Who we are
The Sunflower Star Lab is proudly run by community members with a unifying desire to restore kelp forests, through sustainable solutions. We could not have started this non-profit, and gotten to where we are without the positive energy and actions of our community.
The Sunflower Star Laboratory Board
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Vince Christian
LABORATORY MANAGER
Vince is an avid diver, artist, scientist, and the person who inspired this passionate group of ocean conservationists to come together to form the Sunflower Star Laboratory. Vince maintains a California Professional Engineer License and received his MS from Moss Landing Marine Laboratory.
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Reuven Bank
CHAIRPERSON
Reuven is a former Coastal Resource Manager in the U.S. Peace Corps Philippines, where he facilitated community-driven environmental projects. Reuven currently works as an interpretive diving ranger for the National Park Service (his work on behalf of SSL does not represent NPS). Reuven shares a deep passion with his fellow board members for ocean conservation, and is excited to be working with an organization dedicated to the restoration of sunflower stars!
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Laura Chen Allen
SECRETARY OF THE BOARD
Laura is an Ocean Law academic turned product manager hoping to continue to protect marine resources in her spare time. Laura previously worked on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, served as a legal intern for the Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources, taught Ocean and Coastal Geography, and studied communities of intertidal gatherers in Ecuador & Chile. She is now a divemaster and volunteer scientific diver.
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Priscilla Martin
TREASURER
A Monterey Bay Area native, Priscilla is a lifelong environmentalist who is deeply committed to preserving to our local ecosystems. When first learning to dive, she became captivated by the kelp forests, and all who live in them. That feeling continues today. She brings decades of business success and non-profit leadership to the Sunflower Star Lab, and is pleased to be a part of it.
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Jan Freiwald
BOARD MEMBER
Jan is a marine ecologist focusing on reef community ecology, citizen science and conservation. He is the Executive Director of the Reef Check Foundation and has grown Reef Check’s kelp forest program into a west coast wide network of citizen scientist working on marine protected area monitoring, climate change research, kelp forest restoration and marine science education. He is dedicated to the protection and conservation of marine resources through research and community engagement. Jan holds a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California Santa Cruz.
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Andrew Kim
BOARD MEMBER
Andrew has over 12 years of experience in animal husbandry and aquaculture in Monterey Bay. He is currently the lead aquaculture research technician at Moss Landing Marine Labs where he is offering technical support on a variety of aquaculture-related projects from Purple-Hinged Rock Scallop larviculture to bull kelp restoration. He previously worked at Long Marine Labs and at the Monterey Abalone Company, where he managed scientific collections and abalone production from hatchery to harvest.
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Jessica Frey
BOARD MEMBER
Jessica is an applied ecologist working to protect and predict nearshore fishery biodiversity and productivity through interdisciplinary science. Jessica received her MS in Applied Marine and Watershed Science from California State University Monterey Bay with a master’s focus on fisheries research and Geographic Information Systems.
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Rosie Arathoon
BOARD MEMBER
Rosie is a lifelong environmentalist with a passion for marine life and was Sunflower Star Laboratory’s very first lab volunteer. She has a degree in environmental studies from Eckerd College and has volunteered with the Monterey Bay Aquarium for 10 years, worked as a camp counselor at the Marine Science Institute in Redwood City, and coordinated volunteers to restore habitat for the chorus frog.
Staff
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Ashley Kidd
CONSERVATION AQUACULTURE PROJECT MANAGER
Ashley worked for 12 years as a public aquarium professional, where her passion in aquaculture supporting sustainable exhibits and conservation initiatives began, notably with SECORE coral conservation & the White Abalone Recovery Project. She holds an MS in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences from the University of Florida, researching sunflower sea stars & their restoration. She is fortunate to continue this work at SSL, contributing to the Pycnopodia Recovery Working Group; coordinating public aquarium, non profit and academic partners in sea star conservation aquaculture.
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Lauren Schiebelhut
SUNFLOWER STAR GENOMICS RESEARCHER
Lauren is an evolutionary ecologist focused on how marine species’ traits, demography, and microevolutionary mechanisms together shape the spatial and temporal distribution of genomic diversity. She is using multi-year ecological and genetic monitoring to understand the short-term evolutionary responses of sunflower stars to the 2013/2014 wasting event, recovery, and laboratory rearing efforts.
Prior to this, Lauren was a postdoctoral researcher working with Rachael Bay, Jay Stachowicz, and Rick Grosberg at UC Davis, studying the ecological genomics of the eelgrass, Zostera marina. She earned her PhD at UC Merced in Mike Dawson’s lab. More details on her professional website.