Greg Barron - Director of West Coast Shark
Ops
 We
haven't quite figured out what to call Greg Barron. This week,
we're leaning toward "Director of West Coast Shark Ops". A San
Francisco Bay Area native and entrepreneur, Greg has spent his
entire life living and diving along the North Coast of California.
He has been involved in our San Francisco shark adventure from
the very beginning. Greg helped the people at DOER
Marine design and build our massive shark cage and he helped
transform our boat into one of the best shark boats on the planet.
He then assembled the perfect mix of people to make sure every
aspect of your adventure is as perfect s it can be.
In his other life, Greg operates two of his own companies, Barron
Properties and Rideable
Bicycle Replicas, Inc. Barron Properties is a real estate
development and management company based in Alameda and Oakland,
California. Rideable Bicycle Replicas, Inc. of Alameda, CA. is
a small manufacturing company specializing in making antique and
specialty style cycles mostly from the end of the 19th century.
If you've been to Burning Man, you've probably seen Greg riding
one of his "High Wheel" bicycles. His company has been supplying
cycles for folks, film, theater and museums for 34 years so if
you see a high wheel bike in a movie or play, chances are Greg
made it. Some of the recent shows featuring Greg's stuff include
Deadwood, Jack Ass 2, Lonesome Dove, Haunted Mansion and the stage
show Wicked.
Did we mention that Greg can fix just about anything...almost
before you know it's broken? He's Greg "MacGyver" Barron.
Julia Bissinger
- Lead Shark Dive Instructor
 Our
team of great dive instructors is lead by the wonderful Julia
Bissinger. As a child growing up in Pennsylvania, Julia dreamed
of one day diving with sharks. (We think she loves her job so
much that she'd probably do it for free...but we pay her anyway.)
Customers rave at how good she is at making them feel comfortable
in the cage. When she's not out at the Farallons, she keeps busy
working full time at a biotech company, going to college and leading
dives to Carmel and Monterey. She's also an avid road biker.
Kyra Seymour
- Queen of the Galley
 Never
underestimate the importance of a cup of hot soup after a turn
in a shark cage. Thankfully, we've got Kyra Seymour on our team.
She's our Queen of the Galley and oversees our Guest Services
crew. Feeding 40 or more shark lovers on two different boats great
hot food is no easy task (especially when one boat has a galley
the size of a closet) but Kyra and her assistants rise to the
challenge. The Sausalito native and one-time metal worker admits
to being head-over-heels in love with the sea. (Not like it's
a secret...you can see it on her face.) She is a graduate student
of underwater archeology and volunteers at the San Francisco Maritime
Museum. She spent two seasons fishing the Bering Sea and has never,
ever been seasick.
Francesca Koe - Dive Instructor & Naturalist
 Francesca
Koe holds advanced teaching qualifications from both PADI and
DAN and is a freediver and co-founder of the tsunami relief project,
Paavima.org.
She is also a member of Tim Taylor’s Blue Matters project, a team
advancing the scientific use of rebreathers for deep ocean exploration.
When not in the water, Francesca chairs programming for San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art’s Contemporary Extension and directs strategy
at Underground Ads, a mission-based creative firm dedicated to
making our world a better place. She also manages editorial content
as the scuba editor for Deeperblue.net
and writes articles on dive safety, travel and the environment.
In 2007, she was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Farallones
Marine Sanctuary Association.
Patricia and David Terry - Naturalists &
Deck Hands
 Patricia
Terry is from the California Department of Fish and Game where
most of her diving is done "virtually" through the camera of a
Remotely Operated Vehicle, although she sometimes gets a chance
to be in the water assisting with North Coast Abalone surveys.
Her background is in oceanographic instrumentation and she also
holds a master's degree from Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
David Terry is a woodworker, founder of Seguin
Woodworks, which uses sustainable materials and environmentally
friendly products and practices in custom furniture making and
finish carpentry. He is trained in lifesaving skills, especially
in the water, from his years of work as a lifeguard and river
guide. When not diving, he's above the water riding the waves
on a classic old single fin. Patricia and David live way up north
in Eureka, CA among the redwoods with their "kids" - two dogs,
two cats (and soon to be a new kitten as well.)
Jesse Bausell - Naturalist
 Jesse
resides in Monterey, California where he is pursuing a career
in the biological sciences and ocean conservation. Jesse grew
up in Baltimore, where he spent much of his time outdoors camping
and sailing on the Chesapeake Bay. He is also an avid seafood
lover. At a very young age Jesse developed a deep respect for
the environment (especially the oceans) and a passion for preserving
them; this passion grew when at age 12, he stopped to visit the
Monterey Bay Aquarium while driving up the California coast on
a family vacation. In high school, Jesse was very active in Boy
Scouts, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, and volunteered at
the National Aquarium in Baltimore.
Jesse graduated cum laude from Clark University (Worcester, Massachusetts)
in 2006 with highest honors in biology. While at Clark he captained
the varsity swim team, and studied three-spine stickleback fish
in the laboratory of Drs. Susan Foster and John Baker. Jesse spent
the summer after graduation working as a lifeguard for the Ocean
City, Maryland Beach Patrol, where he made over 40 rescues and
received a commendation for his professionalism. In 2007 Jesse
moved out to Monterey where he now works as a Fisheries Research
Assistant. His future plans include graduate school in the biological
sciences
Tim Taylor - Executive Director of Ocean Outreach
and Shark Adventure Advisor
 Our
Farallons and Bahamas shark adventures are offered in cooperation
with Ocean Outreach, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving
our oceans through education. Few individuals have led as many
ocean expeditions as Tim Taylor. The owner of his own research
and exploration company, he has had the honor of leading eight
Explorers Club Flag expeditions, dozens of scientific explorations
and numerous National Geographic projects. The expeditions represent
a wide variety of marine issues, ranging from mid and deep coral
research, the geology of stromatolites, shark populations, marine
archaeology, invasive species, and mapping/sonar scanning of little
known reefs. Tim's work with top scientists, researchers, and
explorers across the breadth of marine issues epitomizes the spirit
of an explorer. From being the first to dive and photograph the
deepest coral reef in the world to supporting important geological
and biological research and outreach projects, Tim has made significant
contributions both on and under the ocean
Next - Farallons Photo
Gallery
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