ABOUT US
The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary office is co-located with the NOAA Fisheries Lab at historic Fort Crockett in Galveston, Texas.
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
4700 Avenue U, Bldg. 216
Galveston, TX 77551
Phone: (409) 621-5151
Fax: (409) 621-1316
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MEET THE STAFF
Management
G.P. Schmahl, Sanctuary Manager
(409) 621-5151, ext. 102
george.schmahl@noaa.gov
Administration/Budget
Irene Arthur, Administrative Program Specialist
(409) 621-5151, ext. 100
irene.olivares-arthur@noaa.gov
Education & Outreach
Shelley Du Puy, Education & Outreach Coordinator
(409) 621-5151, ext. 106
shelley.dupuy@noaa.gov
Kelly Drinnen, Education Specialist
(409) 621-5151, ext. 105
kelly.drinnen@noaa.gov
Operations
Tracy Hamburger, Operations Coordinator
(409) 621-5151, ext. 104
tracy.hamburger@noaa.gov
Research & Monitoring
Emma Hickerson, Research & Permits Coordinator
(409) 621-5151, ext. 111
emma.hickerson@noaa.gov
Jennifer DeBose, Research Specialist
(409) 621-5151, ext. 114
jennifer.debose@noaa.gov
Sanctuary Advisory Council
Jennifer Morgan, Sanctuary Advisory Council Coordinator
(409) 621-5151, ext. 103
jennifer.morgan@noaa.gov
Irene Arthur
Administrative Program Specialist
irene.olivares-arthur@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 100
Irene Arthur joined the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary team in 2001. As the sanctuary's Administrative Program Specialist, she is responsible for providing primary program support in the areas of administration, budgeting, procurement and fiscal planning for the FGBNMS. Specifically, she develops annual budgets, tracks and verifies budget status, prepares periodic status reports, analyzes and manages fiscal year procurement actions and prepares acquisitions for technical contract services. She manages administrative record-keeping and prepares travel arrangements for sanctuary staff. She is a 1988 graduate of Texas A&M University having earned a BS in Psychology and Accounting.
Jennifer DeBose
Research Specialist
jennifer.debose@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 114
Kelly Drinnen
Education Specialist
kelly.drinnen@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 105
Kelly Drinnen joined the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary team in August 2004. As Education Specialist, she is responsible for developing, revising and maintaining many of the communication tools used to share sanctuary information with the public. She also conducts workshops and presentations. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from James Madison University and has over 13 years experience with informal science education from Moody Gardens and Sea World of Florida, as well as two years of experience in a 4th grade classroom. Kelly comes from a family full of educators and likes to say she has "teaching in her genes." This, coupled with her love of the ocean, and wildlife in general, led her to a career in informal education where she gets to share her interests in two languages and meet people from around the world. Kelly is also a certified SCUBA diver and former Down Under, Out Yonder workshop participant.
Shelley Du Puy
Education & Outreach Coordinator
shelley.dupuy@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 106
Shelley Du Puy joined the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary team in 1994. As the sanctuary's Education & Outreach Coordinator, she is responsible for coordinating all education, outreach, public relations and non-research volunteer activities for the sanctuary. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Science from Texas A&M University at Galveston and has over 20 years of experience with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in areas ranging from fisheries data collection to wetlands conservation to environmental education. While working as a Fisheries Biologist, Shelley observed that many citizens had little or no concept of how activities on land and in coastal areas affected the larger ecosystem. This was the motivating factor in her decision to focus her career on the education aspects of natural resource management.
Tracy Hamburger
Operations Coordinator
tracy.hamburger@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 104
Tracy Hamburger joined the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary team in 2007. She is a NOAA Corps officer and a Texas A&M University at Galveston graduate.
Emma Hickerson
Research Coordinator
emma.hickerson@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 111
Emma Hickerson has held the position of Research Coordinator at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary since 1997. She has focused her research efforts in the Gulf of Mexico since 1994, and has led and participated in close to 100 cruises in this region. These cruises included submersible, ROV and SCUBA operations. Emma conducted her Master's thesis project at the sanctuary where she studied the movements of loggerhead sea turtles using radio and satellite telemetry technology. Her sanctuary research has focused on the collection of high resolution multibeam bathymetry, and habitat characterization both within and in the vicinity of the FGBNMS. Emma's interests and strengths include marine biology and ecology, underwater photography and videography, underwater exploration and technology, science interpretation through multimedia production and SCUBA diving. (Photo by Joyce & Frank Burek)
Jennifer Morgan
Sanctuary Advisory Council
Coordinator
jennifer.morgan@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 103
Jennifer Morgan joined the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary team in July 2005. As the Sanctuary Advisory Council Coordinator, she is responsible for facilitating and supporting the work of the advisory council and assisting with the management plan review for the sanctuary. She holds a M.S. degree in zoology from Texas A&M University and a B.A. in zoology from Ohio Wesleyan University. Jennifer previously worked with an advisory committee as the curriculum coordinator for the Texas Master Naturalist program. She has also coordinated and taught summer youth education programs in marine science for Duke University. Jennifer's interests are in increasing public awareness of natural resources and in making scientific tools, such as natural history collections, accessible to the public.
George P. Schmahl
Superintendent
george.schmahl@noaa.gov
(409) 621-5151, ext. 102
G.P. Schmahl has been the manager of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary since March 1999. Prior to that he served for eight years as the Lower Keys Regional Manager of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in Key West, Florida. As sanctuary manager, he is involved with a broad array of Marine Protected Area management issues including research, education and resource protection. Since obtaining a graduate degree in Zoology from the University of Georgia, G.P. has held a variety of positions relating to marine research, coastal management, resource planning and environmental regulation. His primary interest is the ecology and management of coral reefs and associated ecosystems, and he has a specific interest and expertise in the biology and ecology of marine sponges. (Photo by Joyce & Frank Burek)
