temples in the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia.

Margo Peyton founded Kids Sea Camp 25 years ago. Kids Sea Camp, lead her to adding 8,000+ PADI youth diver certifications, and Kids Sea Camp programs have introduced thousands of families to the underwater world. This dedication to youth dive training has earned Margo deserved recognition; 2025 Beneath The Sea Pioneer of the Year Award -- 2024 International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame Inductee -- 2020 PADI Lifetime Achievement Award (only the second recipient, after Sylvia Earle) -– 2019 Beneath The Sea Diver of The Year Award -- 2018 DEMA Hall of Fame Reaching Out Award -- 2009 Women Divers Hall of Fame Inductee. Margo has been a PADI Ambassador since 2017. She is one of few female members of the SCUBAPRO Deep Elite Ambassadors. She is a recognized expert and source for data on youth diving, training and travel. Margo and Tom Peyton co-founded Ocean Wishes; a non-profit supporting ocean conservation, training grants, and scholarships. Margo remains a passionate underwater photographer.

Anna and Ned DeLoach are acclaimed underwater naturalists, photographers, and authors whose work has shaped marine life education for decades. Ned’s Diving Guide to Underwater Florida spanned 40 years and 11 editions. In 1989, Ned and co-author, Paul Humann, published the landmark Reef Fish Identification series and co- founded the marine conservation nonprofit REEF, Reef Environmental Education Foundation. Anna began shooting underwater video to assist Ned in documenting fish life for their co-authored book, Reef Fish Behavior: Florida, Bahamas, Caribbean. Over the past 30 years they produced marine life columns for Ocean Realm, Skin Diver, Scuba Diving and Alert Diver magazines. The couple continues to serve on the REEF’s Board of Trustees. Both are recipients of the Beneath the Sea 2026 Diver of the Year for Art.

Jeffrey Bozanic PhD, FN'88, is a scientist, explorer, and educator with over fifty years of diving experience. He has led more than seventy scientific expeditions worldwide, including a flag expedition for the Explorers Club to the Antarctic doing scientific experiments in uncharted waters. Jeffrey is an inventor and author with multiple patents and books, he has also been a recipient of the BTS Diver of the Year and a 2024 NOGI Award recipient, the Oscars of diving.

Bobbie had a distinguished 24-year career as a U.S. Navy Diving Officer, having completed dive school in 1983. She became the fourth woman to command a U.S. Navy vessel, serving as commanding officer of USS BOLSTER (ARS 38). In October 2000, she led a contingent of 12 Navy divers to Aden, Yemen, providing support to USS COLE following a suicide bombing incident during refueling that resulted in 17 fatalities and 37 injuries among sailors. This experience significantly influenced her perspective on the operational role of divers in combat situations throughout her career. Bobbie retired from active service in 2005. Bobbie Scholley is the Beneath the Sea recipient of the 2026 Legend of the Sea.

Jacob is a professional with 7+ years of experience in the space industry, working as a program manager at Voyager Space and Interstellar Lab. During his time, he led the mission management of over 100 payloads on the International Space Station. Jacob is the founder of Monolith LLC, where he is focused on developing platforms to study aquaculture and marine biology in microgravity and the space environment.

TreVaughn Ellis is a first-year marine biosciences PhD student, volunteer firefighter and AAUS scientific diver attending the University of Delaware. Throughout his scientific career he has lead research efforts, conducted fieldwork in tropical and polar waters and presented works at international conferences. As a NOAA Hollings scholar, UDALL scholar, TDP alumni, and Zale Parry scholar he is passionate about connecting with people and exploring the field of marine science.

Dr. Victoria Fulfer is an oceanographer and microplastics scientist working with The 5 Gyres Institute, a science-based nonprofit dedicated to translating science to solutions. Victoria received her M.S. and Ph.D. in oceanography from the University of Rhode Island, where she also serves as part-time faculty teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses. Victoria believes that environmental pollution, especially plastic pollution, is a global issue that requires global efforts to solve, leading her to spend 6 months in Vietnam as a Fulbright Scholar. She now travels around the world to study microplastics from the coasts to the deep ocean, working with local communities along the way to empower the next generation to serve as environmental stewards.

Paul L. Washington, Jr is a Scientific Diver, Diving Safety Officer and SCUBA Instructor with multiple certification agencies including the American Academy of Underwater Scientists (AAUS), the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI). He has been diving for over 37 years in a variety of warm and cold-water environments. During that time, he has served in several diving organizations including as President and Executive Director of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers Foundation (NABSF), Co-Chair of the Science and Education Committee of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS), Member of the Diving Control Board for the Coral Restoration Foundation, and as Administrative Officer, Assistant Dive Safety Officer and Member of the Dive Control Board of the NABSF-NABS Scientific Diving Program. As a volunteer Scientific Diver for NOAA and Instructor with Diving With a Purpose, he has supported the archeological survey and data collection of multiple submerged cultural sites including one believed to be the Pirate ship Guerrero that is known to have transported hundreds of kidnapped Africans to Florida after the abolition of slavery in the US.

George Buckley, environmental consultant, educator and film maker is the President of the Boston Malacological Club. He has worked with HABITAT Bonaire, EARTHWATCH Expeditions, ENVIROTHON, EARTHECHO, Woods Hole Oceanographic, New England Aquarium and other organizations and as Co-founder of the Harvard University Environmental Management and Sustainability programs to promote the study and protection of environments the world over. A Director of the Boston Sea Rovers oceans group, he is a Beneath the Sea Diver of the Year and has received numerous awards for his environmental work.