Our Team

Dr. Jim Darling has led research programs on whales for over 40 years.  Jim has been Executive Director of West Coast Whale Research Foundation and is a director of Pacific Wildlife Foundation, both a Canadian research and education societies, and research director of the Clayoquot Biosphere Project, a Vancouver Island community-based organization that promoted field research in the temperate rainforest ecosystem. Jim has written numerous scientific and popular articles and several books on his work. Since 1997, Maui has been the base of his study on the function of the humpback whale song. His primary studies include long-term investigations of behavior and ecology of gray whales in British Columbia and humpback whales throughout the North Pacific – the latter arising from his PhD studies on humpback whales in Maui in the 70s and 80s.

Dr. Meagan Jones Gray has led marine research and education programs in Hawaiʻi for nearly 35 years. Her commitment to connecting marine science with meaningful education and conservation programs focused on whales and their natural environment led her to co-found Whale Trust in 2001. She has served as Executive Director since its founding, providing strategic and organizational leadership while also leading research studies, developing education programs, and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in marine mammal biology and field research.

Meagan is also an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator for the Sustainable Science Management Bachelor of Applied Science program at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College. She teaches courses in marine biology, sustainability science, and natural resource management. Her research focuses primarily on the reproductive behavior and mating strategies of female humpback whales on the Hawaiian breeding grounds.

Through her work at Whale Trust and UH Maui College, Meagan has created opportunities for students to participate directly in marine mammal research and develop the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to become the next generation of scientists and environmental stewards.

Flip Nicklin is a world-renowned underwater photographer. He has spent his 47-year career specializing in the photography of marine mammals, especially whales and dolphins. Through 21 National Geographic articles from 1981 to the present, he has worked closely with top whale researchers from around the world. From this work Flip brings a unique, global perspective on the study of whales to Whale Trust. Flip has assisted on studies of humpback whales in Hawaii since the 1970s, and lives in Maui for a portion of each year. His work is featured in “Among Giants, A Life with Whales” and in 2012, Flip was bestowed one of the highest honors by The North American Nature Photography Association by being named Outstanding Photographer of the Year.

Ralph is a freelance underwater and environmental photojournalist living in Monterey, California. During the winter months, Ralph works on the Hawaiian island of Maui working with Whale Trust documenting humpback whale research with Flip Nicklin. Ralph has worked with The Washington Post, The Nature Conservancy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Waitt Institute, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Whale Trust, Sea Turtle Conservancy, Parque National Tortuguero, Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research (P.I.E.R), Medical Missionaries, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, Sportfishing Association of California, and Golf Range magazine. Ralph’s work has been published by National Geographic, National Geographic Explorer, Nature, Smithsonian, GEO, Discover, Science et Vie Junior, Sport Diver, National Wildlife, Sportfishing Magazine,Golf Range, Southern Fried Science, Weather Channel, and others.

Haley was first introduced to Whale Trust as a grade school student through our ongoing annual community outreach program Whale Tales, beginning her involvement her involvement with our organization. She graduated Lahainaluna High School as one of the first students who participated in our collaborative project with Lahainaluna High School and Makana Aloha Foundation mentoring young scientists. Haley went on to earn her BSC at the University of Victoria, and is now working towards a Ph.D. at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in the Costa Lab. Her graduate project, “Reproductive physiology and behavior of humpback whales,” aims to determine how steroid and stress hormones influence the reproductive biology and mating system of humpback whales.

Ann “Frannie” Coopersmith is an Associate Professor of Biology at University of Hawai`i Maui College. In addition to classroom teaching, she works in many different aspects of marine education including curriculum development, in-service teacher training, and textbook and newsletter editing. She is also a board member of the National Marine Educators Association. She received an MA in Education from Stanford University and an MA in Biology from San Francisco State University.

Flip Nicklin is a world-renowned underwater photographer. He has spent his 47-year career specializing in the photography of marine mammals, especially whales and dolphins. Through 21 National Geographic articles from 1981 to the present, he has worked closely with top whale researchers from around the world. From this work Flip brings a unique, global perspective on the study of whales to Whale Trust. Flip has assisted on studies of humpback whales in Hawaii since the 1970s, and lives in Maui for a portion of each year. His work is featured in “Among Giants, A Life with Whales” and in 2012, Flip was bestowed one of the highest honors by The North American Nature Photography Association by being named Outstanding Photographer of the Year.

Jason Sturgis is an independent cameraman who joined Whale Trust Maui in 2003 to help document whale behavior above and below the surface. Jason has been an avid diver for over 20 years and it is this love of the ocean that drove him to pursue camera work and documentary filmmaking. Jason’s groundbreaking underwater videography with humpback whales was featured in the Science Times of the New York Times in June 2006.

Garry is the retired CEO and Chairman of the Board of Weber Financial Inc., a full service investment firm located in Dallas, Texas. Dedicated to public service, Garry was elected to serve as a Dallas County Judge and served on the Dallas County Council from 1969-1976. He is the recipient of the 1998 Southern Methodist University (SMU) Distinguished Alumni Award and served on the Board of Trustees for a 12-year term. Currently, he serves on the SMU Cox School of Business Executive Board and the SMU Investment Committee, where he co-led a fundraising effort that raised $542 million. An avid outdoor and wildlife enthusiast, Garry is a current member of the Council of advisors for Research, Exploration and Conservation for the National Geographic Society, a member of The Explorers Club, and has participated in and supported the work of Whale Trust since 2001 (and even before it began).

Connie Sutherland alongside her late husband, Chuck Sutherland, has devoted a large part of her life to helping preserve Hawaii’s humpbacks. Chuck Sutherland, who our research boat, the “Charles B.” is named after, founded and served as President of Maui Whale Watchers which evolved into the Maui chapter of the American Cetacean Society, and was the first to propose a sanctuary for humpback whales in the 1970s. In addition to housing whale researchers and providing whatever support they could to those dedicating their lives to learn about the whales, the two were critical in having humpback whales proclaimed Hawaii’s official marine mammal.

Today, Connie still actively supports whale researchers and serves as an advisor to Whale Trust’s research and education programs. Each year, she plays an instrumental role in our annual event, Whale Tales, and is one of the few historians in Lahaina that remembers how whale research really began here in Maui over 40 years ago.