Supporting Teams in Submarine Geology & Oceanographic Studies

Mr. Gardner has a background in marine geology, geophysics, and oceanography. He is well versed in most aspects of marine operations having supervised and conducted hundreds of surveys in the U.S. and around the world for over 28 years, including geological, geophysical, geotechnical, and oceanographic studies. He has recently applied his knowledge and expertise as a direct consultant to the offshore wind developers and support companies with the goal of establishing offshore wind as a premier industry in the U.S. Jeff is one of the few marine scientific professionals that has been involved in this industry since its infancy in this country. He holds a BS in Marine Geology and an MS in Oceanography along with national and state Professional Geology certifications. His specialty includes the use of geophysical methods to study coastal processes, marine sediments and stratigraphy, underwater archaeology, and benthic habitats.

Mr. Motti is a marine geologist with over 16 years of experience with a wide variety of geophysical, geotechnical, hydrographic, and oceanographic data acquisition systems, as well as strong familiarity with processing and interpretation of the data. Extensive hands-on field work has provided him with in-depth knowledge of geophysical systems and their capabilities, directly applicable to understanding how site geologic and environmental conditions affect the quality and interpretability of the data. His experience with data mapping and product development is incredibly important to convey the interpreted site conditions to the client’s project team. Mr. Motti uses his extensive experience on such projects as sand resources, renewable energy, and marine construction to successfully coordinate field programs and guide clients toward suitable project outcomes.

Mrs. Graves is a marine geoscientist with over 14 years of experience covering a broad range of offshore industry duties that have included project management and supervision, training coordinator and program development, data processing, analysis, and interpretation, as well as reporting and product presentation. She holds a BS in geology and geophysics with masters level coursework in geological oceanography. Hallie has applied her unique knowledge and experience to support private sector, academic, government agency and military studies using cutting edge applications of marine geophysical and remote sensing techniques. She has specialized experience with all facets of various AUV and UUV platforms, and an extensive background of projects including hazard assessments, site characterizations, well site clearances, geotechnical evaluations, pipeline routing, benthic mapping, desktop studies, and much more. Hallie manages large scale offshore wind survey programs and is heavily involved in technical report writing as well (COP, SAP, survey plans, etc.).

Ms. Souder is a senior marine and environmental scientist with over 16 years of experience in the offshore industry with extensive management practice both as a field project lead aboard vessels and overall program lead onshore of large, complex field campaigns. Trish has a BS degree in Biology with a concentration in conservation and a minor in technical writing. She has spent years successfully working her way up through all the important positions in the protected species field including operator, lead PSO, lead PAM, supervisor, trainer, project/program manager, and operations and service lead manager. Her organizational and management skills, technical capabilities, industry knowledge, familiarity with typical agency required mitigation, and overall prowess performing all of the above will fit seamlessly with the Geo SubSea team.

Mrs. Salwocki joins the company to serve dual roles as she transitions from a career in accounting to more focus on environmental and marine science. She will use all her skills to support both in the early part of her career, as versatile personnel are essential to successfully meeting the demands of a small business and its clientele. She serves as the company office manager and accounting specialist currently and will eventually become a marine geologist and project scientist. Elizabeth has an Associates science degree in Environmental Science. She is incredibly passionate about renewable energy and the environment and has a strong desire to help society through her work. Her attention to detail and commitment to excellence are evident in all the tasks she performs.

Mr. Young is an environmental scientist with experience in a variety of field work including hydrographic and geophysical surveys as well as sediment sampling and turbidity monitoring among other offshore capabilities. He holds a BS in International Maritime Business from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and brings a solid background in computers, software, and data processing familiarity to the company. He serves as the company IT specialist, overseeing data archival, security, and distribution to client teams. This compliments his strong analytical skills that will be used to process, map, and interpret geophysical datasets. Brett is a long time resident of Cape Cod (soon to be CT) and huge supporter of offshore wind south of the state, as this renewable energy source will be taking center stage in the years to come.

Mrs. Brookshire is a marine geologist that has been working in the geoscience industry since 2005, with a BA in Geology and MS in Geological Oceanography to her credit.  She has a strong background in the analysis and interpretation of high-resolution marine geophysical data collected from a variety of platforms including 2D/3D seismic, side scan sonar, subbottom profiler, multibeam, magnetometer, and AUV.  She has experience working on a wide range of project objectives and specializes in regional geological characterizations, site specific geohazard assessments, tophole prognoses, and ground model development.  Mary is equally proficient in data processing, interpretation, and product development, understanding the importance of clear communication of results to the client in a timely fashion. She has served as the lead marine geology author for multiple COP submissions to support offshore wind permitting.

Shannon Donovan has an extensive background in marine scientific studies and engineering applications via their secondary education career. They bring this knowledge and experience along with their excitement to be involved in the renewable energy industry to Geo SubSea. Shannon’s knowledge base started with degrees in Botany (BS with chemistry minor) and Biology (MS) with considerable interest and experience in engineering, marine biological sciences, and math as time went on. Their expertise includes geospatial intelligence and mapping, robotics, dataset management, science (biology, chemistry, marine science) and engineering teaching modules, and communicating scientific ideas and results to the public. Shannon is an extremely accomplished educator with many awards earned over the years, in large part because of their passion for the subject matter and ability to transfer that excitement and knowledge to the next generation. Shannon has very successfully transitioned to a career in the private sector, needing a new challenge to focus their energy on, but will continue to support educational and career learning pathways that Geo SubSea is passionate about in the community.

Ms. Scripa is a marine biologist and environmental scientist with a versatile background having worked in job settings that include the field, laboratory, and classroom. She holds a BS degree in Marine Biology with a minor in Environmental Science and an MEd degree in Biology, Secondary Education. Sandi is well versed with computer software, familiar with all standard programs including Arc and QGIS as well as R for statistical coding. She is also a certified SCUBA diver. Sandi will be supporting all the company environmental efforts and is thrilled to be onboard to support our mission of moving the offshore wind industry forward as part of the renewable energy revolution.

Ms. Byrd is a versatile and experienced marine scientist with expertise in geology and geophysics, as well as hydrography and remotely operated and autonomous vehicles. She earned a BA degree in Geology and Environmental Geosciences and followed that with 9+ years of both offshore acquisition and onshore data processing roles in the industry. Gabi is familiar with basically all the standard geophysical systems used during site characterization studies including multibeam echosounder, side scan sonar, magnetometer, gradiometer, subbottom profilers, single channel seismic reflection, and all supporting systems. She now specializes in the post-survey data processing, analysis, interpretation and technical writing aspects of the projects, and excels in data and program management, working closely with clients to deliver high quality products under some demanding project schedules. Gabi is excited to be joining a dynamic team at GSS that is on the front lines of an emerging energy industry in the US.

Ms. Schaefer has an extensive background in protected species efforts offshore having served as the lead/senior PSO and PAM operator for numerous projects over 10 years of experience. She has a wide geographical range of marine mammals and endangered species knowledge having worked from the Chukchi Sea off Alaska to the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and south to Antarctica. Her roles offshore have provided her in-depth working knowledge of PSO and PAM equipment, software, and data as well as managerial experience coordinating a team of professional scientists to accomplish the contracted goals. Victoria’s passion for marine animals and the environment fuel her interest in supporting offshore renewable energy projects in support of our fight against climate change. She has an incredible attention to detail that is required for performing quality control work of data and reports that are required agency submissions for these projects. Ms. Schaefer is very excited to bring her expertise onshore in support of the industry and join the Geo SubSea team on the front lines of the offshore wind revolution.

Mrs. Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Nowak is a marine geoscientist with experience handling site characterization projects, both managing offshore field programs and analyzing the array of geophysical and environmental data. She earned her BA in 2017 majoring in Geology and Environmental Science and then went on to complete a MS in Geology, Geochemistry and Environmental Science in 2019. Since then, Liz has managed numerous site investigations and worked with technical data to identify offshore environmental and operational hazards, and synthesize findings in technical impact assessments and regulatory reports. Mrs. Nowak utilizes her organizational and communicative skills to ensure that each project meets high-quality standards in our dynamic, fast-paced, and collaborative working environment. Her proven project management and technical marine scientific skills make Liz a remarkable addition to the Geo SubSea team.

Ms. Gardner is a terrestrial archaeologist by training with a BS degree in Anthropology (minor in History) from Longwood University in Farmville, VA. She has conducted field work up and down the US east coast and in the US Virgin Islands, and currently works predominantly throughout New England. When Mechelle is not off in the woods somewhere digging holes, she provides assistance to GSS in support of the archaeological oversight and coordination done for the numerous offshore wind projects.

Mr. Hall is a consultant for the company who has over 20 years of career experience working as a geologist primarily for the offshore industry. His expertise includes the processing and analysis of marine geophysical data, as well as the interpretation and mapping of surface and subsurface geology. He has extensive experience with a wide range of software commonly used in our profession. He currently also operates his own company, Phoenix Aerial Imaging, which specializes in the acquisition, processing, and mapping of digital aerial data using various class UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles; drones).

Ms. Warshafsky is an environmental scientist with primary experience in fisheries and benthic biology, and will be including protected species mitigation as a new area of interest at Geo SubSea. She holds a BS in Biology with a minor in Natural Resource Conservation and an MS in Marine Science. Zoemma has significant field and data analysis experience for this point in her career that will serve her well supporting the many biological components of the offshore renewable energy industry.