Pam has been involved in animal rescue for many years, from creating a Be Kind to Animals Club at the age of 7, to one of the founders of Nantucket Island Safe Harbor for Animals (NiSHA) in 2011, serving 8 years as board president.  Her extensive board experience with TWN, NiSHA, and NAC put her in a solid position to manage MMAN’s board and see it develop into a stronger organization, capable of attracting the donor support the mission deserves.  A lifelong vegetarian, Pam has never been able to stand idly by when an animal is suffering so to be allowed to approach injured and entangled marine mammals legally and help was what drew her to MMAN.  She became Level A trained, learning to restrain and disentangle seals and went on to attend a Cetacean Stranding Workshop with IFAW.  “I have learned a great deal about Marine Mammals and how to help through the vast knowledge of my teammates.”

Fifty years ago Peter and his family got on the “wrong” ferry and found themselves on Nantucket Island, where he fell in love with the remote, natural beauty of this little spit of sand. Peter has travelled the world, including a 2-year stint as a Peace Corps volunteer. He has been an accomplished artist, tradesman, and craftsman for 59 years with a passion for restoring historic buildings. Now semi-retired, he enjoys working as a Ranger for the Coskata-Coatue Refuge. His love of the natural world and working outdoors brought him to MMAN. He serves as Assistant Stranding Coordinator and assists Dr. St. Pierre with necropsies.

Steve is the retired Postmaster of Nantucket.  He now serves as part time Ranger for The Trustees of Reservations on Nantucket's Great Point and Patrols with the USCG Auxilliary. Steve trained as Marine Mammal Volunteer responder with New England Aquarium in 2013, is First Aid and CPR trained, a trained wildlife Rehabilitator (2005), aircraft owner and pilot. As a certified scuba diver, Steve was a member of the New England Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Stranding Team Nantucket since 1990.  His prior business experience includes owner/manager of an advertising agency, sales promotion and public relations.  Steve is an avid boater, fisherman and a full time Nantucket resident.

Having engaged with educational, community, and foundation non-profit organizations in a variety of roles, I hope to use my volunteer and leadership experience to support current Board efforts as well as to help the organization continue to actualize its potential. My desire to play a part in my community along with a life-long interest in science and the environment make the Marine Mammal Alliance Board a natural outlet for my energy. As a newer member of the organization, I would aspire to add an objective perspective to the work of the Board, while also observing and learning from the talents of fellow board members.

Megan was born in Massachusetts, raised on Cape Cod and took her first job at the age of 9 at the Brewster Museum of Natural History where she was a tour guide and assisted with injured turtle rehabilitation.  While she entered college with the intention to become a Marine Biologist, she veered off course and ended up becoming a human sexuality educator. She worked for two decades in the field, highlighted by founding a 501c3 non profit adult human sexuality education center. 

She lectured prolifically throughout North America, averaging 100 engagement annually,  and focused on working with medical schools and college campuses. As the Executive Director of her non-profit, she also took on internships and would accept up to 10 students from higher education organizations per semester.  Many of these interns have themselves gone on to be professional educators in their own right. 

As she has always been drawn to subjects that others may find uncomfortable, towards the end of her career she branched out and started provided death and dying education after  training as a death doula. Her career choices have been guided by the fundamental belief that if we provide the space to compassionately acknowledge scary moments, we can reduce unneeded suffering. Though medical limitations forced her to leave the organization she founded and directed for over a decade, it continues to live on and educate the public today.

She is now an avid coastal forager and budding sculptor. As her activities regularly put her in proximity to injured or abandoned wildlife, it was an easy (and deeply fulfilling) step to team up with MMAN and continue her passion to reduce suffering wherever possible. She is thrilled to continue to support our human and wildlife communities through her work with MMAN. Megan serves as Volunteer Coordinator and Chair of the Education Committee. 

Dr. St. Pierre did his undergraduate studies at the University of Vermont and graduate work at Cornell University, graduating with a DVM degree in 1970.  After several years as an associate veterinarian in two small animal practices, he established his own practice in Glastonbury, Connecticut in 1974, developing it into a 4 doctor practice which he sold in 2006. He continued to work in his former practice for 2 years after which he moved to Nantucket where he continued to practice small animal medicine at the MSPCA owned by Angell Boston.  In 2011, when Angell Boston decided to sell the practice, he along with 3 other veterinarians, formed a partnership and purchased the practice, renaming it Offshore Animal Hospital.  He remained there until his retirement in 2020.  

Being a student of nature all his life, it was only natural for Steve to continue to be involved with Nantucket’s biodiversity.  After becoming a full time Nantucket resident in 2008, he became involved with the New England Aquarium’s Stranding team.  When the aquarium ended it’s support for Nantucket, it created a void on island for marine mammal assistance. Steve was instrumental in establishing the new MMAN stranding team and continues to offer his veterinary knowledge and man power. He has participated in multiple team training sessions, necropsied numerous marine mammals for the team, written blogs for the website, is on its Board of Directors and is their Greater Atlantic Research Seal Consortium representative. 

Suzanne has been a Nantucket police officer since 2003 and passed the Legal Clinic for MA Animal Control in 2011.  Suzy attended  the Animal Control Academy fo MA in 2015.  She was trained by New England Aquarium for disentanglement work with pinnipeds and turtles in 2012 and attended IFAW training in 2016.  Suzy has training in bird of prey, horse and dog training and is certified as EMT/First Responder.England Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Stranding Team Nantucket since 1990.  His prior business experience includes owner/manager of an advertising agency, sales promotion and public relations.  Steve is an avid boater, fisherman and a full time Nantucket resident.

I was born north of Boston and have spent most of my life near the ocean and love it. In college, my goal was to be a marine biologist and was accepted into a Master’s program to study dolphin communication at University of Miami. But, marriage and family changed my plans and my dentist talked me about dentistry. As a result, I’ve spent most of my working life as an oral surgeon at Boston Medical Center but my interest in marine life never left. I’ve been coming to Nantucket now for almost 40 years. A few years ago I came across a seal pup on the beach at Tom Nevers. Not knowing if it was it in trouble or abandoned, I called the police and was referred to MMAN, my first introduction to them. Two years ago the rescue of the MolaMola and the posting of the MMAN orientation on Face Book gave me the chance to learn more and ultimately join the group. Since that time, I’ve enjoyed the work that we do and, most of all, value the committed people who do this work. Now that I’m full-time on the island, I look forward to becoming more involved with the group.

Kim began visiting Nantucket in 2013 and fell in love with the remote, natural qualities of the island.  She and her husband purchased a home on Nantucket in 2017.  A Biological Sciences major in college, she initially thought of going into the field of marine Biology or Veterinary medicine but ended up pursuing a career as a Physicians Assistant.  Now retired from medicine, she had the good fortune to meet Scott Leonard and learn of MMAN.  She immediately joined the team, became Level A trained, attended IFAW’s cetacean rescue training, and is 24-Hour HAZWOPER certified for oil spill wildlife rescue.  One of her responsibilities with MMAN is to complete and submit Level A reports to NOAA as required to maintain MMAN’s Stranding Agreement.  She also assists DVM St. Pierre with necropsies. She feels strongly that humans have an obligation to marine life to help them survive given all we have done to injure them and destroy their environment.

Eric is a full time resident of Nantucket Island and has been Executive Director of the Nantucket Land Bank, a public land conservation agency, since 1997.  He holds a BS in Engineering and a Masters in Community Planning.  Eric is an avid naturalist, explorer and wildlife/underwater photographer/videographer.  He has been operating boats in coastal and offshore waters for over 35 years and currently owns and operates a 36’ power boat along with a 17’ skiff. He has received Volunteer Responder/Level A Data Collection training and has responded to cetacean/pinniped strandings and turtle entanglements.  In addition, he is currently involved with WHOI researchers in a pioneer effort to satellite tag whale sharks in the northwestern North Atlantic offshore waters of New England after the successful first ever tagging of one in 2016.

Hugh visited Nantucket in 1986 while on vacation from Australia, to meet for just the second time his soon to be parents-in -law, and immediately fell in love with the island. When Hugh and Beth moved to the US in 1991, the tradition of regular visits to Nantucket began. If you ask Hugh’s children where they grew up, they will say Nantucket from all the summers they spent on the island. After living in Connecticut and Virginia and travelling to Nantucket every summer, and at other times during the year, Hugh and Beth moved to Nantucket full time in 2018. He immediately connected with MMAN, was trained in rescue and has been on the MMAN board of directors ever since.  When not rescuing marine mammals, Hugh takes visitors on bicycle and van tours of the island. Hugh has been referred to as “Mr. Nantucket.” “He knows EVERYTHING about Nantucket – quite incredible!!! “

Scott attended Humboldt State University as an Oceanography major, graduated from Sonoma County Law Enforcement training center (1978) and spent time as a law enforcement ranger at the Cape Conational Seashore.  Scott emigrated to New Zealand in 1985 as a competitive runner and subsequently race organizer.  He lived on Nantucket from 1998 until 2020 and was a member of the Marine Mammal Stranding Team under New England Aquarium from 2000-2011.  He became a member of the Nantucket Marine Mammal Conservation Program in 1999 and took over directorship of the NMMCP in 2009.  Scott attended volunteer marine mammal response training at New England Aquarium. The U Mass Boston Field Station on Nantucket and at IFAW (2016), plus numerous other workshops and presentations (i.e. PEG workshop 2017).  As CEO of MMAN, Scott secured a Stranding Agreement with NOAA/NMFS so a team could be reestablished after the departure of NEAq in2016. Scott served as Stranding Coordinator for MMAN from inception until September 2020.

Michelle Perkins has always felt strongly connected to the natural world and has volunteered for many animal and environmental causes. She was raised in New Zealand, has travelled extensively and lived on Nantucket for many years where she was heavily involved in animal welfare causes. Michelle worked as Operations Manager of Nantucket island Safe Harbor for Animals (NiSHA) - the animal shelter and domestic animal welfare organization on Nantucket. She was on the board of MMAN and an active member of the stranding response team.  Michelle volunteered for marine mammal causes on Nantucket from 1998 until she moved back to New Zealand in 2017.  She is currently actively involved in animal welfare there and serves as Engagement Assistant for SAFE for Animals, New Zealand’s leading animal rights charity.  She continues to support MANN’s mission by serving on the Advisory Council.