Meet the team behind the Vantuna Research Group.
Researchers
Professor, Biology; Director, Vantuna Research Group
Biology
Dan Pondella teaches the biology of marine fishes, biodiversity of marine ecosystems, and biological oceanography.
Assistant Director
Chelsea started working with the Vantuna Research Group in 2007 as an undergraduate research assistant and went on to graduate from Occidental College with a B.A. in Biology with an emphasis in Marine Biology. She then worked as Research Associate and Grants Manager for the VRG from 2011 until 2021...
Associate Director
Jeremy earned his B.S. in Aquatic Biology from UC Santa Barbara in 2000. He later joined the Vantuna Research Group in 2009 as a post-doctoral researcher after earning his M.S. and Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Hawaii, Manoa. Jeremy is currently Associate Director of the VRG and an...
Research Scientist
Jonathan has been working for the VRG since 2006, originally as a Research Associate, and now as a Research Scientist. He got his B.S. from UNC Wilmington and M.S. from CSU Northdridge. He has served as a data manager, lab manager, and field research leader, in addition to authoring or co-authoring...
Research Associate
Brian began working for the VRG in 2021 as a Research Associate. He received his B.S. in Marine Biology from California State University, Long Beach in 2016 and his M.S. in Biology from California State University, Northridge in 2021. His previous experience includes work as a scientific diver for T...
NSF REPS Participant
Clay started working in the VRG in 2017 as an undergraduate research assistant. He graduated from Occidental in 2020 with a B.A. in Biology with an emphasis in Marine Biology and a minor in Spanish. Clay then worked as a Fisheries Observer off the coast of Oregon and Washington for a year and is now...
Research Assistant
Mac began diving with the VRG as a Field Research Assistant in 2021 and joined as a full-time Research Assistant in 2022. He received a B.S. in Aquatic Biology from UC Santa Barbara in 2019. Prior to working with the VRG, he worked with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game on salmon escapement...
Research Assistant
Brynn started working with the Vantuna Research Group in 2022 as a Research Assistant. She received a B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2021. Her previous experience includes a season diving for PISCO, a long-term kelp forest monitoring program, a Research...
Research Assistant & Larval Fish Taxonomist
Daniel started working as a research assistant focusing on larval fish taxonomy for the VRG in 2016. He graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a B.S. in biology and emphasis in zoology in 2018. During his time at Cal Poly, he worked at the Rain Bird Biotrek providing educational tours where he handled...
Larval Fish Taxonomist
Gary Jordan has been associated with the Vantuna Research Group since April 1976. In that year, Gary supervised the identification of larval fish collected from the various waterways of King Harbor Redondo Beach. In 1977, he became a part of the Taxonomic Quality Assurance Program (TQAP), a program...
Outreach Coordinator
Jenny joined the VRG as Outreach Coordinator in 2020. Jenny currently is overseeing outreach for projects funded by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management including "Supplemental Data Regarding the Behavioral Response of Rock Crabs to Subsea Cables with Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) and Potential...
Field Research Associate
Laurel received her B.S. in Marine Biology from UC Santa Cruz in 2005. She began working for the VRG in 2008 as a Research Assistant while working on her M.S. degree at CSU Long Beach. After receiving her M.S., she held positions of Research Associate and Assistant Diving Safety Officer for the VRG...
Field Research Assistant
Bill has been diving with the VRG since 2007 but only recently joined as a staff member in 2020. Bill graduated from UCLA in 1986 with a B.S. in Geology and a focus in Paleobiology. He then worked as Supervising Scientist and Dive Safety Officer for the LA County Sanitation Districts from 1989-2020...
Field Research Assistant
Adam started officially working with Vantuna Research Group in 2016, though has collaborated on various dive and research activities since 2012. He previously worked with NOAA Fisheries on habitat policy, invasive species management and recovery of ESA listed abalone and rockfish. In addition to...
Field Research Assistant
Mason received a B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2017. After graduation, he worked Raimondi-Carr lab assisting Ph.D. candidates with research diving projects in kelp forests and estuaries from Elkhorn Slough in California to Sitka, Alaska, until moving on to...
Undergraduate Research Assistants - Spring 2023
Matthew Klein - Microplastics in Topsmelt (Atherinops affinis)
Cole Ivie
Alyssa Player - Can a novel artificial reef rehabilitate vulnerable echinoderm populations in southern California?
Katie Placensia
Oscar Petter
Sean Choe
Madi Valiente - Age and Growth of the California Corbina (Menticirrhus undulatus)
Kristie Dela Cruz - Age and Growth of Sargo (Anisotremus davidsonii)
Dylan Gould
Ilana Baum
Marisa Mow
Julia Lindemuth
Maggie Schaffzin
Stephanie Xiloj
Leila Warren
Walter Hornor
Anna Seevak
Clio Vos
Pika Whitman
Gavin Thomas
Adriano Cantelmi
Andrew Levy
Owen Kane
Dylan Kuskin