Chapter President

Mark Stephens served with United States Army Special Forces (Green Berets) in Okinawa, Japan and Fort Bragg, NC. Later Mark joined and spent 3/4 of his time in the military with the Nation's Counter Terrorism Special Mission Unit, as a Special Operations Operator in numerous positions. Mark Stephens' combat deployments include 3 deployments to Iraq for OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, 3 deployments to Afghanistan for OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM (to include beginning first boots on the ground), to Somalia as part of TASK FORCE RANGER, other significant real world classified operational deployments include Honduras (OPERATION GOLDEN PHEASANT), in Panama, counter-narcotics operations with the USCG (OPERATION HAT TRICK II), in the Balkans / Bosnia and Columbia as well as numerous other contingency operations around the world.

Mark Stephens' awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, 5 Bronze Stars for Valor and/or Combat, 4 Purple Hearts, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, 4 Joint Service Commendation Medals, the Army Commendation Medal, 4 Army Achievement Medals, the NATO Medal, the United States Coast Guard Commandant’s Letter of Commendation with "O" device, the United States Coast Guard Special Operations Ribbon, 2 Armed Forces Expeditionary medals, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal with Arrowhead, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Armed Forces Service Ribbon, the Valorous Unit Award, the Army Superior Unit Award, the Special Forces Tab, Combat Infantryman’s Badge 2nd Award, the Military Freefall Jumpmaster Badge, the Master Parachutist Badge, the Combat Diver’s Badge, the Guatemalan Parachutist Badge and the Polish Parachutist Badge.

Currently Mark is the Director of Business Operations for the Strategic Operations Group (SOG) of Blackbird Technologies Inc and has been with SNI Tampa Bay Chapter since 2007.

Vice President

Dr. David Palandro has been part of the SCUBAnauts since 2004. He received his M.S. (2000) and Ph.D. (2006) in Marine Science from the University of South Florida and his B.S. in Biology and History from the State University of New York – College at Brockport (1993). While a PhD student he was awarded a NASA Earth System Science Fellowship and a USGS Scholarship. He has performed research on coral reef environments in a number of geographic locations, ranging from Florida and the Caribbean to Australia. Dr. Palandro has extensive field operations experience. He has been an American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) qualified science diver since 1998 and is a USCG-licensed Captain and qualified Department of Interior, Florida Motorboat Operator. He has been SCUBA certified since 1991 and is currently a NAUI Instructor, which includes being a CPR/First Aid/O2 instructor. Dr. Palandro has extensive education and outreach experience. He has worked as a high school science teacher, taught at the undergraduate and graduate college levels and has produced a number of education training materials.

Dr. Palandro is currently a Research Scientist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) in St. Petersburg, Florida, where his duties include coral reef ecology and benthic habitat mapping, primarily from remote sensing data. He serves as the Chief Scientist and Diving Safety Officer for the SCUBAnauts Tampa Bay Chapter and is a Co-Investigator on the NASA grant supporting the SCUBAnauts. He also serves on both the FWRI and SNI Diving Control Boards.

Unit Diving Coordinator

Don Hickey received a B.S. in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina in 1996. During his undergraduate work he served as an academic tutor for the Athletics Department in all math and science courses. He also held leadership roles as Vice President, President, and Executive Advisor for the University’s SCUBA Club. Don was offered a position as a top-side and under-water driller working with the US Geological Survey (USGS) in 1995. In 1997, as a federal employee, he was tasked to be the Field Diving Safety Officer for the St. Petersburg office of the USGS over-seeing up to 30 divers. He, then, became trained as a Hyperbaric Chamber Technician to assist in remote projects involving SCUBA diving research projects. 2004 offered Don new opportunities with completing a Master’s in Science degree focusing on Carbonate Geology in Marine Science at the University of South Florida, as well as, being promoted to the Florida Integrated Science Center’s Diving Safety Officer position, which is responsible for all USGS SCUBA diving activities in the state of Florida. Several years later in 2007, Don accepted the responsibilities of the Eastern Region Diving Safety Officer for the USGS encompassing all SCUBA diving activities within the USGS east of the Mississippi River. Don has an extensive background in SCUBA diving experience due to the various scientific projects he assists, plans, and approves within the USGS scientific community. He has participated in over 1500 SCUBA dives and has spent over 2200 hours below the sea surface. Don has been awarded several awards and honors during his career for his dedication and performance as Diving Safety Officer for the USGS. He also has been a member of the US Geological Diving Safety Board, which is responsible for all SCUBA diving related activities within the agency, since 1997.

Chief Scientist

Sennai Habtes was born and raised on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. While receiving an elementary and high school education there, he became acquainted with fishing, diving, and surfing. After leaving the Virgin Islands, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he received a B.S. in Environmental Sciences. Since his departure from UNC, he has worked as a research assistant in fisheries and neurophysiology labs in NC and the USVI, and as an environmental specialist for the government of the Virgin Islands. Sennai is currently working on his Ph.D. in biological oceanography at the University of South Florida College Of Marine Science. Sennai was the recipient of the SNI Graduate Fellowship for 2007-2008. The fellowship is made possible by funding from NASA.

Chief Financial Officer

Mark Flory joined The SCUBAnauts in the fall of 2006. He is a native Floridian and has been Scuba Diving since 1992. His diving certifications include NSS/CDS-Cavern Diver, NAUI Dive Instructor and he is also a licensed boat Captain. He has been married 21 years to Rebecca and has three children, Christen, Gage, and Coral. He is a certified Cadillac Master Craftsman and has been a local small business owner for over 14 years. His hobbies include being a private pilot, hunting, and diving.

Fundraising Officer

Carli Segelson grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but always had a strong desire to be close to the ocean. She graduated from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Broadcast Communications. After college, Carli moved to the Tampa Bay area to begin a career in mass media. She worked in the broadcast television and radio industry for several years before she started her current position with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) in St. Petersburg. As the media relations coordinator for FWRI, Carli combines her experience working in media with her passion for the environment and conservation. In her current position Carli acts as the liaison for FWRI scientists and reporters, helping generate public interest in fish and wildlife research in Florida.

Director of Operations & Logistics

Bob Silk joined the SCUBAnauts in 2006. A retired Navy Officer, Bob and his wife Midge settled in St Petersburg in 1993. An avid sportsman, Bob became a certified diver in 1975 and has made dives around the world. They have three daughters; the oldest two are actively involved with the 'nauts.

Logistics Coordinator

Kevin Merschdorf joined ScubaNauts International in the Fall of 2006. Resident of Florida for 38 years. Certified diver since 1974. NAUI open water, CPR/1st aid. Married to Joy for 18 years. One son Zachariah, who is an active ScubaNaut. Local business owner for 10 years. Hobbies: diving, hunting, fishing, boating and dirt track racing.

Chapter Education Officer

Libby Carnahan was drawn to Florida to teach marine science at Newfound Harbor Marine Institute at Seacamp on Big Pine Key in 1999 after completing her Bachelors of Science in Biology at Truman State University in Missouri. At NHMI, she enjoyed several years of working with students as their science teacher, snorkel instructor, boat captain, and lifeguard. In 2001, Libby ventured to Key West to educate tourists about the Florida Keys reef system aboard the Pride of Key West, Glassbottom Boat. She was then drawn to continue her education at the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science in St. Petersburg. Her graduate research focused on foraminifera as bioindicators of heavy metal pollution in Biscayne Bay, Florida (2005). Libby has worked for the past 3 years for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas, Tampa Bay Aquatic Preserves. Libby is a NAUI Divemaster and has been an AAUS scientific research diver for 7 years. Libby currently serves as the Education Officer for SCUBAnauts Tampa Bay Chapter. SCUBAnauts has given Libby the opportunity to combine her two passions of scientific research and educating today’s youth.

Dr. Jennifer Dupont received her Ph.D. from the University of South Florida College of Marine Science (2009) and her B.S., Magna cum laude, from the University of Richmond (2003). Her dissertation focused on the ecological dynamics of inner central West Florida shelf livebottom and artificial reef communities, including red-tide impacts and disturbance ecology. She has worked on a number of environmental consulting projects in Tampa Bay, the Bahamas, and the Florida Keys including pipeline construction/environmental mitigation projects, ship groundings, and baseline identification and retrospective analyses of reef communities. Jen has been a science advisor to the SCUBAnauts since 2004, and a Divemaster since 2006. She is currently working as a Knauss Fellow/International Program Analyst at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Silver Spring, MD, where she serves as the SNI-TB Capitol Liaison, working to expand SNI activities throughout the Washington D.C. area.