
Expeditions:The Catalina Island Expedition Teams
The Secret Ocean 3D Catalina Island Expedition Team
JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAU, PRESIDENT, OCEAN FUTURES SOCIETY AND DIRECTOR "SECRET OCEAN 3D"
Explorer, environmentalist, educator, film producer---for more than four decades Jean-Michel Cousteau has communicated to people of all nations and generations his love and concern for our water planet. The son of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, Jean-Michel founded Ocean Futures Society in 1999 to carry on this pioneering work and to honor his heritage. Jean-Michel serves as an impassioned diplomat for the environment, reaching out to the public through a variety of media, producing over 75 films, receiving Emmy awards, the Peabody Award, the 7 d'Or, and the Cable Ace Award, and authoring hundreds of articles and several books. Jean-Michel travels the globe, meeting with leaders and policymakers at the grassroots level and at the highest echelons of government and business, educating young people, documenting stories of change and hope, and lending his reputation and support to energize alliances for positive change.
FRANCOIS & JEAN-JACQUES MANTELLO, CEO/CHAIRMAN & FILM DIRECTOR "SECRET OCEAN 3D"
Francois and Jean-Jacques Mantello — The Mantello Brothers — have followed an atypical course through the international motion picture industry. Third-generation entrepreneurs, they created L’Equipage Video, the first digital video postproduction company in France to be located outside the Paris region, in 1990. The following five years were spent providing post-production services to television, advertising agencies and audio-visual production companies. Also specialized in digital effects and CGI, this enterprise allowed the Brothers to hone their expertise in the field of new digital technologies.
RICHARD MURPHY, Ph.D, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR
A PhD in marine ecology from the University of Southern California, Murphy began working with Jacques and Jean-Michel Cousteau in 1968 and has been involved in projects and expeditions around the globe, including Papua New Guinea, the Fiji Islands, the Caribbean, Indonesia, the Mekong River, the Amazon, the Sea of Cortez, Australia and New Zealand. He has served as chief scientist, photographer, writer, educator and project director, and has created many educational programs for young people in developed and developing countries. His book Coral Reefs: Cities Under the Sea offers a unique and fascinating look at how coral reefs function and what lessons they can teach us in making our own communities more sustainable.
GAVIN MCKINNEY, DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
A native of the Bahamas, with over 20,000 underwater hours to his credit, Gavin McKinney is a veteran of underwater filmmaking. He has worked on many feature and television films, among them five of the James Bond movies, “Splash,” “Speed 2″, “Jaws: the Revenge”, “The Abyss” and many more.
DON SANTEE, DIRECTOR OF EXPEDITIONS
Santee has worked side by side with both Jean-Michel Cousteau and Jacques Cousteau for over three decades. Assuming diverse duties as expedition leader and production manager, he coordinates everything from diving expeditions to film logistics. An underwater photographer for books and magazines, he has also worked on over 26 television documentaries. In addition to acting as the team's medical officer, Santee is also responsible for training the Ocean Futures team on advanced technical dive procedures and working with state-of-the-art closed circuit rebreathers. Santee makes his home in Santa Barbara, California, with his wife Hilary and son Edward.
HOLLY S. LOHUIS, MARINE BIOLOGIST
Holly is a marine biologist with a degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara and has been diving around the world with Jean-Michel Cousteau for over a decade. Holly is apart of the expedition team, serving as a key liaison between the expedition team and scientists and is responsible for confirming the factual accuracy of the content of Ocean Futures Society documentaries. Also a marine educator, Holly has educated thousands of children and adults about the wonders and fragility of the marine environment and the importance to protect them for future generations.
The America's Underwater Treasures Catalina Island Expedition Team
JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAU, PRESIDENT, OCEAN FUTURES SOCIETY
Explorer, environmentalist, educator, film producer---for more than four decades Jean-Michel Cousteau has communicated to people of all nations and generations his love and concern for our water planet. The son of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, Jean-Michel founded Ocean Futures Society in 1999 to carry on this pioneering work and to honor his heritage. Jean-Michel serves as an impassioned diplomat for the environment, reaching out to the public through a variety of media, producing over 75 films, receiving Emmy awards, the Peabody Award, the 7 d'Or, and the Cable Ace Award, and authoring hundreds of articles and several books. Jean-Michel travels the globe, meeting with leaders and policymakers at the grassroots level and at the highest echelons of government and business, educating young people, documenting stories of change and hope, and lending his reputation and support to energize alliances for positive change.
CHUCK DAVIS, DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Chuck Davis has worked as a director of photography and/or camera operator on several IMAX and IMAX-DOME feature documentaries including the Academy Award-nominated Alaska: Spirit of the Wild, and the Academy Award-nominated The Living Sea. Davis worked as an underwater camera operator on the Warner Brothers feature film, Sphere, and his production experience includes work on C.L.I.O. award-winning commercials and CINE Golden Eagle award-winning documentaries. Davis has worked on films with both Jacques and Jean-Michel Cousteau for more than twenty years. "I will miss many wonderful friends we made along the journey. As anyone who films in remote exotic locations knows, to be effective in these faraway places, you need the help of local folks who really know the waters—the lay of the land, so to speak—and who can speak the language and act as liaison to bridge the differences between cultures. We were very fortunate to have the help of many local folks—scientists, naturalists, conservationists, interpreters, boat operators, local business operators and government officials—who, in many cases, went the extra distance for us to make our film a reality."
MATTHEW FERRARO, ASSISTANT CAMERA OPERATOR/CAMERA OPERATOR/MARINE OPERATIONS
Matt graduated from California State University Monterey Bay in 1999 with a degree in earth system sciences and policy. As an original expedition member for Jean-Michel Cousteau’s six-part Ocean Adventures PBS series, Matt’s duties have encompassed research, still photography, second unit camera operation, underwater lighting and marine operations. Currently he is staff cinematographer and in charge of diving operations for Ocean Futures Society.
ZIM JEROME GERVAIS II, MARINE OPERATIONS
Zim identifies strongly with his Native American heritage and says the spirit of adventure runs in his blood as a direct descendent of Chief Coboway of the Clatsop tribe in Oregon. As a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, a graduate of Santa Barbara City College’s Marine Diving Technologies Program and a diving professional with more than 15 years of experience, Zim’s focus is on marine operations. He is a trained Inspiration-rebreather diver, a certified nitrox diver and blender, and a certified hazmat (hazardous materials) instructor. Zim holds a medical certification from the National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology and is a California emergency medical technician.
GARY HOLLAND, SOUND ENGINEER
Audio engineer for Jacques and Jean-Michel Cousteau since 1983, Gary has more than 30 years of professional sound and music recording expertise from television and feature film work under his belt. During his stint with Captain Cousteau, Gary developed a technique for capturing underwater hydrophone recordings in true stereo. Cornell University still uses his orca recordings from this time as the definitive hydrophone stereo recordings of this genre. Gary has worked on feature films, such as Ghost and Jerry Maguire, as well as television series, including The X Files and The West Wing. He also produced the CD Wavesliders, featuring world-renowned surfers, which includes the song “Cool Water,” the theme song for the non-profit environmental organization Surfrider Foundation. A native of New Orleans, Gary lives with his wife, Katie, and two of his three daughters in Southern California.
JACOB KILBRIDE, EXPEDITION TEAM MEMBER/MARINE OPERATIONS
Kilbride is the third generation of ocean adventurers and the third generation to work with the Cousteau family, this time as a key member of the Marine Operations crew for Ocean Adventures. Growing up in the British Virgin Islands, he spent four years in the U.S. Coast Guard as a boat coxswain and law enforcement officer with training in maritime rescues and search and recovery missions. Kilbride also attended the Santa Barbara City College Marine Technology Program where his training included decompression chamber operation, mixed gas diving, surface-supplied diving, and closed-circuit rebreather diving. He is also certified as an emergency medical technician.
HOLLY S. LOHUIS, EDUCATION/RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Holly is a marine biologist with a degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara and has been diving around the world with Jean-Michel Cousteau for over a decade. Holly is apart of the expedition team, serving as a key liaison between the expedition team and scientists and is responsible for confirming the factual accuracy of the content of Ocean Futures Society documentaries. Also a marine educator, Holly has educated thousands of children and adults about the wonders and fragility of the marine environment and the importance to protect them for future generations.
BLAIR MOTT, CHIEF DIVER
As Ocean Futures Society’s chief diver, Blair’s expert skills have enabled him to lead and supervise diving teams in 45 countries in a vast array of conditions, in environments as remote and unforgiving as the polar regions and the Amazon. He is responsible for training the expedition team in advanced diving techniques, and helps to design, test and maintain a wide variety of critical marine operations equipment. A graduate of Santa Barbara City College’s world-renowned Marine Diving Technologies Program, Blair has logged thousands of hours underwater, including time spent working on the Keiko Project in Iceland. He lives in Santa Barbara with his wife Aime.
RICHARD MURPHY, Ph.D, DIRECTOR OF SCIENCE AND EDUCATION
A PhD in marine ecology from the University of Southern California, Murphy began working with Jacques and Jean-Michel Cousteau in 1968 and has been involved in projects and expeditions around the globe, including Papua New Guinea, the Fiji Islands, the Caribbean, Indonesia, the Mekong River, the Amazon, the Sea of Cortez, Australia and New Zealand. He has served as chief scientist, photographer, writer, educator and project director, and has created many educational programs for young people in developed and developing countries. His book Coral Reefs: Cities Under the Sea offers a unique and fascinating look at how coral reefs function and what lessons they can teach us in making our own communities more sustainable.
DON SANTEE, DIRECTOR OF EXPEDITIONS
Santee has worked side by side with both Jean-Michel Cousteau and Jacques Cousteau for over three decades. Assuming diverse duties as expedition leader and production manager, he coordinates everything from diving expeditions to film logistics. An underwater photographer for books and magazines, he has also worked on over 26 television documentaries. In addition to acting as the team's medical officer, Santee is also responsible for training the Ocean Futures team on advanced technical dive procedures and working with state-of-the-art closed circuit rebreathers. Santee makes his home in Santa Barbara, California, with his wife Hilary and son Edward.
CARRIE VONDERHAAR, EXPEDITION PHOTOGRAPHER
As chief expedition photographer for Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Adventures PBS series, Carrie was the first woman to dive Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary on a closed-circuit rebreather and to work with Jean-Michel as both a topside and underwater camera operator. She is also the only expedition member to travel the entire length of the Amazon from the Andes to the Atlantic for Return to the Amazon. Her degrees in French, political science and fine arts from Wittenberg University in Ohio and advanced studies at the Université Rennes 2 in France led to studies at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. Carrie was the photographer and photo editor for Jean-Michel’s award-winning, limited-edition book America’s Underwater Treasures, and her images have been published in DIVER, Worth, Sublime, Santa Barbara Magazine, Outside, Men’s Journal, Outdoor Enthusiast, Reader’s Digest, SAVEUR and Discover, as well as various international magazines.
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