Selena McMillan has been involved in marine ecology and research for over 14 years. While an undergrad at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Dr. McMillan began working for the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) as a subtidal technician, organizing and performing long-term subtidal monitoring efforts along the California coast. Selena left this position to pursue her master’s at Moss Landing Marine Laboratory (MLML) where she completed a subtidal thesis examining the trophic interactions between giant kelp and snails. While at MLML, she worked as a research assistant for Dr. Rick Starr at California Sea Grant where she was integral in organizing a Data-Poor Fisheries workshop that brought together scientists, policy makers and fishermen from all over the world. Recently, she completed her PhD at The University of Auckland in New Zealand examining herbivorous fishes in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and the temperate reefs of New Zealand. She is excited to be returning back to her roots in California and diving back into ocean monitoring as the Director of Education Programs for Reef Check.

THE WORK OF REEF CHECK & HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
Founded in 1996, the Reef Check Foundation is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of tropical coral reefs and temperate kelp forests. With offices in Los Angeles and Santa Cruz, California and volunteer teams in more than 40 countries and territories, Reef Check’s mission is to lead citizen scientists who promote stewardship of sustainable reef communities around the globe. In 1997, Reef Check conducted the first-ever global survey of coral reef health. The survey provided scientific evidence of a worldwide crisis- caused by overfishing and pollution- in the condition of our coral reefs. In 2005, Reef Check launched its first temperate reef program in California. Reef Check California has grown to be the largest citizen science monitoring group collecting data on California’s kelp forests and its statewide Marine Protected Area (MPA) network. In 2016, this program expanded into climate change monitoring and is now providing ocean temperature data from over 90 sites, and is monitoring ocean acidification at key sites in California’s MPAs.

Adam Tucker has been an accident investigator for the NTSB since September, 2014, and was the lead investigator for the investigation of the Conception fire of September 2, 2019. In addition to the Conception fire, Adam has investigated numerous other vessel accidents, both domestically and internationally, ranging from large cruise vessels and tankers to commercial towing and fishing vessels.

THE CONCEPTION FIRE INVESTIGATION
Adam will talk about the process of the investigation, what challenges were faced, and what was different about this investigation compared to other ones he has done. This is NOT intended to be a finger-pointing or blame-assigning chat. But Adam will tell you what was (and what was not) found, the significance of the NTSB’s findings, and what changes their recommendations might produce in the overall small passenger vessel industry.

Dr. Mark Legg is recognized as one of the leading experts on faulting and seismotectonics of the Southern California offshore region based on more than 30 years experience. He has mapped the major active and ancient fault systems of the area offshore southern California and northern Baja California, compiled, analyzed, and mapped the offshore seismicity and earthquake character, and is the author of more than 35 publications in scientific journals, books, and maps resulting from offshore geological and geophysical research. mark has also worked with the NASA Extreme Environments Project and helped train astronauts as to what types of rock they might find on the moon or Mars. He also studies underwater geology and faults, starting on scuba and then moving on to using underwater submersibles for his research, including the famed Alvin submersible.

UNDERWATER GEOLOGY AROUND CATALINA ISLAND
We live in an earthquake-prone area and those fault lines also ruin out into the ocean and affect things both above and below the water. Dr. Legg will tell you about some of those, describe some fascinating underwater events that have happened in spots where we regularly dive, and will leave you with a slightly different impression of what's happening geologically in our ocean than you may currently think.

Dr. Sam came to California in 1951 at the ripe age of 19 and quickly became a teen-aged free-diver. Scuba diving had just arrived in Southern California and Sam made his first dive in Laguna Beach with no wetsuit and cheap equipment. It was just a tank and regulator, fins and a mask, no snorkel. Formal diving instruction didn't exist until 1954. When you bought your diving equipment, you got a little pamphlet of about six or eight pages that you read and that was the sum total of instruction. In those days, every time you put your head underwater it was a new experience. But Sam was enamored and quickly moved up the scuba hierarchy. His instructor credentials have impressive low numbers: L.A. County OWSI #11, NAUI Instructor #27, and PADI Instructor #241. Since 1962 he ha authored numerous articles in local, national, and international publications. And he maintains what is likely the world's largest library of scuba diving books and publications. Sam was (and is) a charter member of numerous dive organizations and he also provided diving support for water impact testing on the Apollo Command Module, which included helping recover it when it sank to the bottom of the test tank.

IN THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED
Dr. Sam Miller III has been around diving for a looooong time. When he talks about the history of the sport, he can do so not because he read about it in a book or magazine, but because he was likely there when it happened and knows first-hand. In this talk, he share some of those stories with you and give you a better idea of how this industry came to be created and evolved. Sam will use his personal knowledge as well as his extensive library to enlighten you on some of the history of this sport that we all love so much.

Doug and Lorenza Sloss have worked in the tourism and hospitality business for several years aboard the Aggressor liveaboards in Kona, Hawaii and Palau, Micronesia. There, they have taught hundreds of people how to dive and shoot photography. Their passion for teaching translated into the creation of a successful series of video tutorials that help photographers of all levels to effectively and professionally post-process their images. Their award-winning photography has appeared in Sport Diver, Scuba Diving, Scuba Diver Australasia, Islands, Asia Diver and many other magazines and books worldwide. Doug has been Field Editor and regular columnist for Scuba Diver Australasia magazine. They also lead photo workshops teaching photography and digital editing, both above and below the waterline.

TAKE BETTER PICTURES - IF SAM CAN DO IT, WHY NOT YOU?
Everyone who has ever held a camera in their hand wants to take better pictures than they currently do. And for those who are on that quest to be the next underwater Ansel Adams, Doug & Lorenza can help point you there. In this talk, they'll go through some of the basics and will share with you how they got their son, Sam, interested and involved in underwater photography.