MBNMS Resource Protection Staff

Mike Eng
Resource Protection Coordinator
(831) 647-4247
mike.eng@noaa.gov

Mike joined the Sanctuary staff in July 2008. His responsibilities include overseeing enforcement, permitting, planning, and management actions to address threats to the marine environment of the Sanctuary. Previously, Mike was a Senior Program Manager with the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution. His projects there included: interagency collaborative efforts to restore the Florida Everglades; Pacific Northwest salmon restoration; marine protected area planning for the Channel Islands, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and Dry Tortugas; and ecosystem restoration planning in the Upper Klamath Basin and the Missouri River Basin. Mike also worked at NOAA’s Coastal Services Center, where he provided training and facilitation services to the state coastal management agencies. He has also conducted fisheries and oceanographic studies aboard NOAA research vessels in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and Hawaii. While Superintendent of Dry Tortugas National Park, Mike participated on the interagency team that helped develop the initial management plan for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. At the University of Washington, Mike was the Marine Program Manager for the Olympic Natural Resources Center, a research institute that develops innovative approaches for integrating human, economic, and ecological values into the management of natural resources. As a US Peace Corps Volunteer, Mike worked on community development projects with small fishing villages in Fiji. Mike has also been a mentor mediator and trainer for community dispute resolution centers.

Mike has a B.A. in Psychology from Williams College and a M.M.A. from the University of Washington’s School of Marine Affairs. He has served on the Board of Directors of The Coastal Society and has been an active member of the Environmental and Public Policy Section of the Association for Conflict Resolution.

Scott Kathey
Regulatory/Emergency Response Coordinator
(831) 647-4251
scott.kathey@noaa.gov

Mr. Kathey interprets and develops regulations and amendments; investigates Sanctuary regulatory violations, coastal incidents, and citizen complaints; and coordinates enforcement activities between Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies to protect Sanctuary resources. He also manages Sanctuary boat operations, is a NOAA Working Diver, and serves as the staff lead on emergency response issues including vessel groundings and spills.

Mr. Kathey holds a Master of Marine Affairs degree in Coastal Management from the University of Washington and has worked for the National Marine Sanctuary Program since 1992. He worked for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary and Proposed Northwest Straits National Marine Sanctuary Programs in Washington State prior to assuming his current position in Monterey. Mr. Kathey has gained additional experience in marine protection and management through work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, the City of Bainbridge Island Shoreline Planning Department, and the School of Marine Affairs, University of Washington.

Bridget Hoover
Water Quality Protection Program Director
(831) 647-4217
bridget.hoover@noaa.gov

In March 2007 Bridget Hoover joined the Resource Protection Team as Director of the Water Quality Protection Program. In this capacity she is responsible for implementation of the six WQPP Action Plans related to monitoring, urban runoff, agriculture, beach closures, marinas, and wetlands. Prior to this position, Bridget was employed by the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Foundation from January 1999 thru March 2007 as Coordinator of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Citizen Watershed Monitoring Network where she provided water quality expertise to a wide range of school programs, watershed groups and government agencies. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth Systems Science and Policy and extensive experience in water quality monitoring. Prior to her position with the Sanctuary, Bridget spent four years working for the Department of Ecology in Bellevue, WA as an Environmental Planner/Spill Response and seven years in the United States Coast Guard.

Lisa Emanuelson
Volunteer Monitoring Coordinator
lisa.emanuelson@noaa.gov

As the Volunteer Monitoring Coordinator Lisa Emanuelson tackles such wide-ranging topics as: water quality, watershed education, intertidal and sandy beach education, and wildlife disturbance. Lisa trains and coordinates the Team OCEAN Kayaker Naturalist program, and Bay Net Shoreline Naturalist Program. Lisa also provides direction and coordination to the Sanctuary Citizen Watershed Monitoring Network through training, data management, and data quality control assistance, and several Sanctuary-wide monitoring programs each year, including Snapshot Day, Urban Watch, and First Flush.

Locally educated, Lisa Emanuelson grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and received her bachelors in Biology from UCSC. She brings 18 years of educational and programmatic experience to the water quality program, through teaching with the Ocean Discovery Center and the Catalina Island Marine Institute as well a seven years of experience working on the MBNMS Education Team.

Brad Damitz
Environmental Policy Specialist
(831) 647-4201
brad.damitz@noaa.gov

Brad joined the Sanctuary in 2000. His responsibilities include developing and implementing Sanctuary plans, guidelines, and policies on a variety of regional resource protection issues including desalination, cruise ship discharges, and coastal armoring. He also works on tracking and responding to various water quality and resource protection issues, as well as developing partnership opportunities between the Sanctuary and the recently designated California Coastal National Monument.


Brad received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Rhode Island, and an M.A. in International Environmental Policy from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, with an emphasis on marine protected area policy. Some of Brad’s other work experience includes teaching marine environmental education in the Florida Keys, and leading kayak tours in the Monterey Bay.

Gary Conley
Water Quality Data Analyst
(831) 420-3663
gary.conley@noaa.gov

As a Water Quality Data Analyst, Gary is conducting an assessment of water quality conditions in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and its watersheds. He coordinates with other monitoring organizations on the Central Coast to compile and analyze data sets and addresses questions about non-point-source pollution. This work will improve our understanding of how pollutant levels change over time, how land-use activities are related to water quality variables, and the effectiveness of water quality management measures.

Gary earned a B.S. in Earth Sciences from UC Santa Cruz and a M.S. in Geography from San Diego State University (SDSU). Prior to arriving at the Sanctuary, he worked as a Research Associate on a NASA funded grant that investigated relationships between southern California wildfires and watershed hydrology. Gary has taught undergraduate classes in the areas of Geology and Physical Geography. His scientific research has focused on fluvial geomorphology, numerical modeling of hydrologic systems, spatial analysis, and quantifying land cover changes using satellite observations.

Lisa Lurie
Agriculture Water Quality Coordinator
(831) 647-4219
lisa.lurie@noaa.gov

Lisa Lurie is the Agriculture Water Quality Coordinator at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. She coordinates and tracks implementation of the Sanctuary's Agriculture and Rural Lands Plan. The plan is a collaborative effort with agencies and the agricultural community to reduce polluted runoff through voluntary strategies. This involves working with a variety of partners on outreach, technical training, monitoring, and management practices addressing over 3000 square miles of agricultural and rural lands which drain into the Sanctuary.


Lisa has a Master's degree in Environmental Management from Duke University with an emphasis on community-based watershed management. She also holds B.S. and B.A. degrees in Biology and Environmental Studies from the University of Washington. Prior to joining the Sanctuary in 2007, Lisa assessed conservation practice implementation on agricultural lands in coastal North Carolina for the non-profit Environmental Defense. Lisa's experience also includes work with an Ecuadorian conservation commission on projects related to protected areas management, sustainable agriculture, community forestry, and environmental education.

Lisa de Marignac
Environmental Policy Specialist
(831) 647-4238
lisa.demarignac@noaa.gov

Lisa de Marignac acts a lead on various regional resource protection issues such as lost fishing gear, landslide disposal impacts to the coastline and cruise ship impacts. Her responsibilities include developing and implementing Sanctuary plans, policies and guidelines for these resource protection issues. She also tracks, responds and assists with a variety of other resource protection issues as they arise.


Lisa joined the Sanctuary staff in 1996 and the Resource Protection team in 2003. In 1998, she earned her M.A. in Marine Affairs and Policy from the University of Miami School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, with a focus on marine protected areas. Some of Lisa’s other work experience includes conducting surveys of user groups in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, teaching field-based marine science to inner-city middle school students in Miami and leading kayak tours in Monterey Bay.