Kate joined the University of Victoria in September 2011 as a professor in the Faculty of Science and as Director of NEPTUNE Canada. She was promoted to the position of President & CEO, Ocean Networks Canada In July 2012. Kate’s previous appointment was professor at the University of Rhode Island with a joint appointment in the Graduate School of Oceanography and the Department of Ocean Engineering. She also served as the Associate Dean, Research and Administration at the Graduate School of Oceanography.

As Chief Finance Officer Sandy is responsible for the oversight of ONC’s finances, including financial administration, budget planning, cash flow, financial statements, audits and supervision of the finance team. She is involved in developing and ensuring the long-term financial health of ONC, including financial risk and leadership of financial strategy. Sandy has experience working for the private sector construction industry in accounting and controller positions before joining the University of Victoria as the Director of Research Accounting. She has volunteered with national university organizations including CARA (Canadian Association of Research Administrators) and CAUBO (Canadian Association of University Business Officers). In 2019 she took on a partial term secondment with CAUBO to liaise with the Canadian research universities, assisting with the Canadian Tri-Agency (NSERC/SSHRC/CIHR) shift to a principles-based approach for the financial administration of research grants. The other half of the secondment was working with ONC and in July 2019 she joined ONC as the CFO. Sandy has a CPA CMA accounting designation, a BA Honours with distinction and an MA in Art History. In 2008 she was awarded the President’s Distinguished Service Award for her work in Research Accounting.

Dr. Kim Juniper has been a Professor in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences and the Department of Biology at the University of Victoria, and holder of the British Columbia Leadership Chair in Ocean Ecosystems and Global Change since 2006. He came to the University of Victoria from the Université du Québec à Montréal where he was Professor of Biology and Director of the GEOTOP Research Centre. He received his BSc from the University of Alberta (1976) and a PhD from Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand (1982). The primary focus of his research is the biogeochemistry and ecology of submarine hydrothermal systems. His interdisciplinary publications on deep-sea vents encompass the fields of microbial ecology, biomineralization and benthic ecology. Other research areas have included the microbial ecology of deep-sea sediments, and the seasonal dynamics of arctic sea-ice microbial communities. Kim previously served the NEPTUNE Canada project as Co-Chief Scientist in 2004-2006, and was President of the Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility from 2001 to 2011. He served as Associate Director of Science for NEPTUNE Canada and Director, User Engagement for Ocean Networks Canada previous to his current role.

Ian Kulin is a graduate of Dalhousie University and a LEEDS Accredited Professional Engineer with over 32 years of engineering experience. He joined ONC in 2012 as Associate Director for NEPTUNE Canada, moving into the position of Director of Marine Operations in 2014. In June 2020, he moved into his current position as Director of Observatory Physical Operations where he leads the team that designs, builds, installs, and maintains sub-sea, mobile, and shore-based infrastructure and instruments that are the first link of the data chain. He ensures ONC meets its primary role as a science facility through the uninterrupted flow of data from ONC’s networks, and serves as Chief Scientist / Expedition Leader on expeditions and maintenance cruises. Prior to ONC, he spent five years at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) as an engineer on Dr. Robert Ballard’s E/V Nautilus team and as Project Manager on the Construction and Commissioning of the Inner Space Center at GSO. GSO work included all Nautilus vessel upgrades, maintenance, and future planning and the development of a new instrument package for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. Ian also has over 17 years managing various engineering projects in more than ten countries on three continents.

Daniela leads ONC's Corporate Operations, Communications, and Learning & Community Engagement Divisions. Prior to joining ONC in 2020, Daniela was the Associate Director of the Environmental Sciences Group at the Royal Military College. She holds a PhD in chemistry (University of Victoria) and an undergraduate degree in Engineering Chemistry (Technical University Darmstadt, Germany).

As Director of Observatory Digital Operations, Meghan leads the teams (Data Teams, Data Stewardship, Systems, Software Development) that ensure accessibility—for researchers and the public alike—to all data being produced from ONC and partner observatories. This is accomplished through continuous monitoring and improvement to the overall observatory network, qualifying and archiving data according to best practices in research data management, assessing the quality control of data being produced, and creating data products to support researchers in visualizing and interpreting data. Prior to joining ONC in 2020, Meghan spent over 20 years working in the energy industry in engineering and management roles for onshore and offshore projects in the US and internationally. Additionally, Meghan has been involved in scientific drilling expeditions including the Ocean Drilling Program and the Lake Malawi Drilling Project. Meghan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Dalhousie University and a Master of Science in Ocean Engineering from the University of Rhode Island.

Benoît Pirenne is Ocean Networks Canada’s Director, User Engagement. He joined the University of Victoria in October 2004 to build the Data Management and Archiving System for the NEPTUNE Canada and VENUS observatories. The division he directs consists of four departments: Science Services, Applied Science Solutions, the Canadian Integrated Ocean Observing System — Pacific Regional Association, and the World Data System — International Technology Office. Previously, Benoît spent 18 years at the European Southern Observatory (ESO, Munich, Germany), a leading Organization for astronomical research. At ESO Benoît assumed a number of scientific and technical positions. As Head of the Operations Technical Support Department in this Organization, he was responsible for running the data management and archiving system supporting both ESO's telescopes and the NASA/ESA's Hubble Space Telescope. Benoît earned a B.CSc. from Liège, Belgium, and a M.CSc. from the University of Namur, Belgium.

Kimberly is the Associate Director of Corporate Operations. She began her career in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories where she worked and lived for 24 years before re-locating to Victoria in 2009. In 2002, Kimberly completed her Masters of Business Administration through the Athabasca University Executive Program. Highlights of her career include working for the Canadian High Commission in Guyana South America for two years and working for twelve years in Public Safety in the Community and Safety portfolio.

Dr. Richard Dewey is the Ocean Networks Canada Associate Director, Science. Richard is responsible for coordinating and assisting all scientists and researchers using the observatories, from planning to publication. He works with the Staff Scientists to support the science community. He has a B.Sc. in Physics from UVic and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from UBC. His research interests are coastal flows, mixing, turbulence, waves, and tides. He has conducted research throughout the Pacific from Japan to California, and along the B.C., Alaskan, and Arctic coasts. He has used a variety of profilers and ROVs, and deployed more than 150 moorings on over 100 oceanographic expeditions. He is author of the Mooring Design and Dynamics MATLAB package, and specializes in time series analysis.

Sabrena joins ONC with 10+ years’ experience working as a strategic operations professional, providing leadership for a broad range of business functions, including HR, operations, administration, and social responsibility. Sabrena comes to ONC from the Hamilton Family Health Team, the largest in Ontario, where she provided Operations, Administration, & HR leadership. She’s also been a project manager at McMaster University co-leading a research project and developing a needs assessment strategy for family physicians in Hamilton. Sabrena has also worked in corporate sales support for Franklin Covey Canada Ltd.

Dr. Maia Hoeberechts manages the Learning & Community Engagement teams, which are together responsible for creating products and services which meet the needs of the scientific, educational and broader user communities. Maia joined Ocean Networks Canada in 2010 as the Staff Scientist for Computer Science and Engineering, a role which she held for three years before assuming her current position. She continues her research involvement as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Victoria focusing on interdisciplinary connections between ocean science and computer science, principally in the areas of computer vision, data analytics and scientific visualization. Before joining Ocean Networks Canada, Maia worked as the project manager on an interdisciplinary research project at Western University to develop and market an emotionally adaptive computer music composition engine. Maia holds a PhD in Computer Science in the area of computability theory and a BSc in Philosophy and Computer Science from Western University.

Gord has 25 years of solution delivery experience involving large-scale enterprise solution development, deployment and sustainment in the government, health, financial, retail, transportation and manufacturing sectors. After receiving a B.Sc. in Computer Science from UVic, Gord worked internationally for several years before returning to Canada where he worked for organizations such as BCFC and IBM in product development and management roles. Most recently, he held the position of Senior VP Client Services for an international company headquartered in Washington, DC that specialized in providing enterprise-level solutions encompassing data collection, content management, workflow and business intelligence components.

Jessica is ONC’s Associate Director, Government Relations and Partnerships. Since 2012, Jessica has engaged with external stakeholders, including government and industry partners, NGOs, Indigenous communities, and potential donors. From her experience, successful and mutually beneficial partnerships are a result of practiced and respectful interactions between stakeholders. Before joining ONC, Jessica worked for seven years at BC’s premier retirement community as the Marketing and Communications Manager. Jessica earned her Bachelor of Business Commerce at Royal Roads University, with a Diploma in Business Marketing Management at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. She has a Diploma in Culinary Arts from Vancouver Island University.