Navtech is produced by Colibri Northwest. December 4-5, 2024, in Seattle, WA.
2024 SPEAKER BIOS
Captain Paul Amos
American Pilots’ Association
Paul was born and raised in Denton, Texas. In 1974 he permanently relocated to the Pacific Northwest where he was employed continuously in the tug and barge industry for 16 years. From 1980 to 1990 he worked as captain on towing vessels on the Columbia/Willamette/Snake River system. He has a wide range of experience on various types of towing vessels but the majority of those years were spent on grain barge tows between Portland, OR and Lewiston, ID. For the last 34 years, beginning in 1990, Paul has been a Columbia River Pilot. As a member of the Columbia River Pilots (COLRIP) he served two years as treasurer and was vice president in 1999. He was re-elected as vice president in 2006. Shortly afterwards he became president and served in that position for 9 years. He was also deeply involved in developing COLRIP’s AIS-based navigation system with the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, MA. He is a past president of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, a past chairman of the Lower Columbia Region Harbor Safety Committee and has served on a variety of industry related boards and committees.
Dr. Scott Beatty, PhD
MarineLabs
Dr. Beatty is a Canadian ocean tech entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in marine technology and R&D sectors. Under his leadership, MarineLabs has grown into a thriving company operating a North America-wide fleet of MarineLabs sensor nodes that provide real-time and predictive coastal weather intelligence that enhances safety and efficiency of port operations and vessel pilotage.
George Burkley
Maritime Pilots Institute
Mr. George Burkley serves as the executive director of the Maritime Pilots Institute (MPI) in Covington, Louisiana and is a partner in LOCUS LLC. MPI specializes in training, research and technical projects for maritime pilots. The institute operates both electronic simulation and physical modelling training and research facilities.
George is a 1989 graduate of the California Maritime Academy and completed his master’s work at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He served as an aviator in the US Navy and sailed for Hawaiian Tug and Barge and Masters, Mates and Pilots as a ship’s officer.
VADM Michael Connor, USN (ret)
ThayerMahan
Mike founded ThayerMahan in order to accelerate the United States’ ability to effectively and efficiently monitor ocean activity using autonomous systems. He serves as the company’s chairman and CEO — driving direction and decision-making.
Recognized globally as one of the foremost authorities in undersea operations, Mike brings a wealth of experience to this endeavor. Over a 35-year career, in which he rose to the rank of vice admiral in the United States Navy, Mike commanded at the ship, squadron, and task force levels. His assignments include command of USS SEAWOLF, a nuclear-powered attack submarine; Submarine Squadron EIGHT; Undersea Forces in the Western Pacific; Undersea Forces in the Arabian Gulf; the United States Submarine Force; and NATO’s Allied Submarine Command.
Mike led the US Navy Submarine Force’s move into robotic undersea systems, achieving key milestones including the first operational deployment and recovery of an unmanned vehicle from a submarine. He led an innovation effort that began the shift away from expensive undersea search operations platforms toward operations based on large numbers of inexpensive vehicles. In doing so, he broke new ground in undersea communications, development of undersea networks, and development of technology to support extended range undersea weapons.
Mike has written extensively on the future of undersea warfare and is a sought-after speaker on undersea warfare topics.
Mike earned a BA degree in physics from Bowdoin College and a master’s degree in national security studies from United States Naval War College.
Jon L. Dasler, PE, PLS, CH
David Evans and Associates
Jon L. Dasler is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) and Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) and is certified by the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) and The Hydrographic Society of America (THSOA) as a Certified Hydrographer (CH). Since 2001, he has been an active board member of the NSPS-THSOA Hydrographer Certification Board, for which he currently serves as chair.
Mr. Dasler’s professional experience spans 38 years of contract project management on hydrographic, marine geophysical, and surveying projects for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USACE, port authorities, and private sector firms. Mr. Dasler was involved in the earliest applications of shallow-water multibeam for the monitoring of coastal structures. Based on his expertise in hydrography, Mr. Dasler was handpicked by NOAA Administration to serve on a Federal Advisory Committee. In this capacity, Mr. Dasler served seven years as a special government employee on NOAA’s Hydrographic Services Review Panel, which advised the NOAA administrator on matters related to the nation’s hydrographic services and navigation safety information needs.
Mr. Dasler is currently the senior vice president and director of marine services at David Evans and Associates, Inc. where he has provided consultation and management on hydrographic, marine geophysical, and land surveys in support of navigation, coastal resilience, remedial investigation, site characterization, underwater inspection, and infrastructure projects since 1989.
John DePersenaire
Viking Yachts
John is the director of government affairs and sustainability at Viking Yachts, a role in which he leads sustainability initiatives for a company renowned for building recreational boats primarily used offshore fishing, throughout the world. Viking Yachts and its associated brands are committed to responsible marine resource management, ensuring they continue building boats for generations to come. John’s dedication includes active participation in the management of marine resources and serving on various advisory committees. In addition, he works closely with industry partners on efficiency initiatives, regulatory matters, and other critical issues on behalf of Viking and the marine industry at large.
In addition to his role at Viking, he serves as the chair of the Whale and Vessel Safety Taskforce (WAVS). WAVS is a nonprofit organization focused on developing and implementing technology-driven solutions to mitigate vessel strike risks to marine mammals, especially the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. The taskforce works closely with marine industry partners to pilot advanced technologies, including thermal imaging, marine radar, and AI-driven predictive models and detection systems, with the aim of protecting marine life, improving safety at sea and contributing to sustainable ocean use.
Dr. Caroline Good, PhD
NOAA Fisheries
Caroline Good is a large whale ecologist with the NOAA Fisheries, Office of Protected Resources, Cetacean and Pinniped Conservation team in Washington, DC. She leads the agency’s national efforts on large whale vessel strike conservation and management, including activities for the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Prior to joining NOAA, Caroline was a scientific consultant in Washington, DC and officer with the Lenfest Ocean Program. She previously served on the NOAA Fisheries Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team which is tasked with addressing right whale entanglement in fishing gear. Caroline holds a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College, a master’s degree in environmental management from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, and a PhD in marine ecology from Duke University.
Christian Hempstead
Hempstead Maritime Training, LLC
Christian Hempstead, Master Mariner, began his inland, coastal and ocean navigation career as a lad using traditional methods. He continued piloting as limited tonnage captain for several years while completing two undergraduate degrees. Then for 19 years he shipped on US flag tankers as senior deck officer, experiencing the transition to GPS and ECDIS navigation. During that time, he completed an MA in literature and the psychology of perception. Following a calling to teach, he came ashore in 2000 as professional instructor at maritime schools and eventually full professor at USMMA. He gained Transas (now Wartsila) vendor certification for teaching NaviSailor ECDIS. He contributed ECDIS training requirements to STCW-2010 and developed the 2012 revision to the IMO ECDIS Model Course 1.27, based on in-depth experience in navigation and simulation-based training. Since 2013 he has run Hempstead Maritime Training full time, focusing on STCW-certified ECDIS training, training in advanced integrative navigation, and training instructors & operators using marine simulation systems. In 2024 he gained Furuno certification to teach FMD3x00 in STCW ECDIS courses, another first for the Americas.
Jon Kjaerulff
MITAGS
Jon obtained his first license (as a Danish yacht master) at the age of 17, and subsequently attended the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. After graduating in 1983, he sailed in positions from deckhand to master aboard ships and workboats all over the world. After running a support vessel during the Exxon Valdez cleanup effort in Prince William Sound, Jon came ashore and founded Fremont Maritime Services in Seattle, Washington. Over the next 27 years, Jon established a reputation as a pioneer in the field of maritime safety, survival and firefighting training.
His company was one of the very first organizations in the US to obtain Coast Guard approval for STCW Basic Safety Courses, and from 2003 to 2015 Fremont Maritime was the only private company utilized by the US Navy to provide marine firefighting training to its military sailors. Over the years Jon and his team worked with tens of thousands of inland and offshore mariners, providing training not only at Fremont’s school in Seattle, but at customer locations in Alaska, Oregon, California, Florida, Europe, Australia and the Caribbean.
When MITAGS established the Pacific Maritime Institute in Seattle, Jon worked to forge a strong working relationship between the two schools.
In 2017, Fremont Maritime was purchased by MITAGS, and Jon came aboard as a marine safety training and business development specialist. At the beginning of 2021, he took over as director of business development.
Captain Tim Lagarde
Associated Branch Pilots
Port of New Orleans
Captain Tim Lagarde, a member of the Associated Branch Pilots for the Port of New Orleans since 2013. He currently serves on the board of directors for the association. He is also a member of New Orleans Harbor Safety Committee and serves on the Maritime Navigation Safety Association for the Mississippi River. Capt. Lagarde received a bachelor’s degree in marine transportation from Texas Maritime Academy in 2004, and was employed by Edison Chouest Offshore working on supply vessels and later sailing blue water prior to becoming a pilot. He resides in Covington, Louisiana with his wife and four children.
Liam LaRue
National Transportation Safety Board Office of Marine Safety
Liam LaRue serves as the chief of marine accident investigations for the NTSB Office of Marine Safety. He manages a team of 13 marine accident investigators, responsible for investigating major marine casualties.
He is a 2000 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy with a bachelor of science degree in management. Prior to coming to the Safety Board, he spent two years as a deck watch officer on board Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell followed by three years in the marine safety field conducting domestic vessel inspections out of Baltimore, MD.
He joined the Safety Board in September 2005 as a marine accident investigator. He has taken part in numerous major NTSB investigations as group chairman or investigator in charge including the Ethan Allen in Lake George, NY; the Cosco Busan in San Francisco Bay; the Alaska Ranger near Dutch Harbor Alaska, and the Delta Mariner near Paducah, Kentucky. He was selected for the chief of investigations position in 2017.
Mr. LaRue achieved a master of business administration degree from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.
R. David Lewald
Office of Navigation Systems, US Coast Guard Headquarters
David Lewald is a navigation systems and aids to navigation specialist for the US Coast Guard. He served for 30 years on active duty in the USCG with 25 of those years spent afloat aboard numerous cutters in all positions including command. He has been a USCG civilian employee since his retirement in 2014. David’s responsibilities include advisory and consultative services to USCG programs and managers on a broad range of navigation matters that involve legacy and future state technology. He serves as an advisor and subject matter expert to the director of marine transportation systems on digital and electronic navigation matters and systems, including electronic chart systems (ECDIS\ECS), automatic identification system (AIS), integrated navigation systems (INS), integrated bridge systems (IBS), navigation sensors (e.g., radar, GPS, etc.), and electronic aids to navigation. David serves as a navigation systems technical expert to standards development organizations such as International Maritime Organization (IMO), International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), US councilor to the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA)(and chair of the IALA-ARM Committee), Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA), and Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM) (Chair RTCM SC109-Electronic Charting Systems).
[Uniformed photographs and biographies of participating federal officials do not represent an endorsement of this event by the Department of Homeland Security or the US Coast Guard.]
Commander Tonya Lim
USCG, Sector Columbia River
Commander Lim serves as the prevention department head at USCG Sector Columbia River instilling marine safety, security, and stewardship through enforcement of international and US regulatory policy and is responsible for approximately 80 active duty and reserve personnel in an area of responsibility that spans across the waterways of the states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Her previous assignment was executive officer at Marine Safety Unit Portland, where she was responsible for providing support for 200 personnel that conducted operations for commercial vessel and waterway safety and security.
Her other assignments include US Africa Command where she was as a maritime plans and operations specialist, USCG, Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach, Sector New Orleans, and Sector Mobile serving in the capacity of a marine inspector, waterways management officer, assistant senior investigating officer, and Port State Control branch chief. Commander Lim’s prior staff assignment was at Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington DC serving in the Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance. In this capacity she established policy for the US Coast Guard’s Port State Control compliance program.
Commander Lim was commissioned from the United States Coast Guard Officer Candidate School in 2003. She is a 2001 graduate of the University of Hawaii, West Oahu with a bachelor of arts degree in public administration. She is a graduate of Merchant Marine Industry Training and earned her master of arts degree in defense and strategic studies from the Naval War College.
Captain Richard Madden
Masters, Mates & Pilots
Rich was raised in Sackets Harbor, NY on Lake Ontario, where he began his maritime career working at marinas, cleaning charter boats and racing sailboats. He graduated from NY Maritime College in 1990 and worked for Military Sealift Command (MSC) on a variety of underway replenishment, cargo and towing vessels. After leaving MSC in the late 90s, Rich transitioned into the tug and barge industry in Hawaii and then in the Northeast, conducting coastal towing, ship tows and, occasionally, ship assist.
Transitioning back from brown to blue water shipping in the early 2000s, Rich began shipping on commercial deep-sea vessels. Over the past 19 years, these have ranged from contract survey vessels for the US Navy to heavylift/multipurpose vessels to his current command on a medium-sized container ship in worldwide trade. Working on a feeder container ship between the Middle East and East Africa afforded extensive experience during the height of Somali piracy, which lead to an increasing interest in security and safety.
Captain Madden has been an adjunct instructor at MITAGS since 2013. Courses he has been involved with range from operational to management level meteorology, hazardous weather avoidance, navigation (terrestrial, celestial, and electronic), safety, bridge resource management, leadership and management, and shiphandling courses. Rich particularly enjoys simulations and has been involved with port research projects and the Navigation Skills Assessment Program (NSAP) in a variety of roles.
Rich is an associate fellow of the Nautical Institute, member of the Council of American Master Mariners (CAMM) and has been an appointee to the US Coast Guard Navigation Safety Advisory Committee since 2015. He is founder of the Maritime Safety Innovation Lab LLC, a maritime industry consultancy and research organization. Through this organization, Captain Madden works to identify and promulgate best practices in both human and technical skills with the goal of keeping seafarers and vessels safe from harm.
Rich is married to Kelly, a former US Coast Guard boatswain’s mate who now runs the couple’s powerboat extensively on the Chesapeake Bay. They have three adult children and live in Glen Burnie, MD.
Tommy Mikkelsen
Trelleborg Marine and Infrastructure
Mr. Tommy Mikkelsen is the managing director of Trelleborg Marine and Infrastructure’s navigation and piloting operations in Denmark, and a committed technology enthusiast who has been dedicating himself to developing modern piloting systems over the last decade. Mr. Mikkelsen has a software engineering background and has been working in the marine industry for more than 25 years. Mr. Mikkelsen has created and developed Trelleborg’s SafePilot Piloting System, the market leader of the world’s portable pilot systems.
Captain Jeremy Nielsen
Columbia River Pilot
Captain Nielsen was born and raised in the great land-locked state of Montana. Seeking adventure after high school he received congressional appointments to three federal academies and ultimately chose to study at the US Merchant Marine Academy in New York. In 1999, after traveling to many countries aboard commercial cargo vessels as part of his education, he graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in marine transportation & technology, simultaneously receiving his US Coast Guard Unlimited Tonnage, Oceans, Third Mate License, certification as a Qualified Member of the Engine Department, and a commission as an ensign in the US Naval Reserve.
Captain Nielsen has worked in cargo logistics for a major US trucking company, has been a steamship agent at ports along the US West Coast, and has been a stevedore working with longshore labor to manage cargo operations for commercial merchant vessels.
Seeking to become a Columbia River Pilot, he transitioned to the inland towing industry, beginning as a deckhand and quickly rising to become a captain aboard tug and towboats providing ship assist and barging services on the Columbia and Snake River System. Eleven years ago he was accepted into the Columbia River Pilots and has now operated or piloted almost every type of vessel from WWII-era tugboats to state-of-the-art cruise ships. Captain Nielsen has served the organization as its vice president for two years and is now in his fifth year as president. In this position he manages the business, industry, and government relations demands of a 45-member pilot organization, always working to strengthen the Columbia River maritime industry, improve pilot selection and training, and solidify the position of pilots as a primary force for environmental and public safety on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers system.
Brendan P. O’Shea
American Pilots' Association
Brendan P. O’Shea joined the American Pilots’ Association (APA) as deputy director – associate general counsel on August 22, 2022. Brendan assists the executive director in the management of APA’s office operations, membership services, and administrative activities. He also assists in a legal capacity by advising pilotage authorities on operations, practices, business structures, and oversight of pilots and pilotage systems.
Prior to joining the APA, Mr. O’Shea served in the US Coast Guard for more than twenty years, reaching the rank of commander. His last assignment was as the legislative counsel in the Coast Guard Office of Congressional Affairs where he was the primary Coast Guard representative to Congress on legislation affecting the Coast Guard, and liaison to Congressional Authorization Committees.
Brendan is a 2001 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy with a BS in government. He was also awarded a juris doctor from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law and a master’s degree of law from Georgetown University Law Center. During his career with the Coast Guard, Mr. O’Shea served in several operational, staff, and legal positions, including service aboard two Coast Guard cutters. During his operational assignments, Brendan was responsible for boarding foreign vessels and enforcing US laws on the high seas, conducting security and ice operations in the port of New York, and conducting search and rescue in the Bering Sea. As a lawyer, he served in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the General Counsel where he advised DHS leadership on operational law issues, the Department of Justice’s admiralty office, the Coast Guard’s Office of the Judge Advocate General where he advised on investigations and personnel issues, and US Marine Corps Base Quantico where he prosecuted cases for the Marine Corps.
In addition, Brendan was in private practice for two years, where he represented individual and corporate clients in civil matters including intellectual property disputes and business litigation.
Brendan is a member of the Maryland Bar and resides in Washington, DC with his wife and three children.
John Patterson
Artemis Technologies
John joined Artemis Technologies following an extensive military career with the Royal Navy and a short period in industry working for Harland & Wolff. Having serviced operationally around the globe, John brings extensive experience in project management, business analysis, risk management, and cultural change management. John is responsible for business development across the defense sector.
Peter Philips
Colibri Northwest
Peter and his team work with transit agencies, municipal administrators, elected officials and associations to develop policy, communicate policy to stakeholders and successfully implement public policy in the field. Areas of particular expertise include marine transit policy, industrial and urban land use, print communications and public relations. Peter has 35 years of experience in maritime publishing, conference production, industrial and marine lands policy, and advocacy for the maritime and commercial fishing industries. From 1999-2020 Peter was president of Philips Publishing Group and publisher of Fishermen’s News, Foghorn and Pacific Maritime Magazine, monthly magazines for the commercial fishing, marine transit, and maritime transportation industries.
Captain Lindsay M Price
Women Offshore Foundation
Captain Lindsay M Price is a highly accomplished maritime professional with more than 18 years of experience. She is a graduate of SUNY Maritime College and has held a variety of positions in the industry, including captain, USCG designated examiner, and director of advocacy for the Women Offshore Foundation. In 2011, Captain Price was promoted to captain at G&H Towing Company, becoming the first female captain in the company’s history. She holds pilotage in the California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach; and in the Texas ports of Galveston, Texas City, Houston, and Freeport.
In 2022, Captain Price joined SpaceX as captain within their Falcon Ark Recovery Operations. She was responsible for the safe and efficient recovery of towing the Falcon rockets and fairings after launch. Captain Price resigned from SpaceX in 2024. Captain Price is passionate about the maritime community and is a role model for many who are interested in pursuing careers in this field. Captain Price aspires to eventually become a harbor pilot.
Outside of the maritime industry, she is the captain at the city’s volunteer fire department as well as an EMT. She is a nationally ranked United States master swimmer, trains regularly at CrossFit and has climbed some of the tallest mountains in the world.
Captain Jonathan Samuell
American Pilots' Association
Captain Jonathan Samuell currently serves as the chairman of the Safety Committee for the American Pilots’ Association (APA). He previously served as the vice-chairman for the APA’s NavTech Committee for the past 7 years.
Jonathan also currently works as an active pilot on the Houston Ship Channel for the last 16 years. As a member of the Houston Pilots (HP), he has served as chairman of the HP’s eNav Committee for 10 years. Jonathan is an active member in several maritime industry organizations including the NI, RIN, CAMM, IFSMA and MTS.
Prior to working as a state-licensed pilot, Jonathan served aboard various deep sea/drilling vessels and harbor tugs for 15 years. He sailed as master for 6 years and spent 1 year ashore as vessel manager.
Jonathan is a graduate of Texas A&M University at Galveston earning a BS in marine sciences and the university award for Excellence in Research. He is married with twins in college and currently resides in Houston, Texas.
Chuck Stoffer
UHU Technologies LLC
Mr. Stoffer is the director of sales and business development at UHU Technologies. He is a technology professional with a BSEE degree and an MBA and 40+ years’ experience in the semiconductor test and measurement industry for commercial, medical, and the aerospace and defense markets. His main areas of focus for the past 25 years have been in the RF wireless and GPS/GNSS market segments.
He specializes in GPS/GNSS simulation for test and characterization of all GNSS receivers and navigation systems, jamming and spoofing detection, mitigation, and geo-location for both critical infrastructure and military applications. His roles have included senior management in both sales and service, strategic key account management, marketing and business development.
Brian Tetreault
US Army Corps of Engineers
Brian Tetreault is the Marine Transportation System (MTS) program manager for Headquarters, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). In this role he also serves as senior advisor to the US Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS) and USACE liaison to the US Coast Guard. Prior to this position, he was a navigation systems specialist at the USACE Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory where he worked on projects to develop and implement navigation information systems. He has been a US representative to national and international navigation-related bodies, including the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC), International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM). He is a graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy and served in the Coast Guard for 22 years at sea and ashore.
Gerald Thornberry
US Army Corps of Engineers
Gerald Thornberry has served the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for 15 years. He is an alumnus of the University of Louisville where he earned a bachelor of science degree in geography (environmental analysis). He has supported USACE as a GIS specialist, hydrographic surveyor, dredge inspector, and provided mapping and analytical support to emergency operations. Currently, Gerald is a marine information specialist supporting USACE’s enterprise navigation programs and its hydrographic surveying community. His primary focus is on the Inland Electronic Navigational Charting (IENC) Program and eHydro, the USACE hydrographic survey repository. He is a member of the Inland Electronic Navigational Charting Harmonization Group (IEHG), co-chairs the US Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS) Future of Navigation Integrated Action Team (FutureNav IAT) and is the US representative to the Permanent River Information Services (RIS) Working Group of the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC). In addition to working for USACE, Gerald has been a GIS software and database developer in the private sector. He got his first experience in GIS while serving as a signals intelligence (SIGINT) analyst in the US Army in the 1990s.
Captain Wesley Moore
Sabine Pilots Association
Wesley Moore is the current presiding officer of the Sabine Pilots Association. Withmore than a decade of service maneuvering all manner of oceangoing vessels upon the Sabine-Neches Waterway. Wesley is also the chairman of the American Pilots’ Association’s Navigation Technology subcommittee.
Before joining the Sabine Pilots in 2011, Wesley enjoyed a successful career at sea following his 1993 graduation from Texas A&M University in Galveston. Most of his time at sea was aboard tankers trading along the Gulf Coast, East Coast, Caribbean, and through the Panama Canal to the West Coast. During this time, he worked for various companies, rising to the level of master mariner and captain within Chevron’s fleet, where he also completed special assignments for the company ashore.
In conjunction with his professional pursuits, Wesley has a keen interest in technology and all things computer related. His background in coding and logic systems fuels his passion for both hardware and software, prompting his wife to jokingly refer to this affinity for adopting new technology as ‘Early Adopter’s Disease.’ This passion for technology and innovation has enabled him to assist in advancing the use of Portable Pilot Units and other real-time navigational tools within the piloting community, both locally in his branch and nationally for other pilot groups.
Born and raised in the shipping town of Port Arthur, Texas, Wesley grew up immersed in the maritime industry, its history, and its progress.
Darren Wright
NOAA Office of Coast Survey
Darren Wright is the Precision Marine Navigation program manager of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey (OCS). Darren has been with NOAA since 1984 and worked in operational oceanography and meteorology for more than 34 years before moving to the National Weather Service (NWS) more than five years ago. There he was responsible for improving coastal, offshore and high seas forecast products and services for the NWS. Darren recently moved to OCS and is now using his past NOAA experience to work with other NOAA line offices, federal agencies and the marine community to provide NOAA’s important marine navigation information such as nautical charts, bathymetry, water level, currents and weather in an internationally standard format for navigation system manufacturers to create data overlays and dynamic displays.
Captain Frank Vargas
American Seafoods
Being a third-generation fisherman Frank has been around vessels all his life. He started going to sea at an early age on tuna seiners out of San Diego, California. He started in the galley washing dishing, worked in the engine room and on deck. He received his USCG master license at the age of 22 and stayed in the tuna industry until the mid-80s before coming to the Northwest and Alaska. Frank worked on coastal freighters until the offshore factory trawlers started and then he went fishing. He’s been with American Seafoods for 32 years as captain on the factory trawlers before coming into the corporate office in 1996 as operation manager, fleet manager, and currently as compliance officer. He still maintains his USCG master license after 46 years.
Captain Chris Yarbrough
Savannah Pilots Association
Capt. Chris Yarbrough was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, where a passion for boating and fishing along the coastal rivers shaped his early years. After graduating from Benedictine Military High School in 2006, he entered a rigorous apprenticeship with the Savannah Pilots Association in Savannah, Georgia to become a state-licensed pilot. By 2010, after completing around 1,000 trips under the supervision of senior pilots, he earned his license and began his career as a pilot.
In addition to his piloting duties, he became chairman of the Savannah Pilots Navigation and Technology Committee, a position he still holds, where he was instrumental in introducing Personal Piloting Units to the group. He served as secretary-treasurer from 2016 to 2023 and was elected vice president of the association in 2023.
In 2021, he co-founded Savannah River Fulfillment, a rapidly growing third-party logistics and e-commerce fulfillment company based in Savannah, which now operates two 100k square foot warehouses across the US. He is a devoted husband and father to three children: Cy (7), Sandlin (5), and Calder (1).