CSSF is guided by a Board of Directors consisting of 7 eminent Canadian marine scientists and business leaders. The board is comprised of a Board Chair, Secretary Treasurer (CFO), President & CEO, and 4 Directors who oversee all of CSSF's operations and management. By mandate, the Board of Directors is responsible for determining the Vision, Mission, Values, and Key Objectives of CSSF, and ensuring CSSF meets these values and objectives on a continual basis. CSSF's organizational planning, resource planning, program selection and services, and public image are also monitored and approved by the Board of Directors. Additionally, the Board of Directors is responsible for selecting and continually evaluating CSSF's management, as well as ensuring that the organization submits to annual financial audits and periodic governance reviews by an independent firm of public accountants.
Mark Abrahams
Board Chair
Mark Abrahams currently is the Dean of Science at Memorial University but has also served Memorial University as the Associate Vice President (Research), Vice President (Research), and most recently Vice President (Academic) and Provost. He is a jointly appointed Professor in the Departments of Ocean Science and Biology. His research focuses on the impacts of non-lethal predator-prey interactions within aquatic ecosystems using a variety of techniques including manipulative laboratory experiments, computer models, field experiments and hydroacoustic surveys. He received his Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University before joining the University of Manitoba as a Professor in the Department of Biology. In 2008 he was recruited to Memorial University as the Dean of Science and has been involved in major institutional initiatives including the construction of the Cold Ocean Deep Sea Research Facility; design, development and build of the Core Science Facility; and institutional lead on the Ocean Frontier Institute – a joint initiative with Dalhousie University and the University of Prince Edward Island funded through the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.
Douglas Bancroft
President & CEO
Doug joined the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC), Environment Canada in 1981, and then served progressively in several weather centres. He eventually became Officer-in-Charge of the west coast Meteorology and Oceanography Centre. He then accepted a promotion to the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) in 2000 as a Senior Science Advisor. In 2003 he was promoted again to the position of the national DFO Director of Oceanography and Climate Science. Doug returned to MSC in 2006, as the Director of the Canadian Ice Service, and Co-Director of the Canada-United States North American Ice Service. Doug was promoted to Director General of the Canada Center for Remote Sensing with Natural Resources Canada in 2010. In 2013 Doug retired from the Public Service and transitioned to the Private Sector. Doug is currently the President of EO DVC LTD, an earth observation consulting company and serves on three Board of Directors. Doug was appointed President and CEO of the Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility in March 2017. In addition to his civil service career, Doug was a member of the Royal Canadian Navy (reserve) for thirty-eight years. He has commanded six HMC Ships for various periods at sea, Port Security Unit Four and HMCS CARLETON (Canada’s largest naval reserve division). Doug holds a BSc in Physics, a specialised undergraduate diploma in meteorology, and an MSc in Physical Oceanography.
Peter Lockie
Secretary Treasurer
Peter Lockie joined the Board as Secretary/Treasurer in June 2015. He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Edinburgh, a Certificate in Accountancy Studies from the University of Aberdeen and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. He is currently President of Inverleith Consulting Inc. which provides a range of management consulting services. Previously, he worked at Camosun College in Victoria B.C. for fifteen years, most recently as Interim President and prior to that as Vice President, Administration and Chief Financial Officer. He is personally committed to community involvement and is currently a Director and Treasurer of the Victoria Division of Family Practice and 94 Forward, the 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games Legacy Fund.
Mike Brissette
Director
Mike Brissette is the Technical Sales Engineer for R2Sonic, LLC of Austin, TX a manufacturer of advanced Wideband Multibeam Echosounder solutions to
Hydrographic, Offshore, Dredging, Defence, and Marine Research customers worldwide. Prior to joining R2Sonic in 2013, Mike was the President and Principal Multibeam Trainer at MosaicHydro Ltd, a company he co-founded in 2004. In that role he delivered consulting and training to organizations involved in hydrographic surveys specializing in multibeam and sidescan sonar training. Previous to his entrepreneurial experience Mike served 20 years in the Royal Canadian Navy with service in both submarines and the surface combatant fleet with his last 7 years in charge of hydrography for the west coast Navy. Mike holds an MEng in Survey Engineering from the University of New Brunswick and a BSc in Computing Sciences from the College Militaire Royal de St Jean.
Robin Brown
Director
Mr. Robin Brown joined the Board as a Director in March 2022. He retired from the position as Executive Secretary of the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) in March 2020. While at PICES he completed a revised Strategic Plan, modernized the rules of procedure/ financial regulations, and expanded the PICES network of collaborating organizations. Prior to his appointment in PICES in 2015, he worked for 30 years for Fisheries and Oceans Canada at the Institute of Ocean Sciences where he managed a research group of more 70 administrative, technical and research staff carrying out oceanographic research in coastal and offshore waters of the North Pacific and Arctic. This research group conducted collaborative research with international and Canadian academic partners. He also served briefly as a Canadian Commissioner for the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission.
David Shea
Director
David Shea is Executive Vice President of Products at Kraken Robotics, a marine technology company recognized as a world-leading innovator in commercial Synthetic Aperture Sonar and cutting edge underwater robotic systems, which are in operation worldwide for Defence and Commercial applications. Prior to the inception of Kraken Robotics, David was Engineering Manager at Marine Robotics Inc. and lead designer of the SQX-500 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). With over 15 years of experience as a technology manager in the underwater technology industry, David has also led the deployment and operation of underwater robotics and sensors all over the world. He was part of the discovery of the HMS Erebus during the 2014 Franklin Expedition in the Arctic and led a team during the Raise the Arrow Expedition in 2017, which discovered two of the Avro Arrow prototypes in Lake Ontario. David is a certified Professional Engineer and holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the University of Victoria, with a specialization in Mechatronics.
Wendy Watson-Wright
Director
Wendy Watson-Wright is the Founder and CEO of 7 Mile Bay Consulting. She retired in December 2019 as the inaugural CEO of the Atlantic Canada-based Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI). Prior to that she served as the first female Executive Secretary and Assistant Director General of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO) in Paris from 2010 to 2015. For most of her career, Dr. Watson-Wright held various senior positions within Fisheries and Oceans Canada, including eight years as its Assistant Deputy Minister, Science. She is or has been on a number of boards and review panels and is currently Vice Chair of the UN joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP), a body established in 1969 to advise the UN system on marine environmental issues, as well as an invited member of Leading Women for the Ocean (LWO). A Killam scholar, she holds a Ph.D. in Physiology from Dalhousie University.
Michele Tessier
Director
Michele joined the board in January 2023. She spends her time mentoring junior officers and command candidates at the Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) navigation and bridge simulator and pursuing a graduate program at Royal Roads University. Michele spent 26 years in uniform in the RCN, including several years’ experience in mine warfare, side-scan sonar, and ROV operations. The third woman to be appointed to sea command in RCN (and first on the West Coast), she completed four command appointments and was named an Officer of the Order of Military Merit in 2018. She has also been recognized as one of the Women’s Executive Network’s ‘Top 100 Most Powerful Women’ (2017). Michele holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland, a Graduate Certificate in Values-Based Leadership from Royal Roads University, and is presently a student in the RRU Executive Coaching program.