Abby Newman joined the OSO team in 2015 as an Instructor/Deckhand and transitioned into the Program Manager role in 2021.

Abby has worked at the intersection of environmental justice, advocacy, and climate resilience for the U.S. District Courts, CA Sea Grant, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and a number of UC campuses. Abby holds a master’s in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and a Master of Social Work from San Jose State University. Her environmental social work lens helps her develop programming that meets the social and emotional needs of students while inspiring climate action.

Prior to serving as Program Manager, Abby was a CA Sea Grant Science Policy Fellow at the CA State Lands Commission where she was instrumental in crafting the Commission’s environmental justice policy and leading statewide outreach with Tribal Nations and environmental justice communities. Abby headed the Commission’s AB 691 working group to assist ports, harbor districts, and local jurisdictions with developing their sea-level rise adaptation assessments. 

Outside of work, Abby enjoys trail running, rock climbing, and spending time with her husband, Dominic, and son, Charlie.

Born and raised in Fresno, California, Mike’s connection to the ocean began while spending time at his family’s summer home in Santa Cruz. He has lived on the Central Coast since 1982. Mike attended Bullard High in Fresno, and Orange Coast College near Newport Beach, California, where he raced sailboats. Mike worked for O’Neill Yacht Center for five years, holds a 100 ton skippers license, and has been skipper of the Team O’Neill Catamaran for 27 years. He is married to his wife Jill and has two grown children, Ashley and Zachary. An avid fitness enthusiast, Mike runs marathons and participates in Spartan races in his free time.

Liz arrived at OSO after working as a deckhand on the Team O’Neill catamaran. She is an avid sailor and in the middle of a journey to learn all things boats. She’s passionate about the stewardship of the land and the ocean. She has a BA in literature from UCSC and a professional background in HR, finance, and development.

Darci Bogdan was born in Santa Cruz, CA, was raised on a sailboat, and as a teenager, sailed from the west to the east coast of the United States. This upbringing inspired her to pursue a maritime career and she has been working as a captain for a little over a decade. Not only does Darci have a passion for captaining boats, but she also has a degree in Illustration from Savannah College of Art and Design and creates handmade cloisonné jewelry inspired by nature and conservation.

Breanne is a lover of all things ocean-related; when not working on boats she can be found surfing, kayaking, swimming, or just relaxing on the local Santa Cruz beaches. Breanne holds a 100-ton Masters Captains’ license and has an Able Body Special endorsement with the USCG. Growing up on the water, she has made a career of working on a variety of boats in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, Baja, Costa Rica, Panama, and Belize. From heaving lines in the Panama Canal to kayaking glacial fjords, or assisting in leading tours in Magdalena Bay for the annual Gray Whale migration, Breanne has always encouraged people to explore the oceans and waterways around them. She is beyond excited to join the O’Neill Sea Odyssey program and share her love and knowledge of the ocean with a new generation of ocean explorers!

Shannon was born and raised in the Bay Area and is excited to be a part of the O’Neill Sea
Odyssey team. She received her B.S. in Biology from Saint Mary’s College of California where
she played on the Division 1 softball team. She continued on to get her M.S. in Marine Biology
from James Cook University in Australia. After completing her master’s degree, she returned
back to California to pursue her passion for marine science. Shannon is an avid animal lover,
especially sea otters, and loves going on outdoor adventures. In her spare time, Shannon can
be found scuba diving, backpacking, rock climbing, and skiing.

Anisa attended UC Santa Cruz and graduated in 2020 with a BS in marine biology and an
AAUS scientific diver certificate. Since then she has used her degree to teach at the Catalina
Island Marine Institute. She always knew that she wanted to pursue a life that revolved around
the ocean, and is grateful to be here! In her free time she enjoys hiking, surfing, diving, and
keeping busy with crafts. She look forward to watching students have their ‘lightbulb moments’
when learning cool new things about marine life!

Jessica loves exploring the natural world.  Always curious, she wants to know all about what she is seeing and enjoys sharing what she has learned with others.  Jessica holds the ocean in awe and is passionate about healthy seas and watersheds.   She feels fortunate to work on the Sea Odyssey to spread this message.  She is a proud mother to two adventurous daughters.

Emily is from the Bay Area and attended a marine science magnet school as a kid. She grew up coming to the Santa Cruz beaches in the summer and duck hunting with her father in the San Francisco Bay. She is a Level 2 Coastal Kayaking Instructor with the American Canoe Association and previously spent winters teaching water sports at an eco-resort in Belize. Emily holds a master’s degree in Marine Affairs from the University of Washington, where she wrote her thesis on ocean literacy and inclusion in marine science education. She currently volunteers as a school programs instructor at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center and is endlessly fascinated with everything about the ocean. She lives in Santa Cruz with her dog Arrow, who is afraid of waves and loves eating kelp.

Katie graduated from UCSC with a B.S in Marine Biology in 2022. While at UCSC, she participated in marine science field research as well as competed on the varsity sailing team. Katie served as the Captain of the Women’s Sailing Team at UCSC and is passionate about promoting equality and diversity in sailing. She has been working as a deckhand at O’Neill Yacht Charters since 2021. She also volunteers with a marine mammal rescue center where she assists with rescuing sick and injured marine mammals. In her free time she loves hiking, surfing, and making art. 

Angelina (aka Lina) was born and raised in land-locked Ohio but she has always felt a draw to the water since she was a kid from summer days spent in rivers and lakes and trips to the beach every year with her family. This call from the ocean led her to South Carolina for her college career, where she graduated with her B.S. in Environmental Science and minor in Marine Science from Coastal Carolina University in 2018. She studied abroad for a semester in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, which she now gets to call her part-time home. Since living in the Galapagos, she worked for a year as an English as a Second Language teacher at Universidad de San Francisco de Quito (Galapagos branch campus), she completed her Divemaster and Yoga Teacher training, fell in love with surfing and free-diving, and started a local island surf & yoga retreat business with her husband. She’s fluent in Spanish thanks to full immersion for over 5 years in Ecuador. She’s excited to get to call Santa Cruz another home and in her free time enjoys sharing stories, creative writing, surfing, hiking, camping, traveling, and connecting with beautiful people around the world. 

Lauren is a Monterey Bay local, and loves all things outdoors. Growing up hunting,
fishing and camping, she developed a deep curiosity for the world. Her open-air upbringing inspired her B.S. in Environmental Science, Technology & Policy – Applied Ecology from California State University, Monterey Bay. She loved her position as an Outdoor Leader at CSUMB, planning and guiding camping, backpacking, and surfing trips for students. She also assisted on projects in both the Geology/Hydrology and Watershed Environments and Ecology Labs where her
tasks ranged from from studying the effects of burn scars on coastal ecosystems to
invasive species research in the Carmel river watershed.

After earning her college degree, Lauren moved to Alaska and worked as a Fisheries Technician supporting the US Fish and Wildlife Service. There, she earned her Motorboat Operations Certificate and tagged, tracked and collected data on Coho salmon populations for resource and habitat planning and management.

Lauren is fluent in Spanish and has done research in various regions across Costa
Rica. In her spare time, she loves surfing, scuba diving, mountain biking and being
active in nature. Her elementary school experience with the O’Neill Sea Odyssey left her with profound memories about human activity and impacts on our oceans. She is excited about this full circle moment, and is happy to be part of the team!