OFFICERS & KEY PERSONNEL
Ian Koblick is a recognized international authority on undersea living. During the 1970's he participated in the Tektite I program as an alternate aquanaut, and served as program manager and aquanaut in Tektite II. Mr. Koblick designed and managed the La Chalupa undersea research habitat project in Puerto Rico. He was a consulting editor for the second edition of the NOAA Diving Manual.
Mr. Koblick co-authored the book Living and Working in the Sea, an important reference work on undersea habitats and habitation. Under his direction, the Marine Resources Development Foundation has championed undersea research and environmental education since 1970, introducing thousands of people to the unique environment and precious resources of the marine world. A complete curriculum vitae of Mr. Koblick may be requested via email at mrdf@mrdf.org.
Ms. Hughes has been with the Foundation since 1986 and was instrumental in designing the marketing and coordination of the MarineLab program. Currently, she is responsible for coordinating the day to day activities of the Foundation, including computer resources, human resources, and marketing/public relations, in addition to supervising the program development, planning, and coordination for all programs. She is also responsible for long range program planning for the Foundation, including financial forecasts and budgets. She attended Ohio Wesleyan University before earning her AA degree from Florida Keys Community College. Ginette is a native of New Jersey but has been in the Keys for longer than she was in NJ. She is a racing sailor and is also currently attending Florida International University, pursuing her Bachelor's of Business Administration. 
Mrs. Koblick holds a BA and an MA in Biology from California State University. Her background includes: biological research in the field of entomology; ten years teaching science; environmental data coordinator for the Puerto Rico firm Laboratorio Analisis Ambiental; member of the Governor's Committee for "Virgin Islands and the Sea" Study; and staff member and program coordinator for the Discovery Center, a children's museum in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Ms. Smenda joined the Foundation in 1989, after a succesful 16-year tenure with AT&T in Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio. Currently Treasurer and Business Manager, her past job functions at the Foundation have included Assistant to the President as well as Coordinator of the TEEC facility in South Carolina. Currently, she is responsible for all accounting and payroll functions, expense control, employee benefits, donations, and is instrumental in the overall day to day business operations of the Foundation. JoAnn earned her AA in Business Administration from the University of Cincinnati. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, she is an avid Indians and Browns fan.
Chris is the Operations Director for MarineLab Undersea Laboratory and a Marine Ecology Field Instructor. He has a B.S. in Biology, Lynchburg College and an Associate of Science in Underwater Technology, Florida Institute of Technology
Marc is the Director of the MarineLab Education program. He graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, with a concentration in marine biology. After graduation, he went to Hawaii ’s Volcanoes National Park to study the Hawaiian honeycreeper (a bird). Less than a year later, Marc joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Belize , where he worked at the University of Belize ’s Institute of Marine Studies at Calabash Caye as their Research and Education Coordinator. In Belize , Marc was responsible for scheduling and teaching educational groups from the USA , Australia , and the United Kingdom as well as other countries, and local students. As the Research Coordinator, Marc ran the CARICOMP program, a collaborative effort amongst 30 researchers located throughout the Caribbean , studying productivity and interaction between the seagrass, mangrove, and coral reef communities of the area.
Marc has extensive SCUBA experience, holding several research diving certifications including Cavern, Nitrox, Science, Drysuit, and Rescue, all acquired during his experience with the underwater archeology program at Florida State University . He plans on getting his Divemaster certification within the next few months, and is in the process of obtaining his US Coast Guard Master’s License.
DIRECTORS
Dr. Monney was professor and director of ocean engineering at the US Naval Academy for 11 years. He has served the Secretary of Commerce as Senior Policy Advisor for Ocean Science & Engineering. He has consulted for the US Congress, the US State Department, the National Academy of Engineering and the US/Japan Committee of Natural Resources. Dr. Monney was Editor of Marcel Decker, Inc. publications on ocean science and engineering with over thirty papers published. He received his BS from the US Naval Academy, his MS in Civil Engineering from the University of Washington, and his PhD from the University of Washington.
Mr. Mitchell was our MarineLab Director of Education for 20 years and then headed our Curriculum department until his retirement in 2007. He holds a BA in Chemistry and an MST in Marine Ecology from Florida Atlantic University, and has been involved in science education instruction and administration as well as the design and implementation of marine environmental field programs since 1976. His teaching responsibilities at the high school and college levels included advanced chemistry, advanced placement biology and marine biology. As Science Department Chairman and as President of the Palm Beach County Science Teachers' Association, he contributed to the drafting of curriculum and facilities guidelines for high school science programs and teacher training for the Palm Beach County School Board. He has a background in water safety and competitive swimming instruction and extensive small boat ocean cruising experience. 
Col. Gerry W. Bass USAF (ret) has served as Vice President of Aviall Accessory Services Incorporated. Prior to working at Aviall, he held a key position at Eastern Airlines. He served as President of General Hydraulics and Executive Vice President of the Ryder Aviation Sales Division until his retirement in 1995.
Col. Bass served in the Vietnam and Korean conflicts and flew more than 100 combat missions and received the Bronze Star and two Legions of Merit. Col. Bass graduated from the Air Force Command and Staff College, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and the Foreign Service Institute in Washington D.C. He received his BA degree from Hampton Institute with graduate work at the Golden Gate University in California.
Mr. Sundberg holds a BS from the US Naval Academy and was a Rhodes Scholar. He holds advanced degrees in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Oxford University.
He is the founder and managing director of a very successful European market research company with more than 100 major corporations and organizations as clients throughout the world, including Battelle Geneva, the International Labor Organization, the German Ministry of Foreign Aid, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the United Nations.
A life long entrepreneur, Mr. Mullen has over 30 years experience in starting, growing and managing high technology businesses. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Illinois University in microbiology in 1966 and undertook graduate studies prior to becoming a Naval Officer during the Vietnam era.
In 1974 he joined Alcoa Marine, Inc., a subsidiary of the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA), as Vice President of Operations. In 1980, he was part of a management team that purchased the subsidiary from ALCOA. Its name was changed to Eastport International, and Mr. Mullen served as its President from 1980 to 1993. Eastport International specialized in pioneering the use of robotic technology for undersea and land applications. Eastport also directed deep ocean operations for the US Government and numerous commercial clients and was adept in prototype product development. Mr. Mullen also co-founded Pressure Technologies, Inc. in 1989 and served as a Director until its acquisition by Carlton Technologies in 1998. Pressure Technologies specialized in the production of lightweight composite pressure vessels for aerospace, medical and defense applications.
In 1993, he negotiated the merger of Eastport with Oceaneering International. Asked to remain after the merger and grow its non-oil and gas business units, Mr. Mullen helped create the Advanced Technologies Group and served as its President until 1997, creating theme park robotics, undersea telecommunications and marine construction enterprise groups. The Advanced Technologies Group undertook client paid R&D, field operations, product development and manufacturing for NASA, AT&T, DARPA, US Navy, Universal Studios, Walt Disney, General Construction and many more. Mr. Mullen left Oceaneering in 1997 to form Sconset Ventures, Inc., a consulting and venture capital firm based on Nantucket Island.
In 1999 Mr. Mullen joined Wastech International as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Wastech is a technology development firm that is developing a series of products adapted to marine and residential applications utilizing microwave technology for wastewater treatment.
Mr. Carpenter is a dynamic pioneer of modern exploration. He has the unique distinction of being the first person to penetrate both inner and outer space, acquiring the title astronaut /aquanaut. Carpenter was one of the original seven Mercury astronauts in 1959. He flew the second manned orbital flight in 1962.
Commander Carpenter joined the Navy's Sealab program and led efforts to transfer space technology into ocean research. He participated as a team leader on the Navy's Sealab II & III projects, which included living and working on the ocean floor for 30 days, as well as developing deep-ocean search, rescue, and salvage operations.