Dr. Leonid Moroz
OGAP Co-Founder
Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee
Board Member
Dr. Leonid Moroz is a distinguished Professor of Neuroscience, Genetics, Biology and Chemistry at the University of Florida. He earned his Ph.D. in physiology and evolutional and developmental biology under the tutelage of Dr. D.A. Sakharov at the Institute of Developmental Biology, Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia. His postdoctoral research was done with Dr. William Winlow at the University of Leeds in the UK and with Dr. Rhanor Gillette at the University of Illinois, Urbana. Dr. Moroz was an HHMI International Scholar and, in 1998, was recruited to the University of Florida. Dr. Moroz lead the Ship Seq team that performed the first genomic sequencing at sea in 2014.
Dr. Moroz’s Curriculum Vitae
Peter Molnar
OGAP Co-Founder
Board Chair
Peter has captained the OGAP volunteer vessel SAM over 9,000 nautical miles of genetic sampling voyages across the North Pacific since 2017. In close partnership with Dr. Moroz, he initiated the OGAP project in 2020 drawing on years of environmental work, expedition planning and international project management. A ranked competitive sailor in high school and college, Peter quickly turned towards remote kayak and small boat expeditions as an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School and also started supporting environmental projects. He trained as a pollution patrol skipper for San Francisco Baykeeper in 1995, chaired the board from 2011 to 2020 and is a board member and chair of the True Blue Leadership Circle. He serves on the Greater Farallons National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council, skippers a support vessel for Point Blue's Farallons Patrol and currently serves on the board of Adventure Scientists.
"I am inspired by the sheer ambition of creating the first Ocean Genome Atlas and the opportunity that powerful new genomic and computational technologies present to vastly increase our understanding of our Blue Planet."
Gabrielle Winters Bostwick, PhD
Laboratory Scientist & Designer
Advisory Board Member
Gabrielle earned her PhD at University of Florida’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Science under the tutelage of Dr. Leonid Moroz. She researched the evolution of signaling molecules in learning and memory centers of Octopus brains, heightening her interest in nervous system evolution throughout the animal kingdom. She was a key team member on Dr. Moroz’s Ship Seq team conducting the first genomic sequencing at sea in 2014. In 2017, Gabrielle was invited to join OGAP vessel SAM’s early Pacific scientific expeditions to introduce marine invertebrate sampling protocols and she is delighted to be working with the OGAP team again. As the daughter of a US Navy SEAL and the granddaughter of an adventurous ER doctor, Gabrielle was introduced early to adventure and the sea. She enjoys SCUBA diving, hiking, and preparing pancakes in her spare time.
"Beyond conducting research, I am passionate about education and outreach and want to help ensure that future generations of scientists will continue to preserve and study the natural world."
Tyler Meade
Legal Committee Chair
Founding Board Member
Tyler crewed on two of the early expeditions aboard SAM that evolved into OGAP, including a 2019 crossing of the North Pacific from Hawaii to the Aleutian Islands. As the grandson of a merchant mariner who later worked in the Marinship yard in Sausalito during WWII alongside Tyler’s grandmother, a welder, Tyler has always had a strong connection to the sea. He is an open water swimmer and member of San Francisco’s Dolphin Club. He has sailed the San Francisco Bay since childhood and logged thousands of miles in the Pacific Ocean. Active in San Francisco Baykeeper, Tyler is passionate about preserving the health of marine ecosystems. Professionally, Tyler mediates complex cases nationwide with Presidio ADR.
"With equipment that can now fit in a medium sized sailing vessel and other technological advances, we can record our oceans’ biodiversity at a fraction of yesterday’s cost. OGAP will seize that opportunity at the precise moment in history when marine biodiversity is most in peril.”
Matthew Stromberg
Lead OGAP Vessel Designer
Founding Board Member
Matthew Stromberg has sailed since his youth and has crewed aboard the sailing expeditions that gave rise to the formation of OGAP including a 1,000 mile voyage along the Alaska's Aleutian Chain. As the grandson of a marine biologist, Matthew is keenly interested in our ocean's biodiversity and how advancements in genomic sampling will both expand our understanding of the vast oceanic underworld and offer a glimpse for how we may better preserve it. Matthew enjoys open water swimming as a member of the San Francisco Dolphin Club and also serves as a volunteer skipper for the SF Baykeeper organization. On land, Matthew is a licensed architect where his award winning firm Stromberg Architecture produces sustainable designs that work in harmony with their site and surroundings.
"My marine biologist grandfather taught me to appreciate the natural world and planted the seed for my interest in all things aquatic - he would be so thrilled about the work OGAP is doing.”
Magnus Day
Marine Operations & Vessel Design Advisor
Advisory Board Member
Polar skipper, ice pilot and yacht design consultant, Magnus has spent the bulk of his 20 year career exploring places and environments where few people venture and as a result are havens for unique marine and terrestrial life.
A former multi-season captain of Skip Novak’s legendary Southern Ocean sailing yachts Pelagic and Pelagic Australis, he joined OGAP after a voyage with the team in Greenland as skipper of ArcticEarth, an expedition sailing vessel dedicated to Arctic search, science and filmmaking. Prior to charter operations, Magnus managed ArcticEarth’s conversion from pleasure craft to MCA Category 0, considered the highest small vessel commercial standard in the field.
Magnus manages High Latitudes, a subsidiary of EYOS Expeditions, specializing in bespoke yacht design and refit consultancy, project management and crewing solutions for vessels exploring remote and off-piste locations.
“Just about anything is possible by applying the right elements of design. OGAP’s future fleet of custom boats with built-in laboratories is not only forward-thinking but excels beyond the limitations of traditional research models.”
Jeffery Coyle
Finance Committee Chair
Advisory Board Member (Founding Board Member)
Jeff is an avid sailor and has crewed on a number of voyages on the OGAP volunteer vessel SAM. Growing up in Southern California with a young set of parents full of energy including a father who was an accomplished deep water free diver, Jeff was immersed in numerous water related activities from an early age. Not surprisingly, he grew into an avid sailor, surfer, paddler and open water swimmer. Like most everyone involved in OGAP, the outdoors is his peaceful place. He has a deep appreciation for nature and the importance of conservation and stewardship.
Jeff has also founded and been the Chief Investment Officer of several wealth management and financial technology firms.
Jeff lives with his wife, Katy, in Southern California and has two children and a daughter-in-law all engaged in science or technology.
“I hope to contribute to the advancement of science through involvement in OGAP and feel fortunate to be able to support such important initiatives.”
Chris Carver
Vessel & Voyage Design and Implementation
Advisory Board Member
Chris has a passion for, and years of experience in, applying geolocation and data collection technology to risk management. To his credit are nearly a dozen patents around machine learning for telematics safety systems. His insurance industry work focuses him on the impact of real-time environmental data analytics for transportation. A former United States Navy Submarine Officer, Chris has been teaching sailing, piloting, and navigation (including celestial) for over 40 years, including a couple of trips aboard the infamous Alaska Eagle (Flyer). He has been an invited speaker on seamanship and Safety at Sea for The Sailing Foundation, the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, and US Sailing. Chris holds several Coast Guard deck and engine licenses, including Master for sail or power up to 100 GRT. Chris, his wife, and two kids have cruised extensively and currently reside on Bainbridge Island, Washington.
“Thanks to very recent technological advancements, we can now capture, extract and transfer a record our oceans’ biodiversity in a fraction of the time and cost then ever seemed possible. An apt analogy, in our lifetime, is the revolution of navigation from sextants to GPS. The Ocean Genome Atlas Project (OGAP) takes advantage of the unique capabilities of sailboats to collect, classify, sequence, and map the genomic information of far more representative marine species worldwide.”
Chris Fry
Science Committee
Advisory Board Member
Chris earned a PhD in Cognitive Science focusing on computer models of how songbirds learn and acquire complex vocalizations. He went on to a career in the technology industry where he led engineering at Twitter, Salesforce, and Medium and currently serves as an advisor and investor in technology start-ups. An avid waterman, Chris loves being in or on the water, propelled by wind and waves. He learned to sail in college with his wife, Kim, as captain. During graduate school in San Diego, he took up surfing and open ocean swimming. A post-doc at UC Berkeley led to his discovery of the San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento River Delta where spends many hours sailing and kite surfing. He looks forward to crewing many OGAP expeditions in the future.
“When you spend your whole life in the water, you want to understand it and protect it. I hope to contribute to the advancement of science through involvement in OGAP and feel fortunate to be able to support such important initiatives.”