About Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies

Rachel is the Whale Safe Project Lead at the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at UC Santa Barbara. Rachel is passionate about translating complex scientific data into actionable insights, and helping shipping companies reduce their impact on marine life. She supports the Blue Whales Blue Skies program by providing detailed reports for participating shipping companies on how their fleet is performing in the zones every month using vessel analytics and whale detections from the Whale Safe tool. Rachel holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science and Management from UC Santa Barbara’s Bren School. Contact: rachelrhodes@ucsb.edu.

Dr. Peavey Reeves works with a diverse and dynamic team of government, industry, NGO, private sector, and academic partners to continuously monitor broadband underwater sound across a large network of ocean observation stations in and around U.S. West Coast national marine sanctuaries. This effort includes integrating standardized soundscape and biological data products (e.g., whale presence and ship noise) into ecosystem-based research and conservation management programs (Blue Whales Blue Skies!), species recovery plans, and risk assessments. Contact: lindsey.peavey@noaa.gov

Dr. Vanessa ZoBell is a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography specializing in acoustical oceanography. Her work focuses on reducing noise pollution from commercial vessels using data-driven strategies like speed adjustments and route optimization. Committed to sustainable ocean solutions, she collaborates with nonprofits, industry, and agencies to inform international policy and support the blue economy through applied, interdisciplinary research on human use of the modern ocean.

Tyler has been involved in BWBS since 2014, when VCAPCD joined the pilot program. He has over 30 years of experience in environmental science and engineering. Nine were focused on water quality and biodegradation testing of industrial chemicals and the remainder have been in air quality, mostly at local regulatory agencies. BWBS is his favorite program among all those he has worked on by far, having given him the opportunity to meet this fine team while actually saving endangered whales. Contact: tyler@vcapcd.org

Andy and his agency’s Public Information Officer, Meghan Field, collaborate to provide local and regional outreach that conveys the many benefits and successes of the BWBS VSR Program. He helps ensure BWBS air pollution and fuel savings benefits are accurate and clearly reported. He also facilitates his agency’s support for BWBS funding, VSR zone and program ambassador expansions, and legislation that promotes the BWBS program.

Alex Economou is the Planning Division Manager of the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District. In his role, he manages the activities of the District’s Planning Division, which is responsible for air quality planning, compiling the District’s emission inventory, rule development, coordination with local planning agencies, grant and incentive programs, education programs, and ambient air monitoring. Alex has been involved with the Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies program since 2022 and has worked on several initiatives to promote vessel speed reduction from ocean-going vessels and expand the BWBS program. He has worked for the District since 2016 and holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Environmental Studies and Business Administration from the University of Oregon.

Timothy Mitro is an Air Quality Engineer in the Planning Division at the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District. Over the past decade, he has been involved in the District’s efforts to accurately assess and quantify the marine shipping emissions from the BWBS program and from all other ocean-going vessel activities on the West Coast. Timothy helps compile the District’s emission inventory for all sources of air pollution and he coordinates the local rule development proceedings to comply with state and federal laws. Prior to his work at the District, he spent six years working at Feather River Air Quality Management District with a focus on permitting stationary sources of air pollution. Timothy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Lyz Bantilan is the Public Information Officer for the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District. In this role, she manages the District’s outreach efforts, including its website, social media accounts, news releases and e-newsletter, Air Quality Alerts, prescribed burn notifications, graphic design, media response, and interagency partnerships related to outreach and public information – including the Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies program. She has worked for the District since 2015; prior to this role, she worked as a local newspaper reporter. She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s degree in English, with a minor in Professional Writing and Editing, from UC Santa Barbara.

Dr. Anna Nisi is a quantitative marine ecologist in the Center for Ecosystem Sentinels at the University of Washington. Anna’s research focuses on modeling and mapping whale habitat suitability and whale-ship collision risk, with the aim of informing strategies to reduce collisions. Anna provides analytical support for the BWBS program through calculating ship-strike risk reduction benefits associated with vessel speed reduction and developing higher-resolution habitat suitability and ship-strike risk models for this region.

Over the course of a 35-year career in air quality management Dave has worked towards improving community health through regulating air emissions from industry, developing and implementing incentive programs to reduce emissions from motor vehicles, and curtailing smoke production from controlled burning. Dave is committed to working with the BWBS team to achieve further benefits of reduced air pollution along the California coast with the dual purpose of protecting whales.

Karin has been spreading the word about air quality in her current position since 2023. She previously spent a total of 16 years in communication roles at California Lutheran University and California State University Channel Islands. During her first career as a reporter, she wrote for the Ventura County Star, Los Angeles Times, Santa Maria Times and Santa Clarita Valley Signal. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a psychology minor from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Meghan Field is the Public Information Officer and an Air Quality Specialist for the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District. She blends almost 2 decades of environmental expertise with a passion for communicating. Whether coordinating emergency communications, designing outreach campaigns, or collaborating with regional partners, Meghan is dedicated to safeguarding public health and the environment and is proud to partner with BWBS to protect not only these incredible marine giants, but also the air we all breathe.

Monte is a Senior Engineer at the Bay Area Air District and his work focuses on reducing climate impacts from the transportation sector.