Angela Rosenberg, President & R/V ANGARI Captain
Angela serves as President of ANGARI Foundation and captain of R/V ANGARI. Angela combined her love for the ocean, marine science and boating to create ANGARI Foundation and has a range of expertise in marine and environmental sciences.
Prior to ANGARI Foundation, she held the position of Director of Programs and Policies for the nonprofit organization The International SeaKeepers Society where she developed and implemented international programs relating to scientific expeditions, oceanographic instrument deployments, education and outreach. Before entering the nonprofit world, Angela worked as a marine geochemist and managed the Marine Trace Element Laboratory at the University of South Carolina. She has conducted extensive field and laboratory work in the marine science field in the U.S. and abroad.
In total, Angela has more than twenty years of marine research experience. She has been involved in research projects on shallow and deep-water corals, aquaculture, marine fossils, paleoceanography, climate change, ocean acidification, trace metals in the ocean and seafloor mapping, among others. Additionally, Angela has several scientific publications and has made numerous presentations to industry groups and educational forums throughout her career.
Angela earned a M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina and a M.S. in Marine Geology and Geophysics and a B.S. in Marine Science and Biology from the University of Miami.
Angela has extensive knowledge and experience in boating and holds a U.S.C.G. Merchant Mariner 100 ton license and STCW and Marine Security credentials as well as several SCUBA certifications, including rescue and NITROX. Angela managed and oversaw a 4-month refit of ANGARI Foundation’s research vessel and has been the captain of R/V ANGARI since the Foundation acquired the vessel in 2016.
Kari Rosenberg, Vice President of Production
Kari Rosenberg is Vice President of Production at ANGARI Foundation where she sets the strategic direction for the development of new content and serves as Executive Producer on ANGARI’s film slate. She feels ANGARI’s content should be accessible to all audiences to inspire individuals to protect the oceans and be aware of their environment. Her lifelong passion for and commitment to the ocean drives her day-to-day creativity and fuels her dedication to ANGARI’s mission. This is evidenced by the success of ANGARI’s most recent 360 film, GENERATION OCEAN: SHARKS, which has found recognition on the film festival circuit as well as in various awards competitions.
Kari has extensive experience in television and film. Currently, Kari is Vice President, Original Content, Action Brands at Hasbro Entertainment, previously holding positions at Entertainment One, Disney and Marvel. Kari has substantial knowledge of executive creative development, IP and brand management as well as leading writers’ rooms. She has launched many successful IP-driven franchises, TV shows and films as well as built a 1M subscriber strong YouTube channel with a robust slate of content for the Disney/Marvel brand. Her business acumen and broad network of writers, directors, agents and studio leadership provide a strong foundation for successfully packaging and bringing top talent onto a project. Her hands-on approach, strong work ethic and commitment to the projects she produces demonstrates her passion for delivering engaging and valuable storytelling.
A showrunner once described Kari as, “A studio exec who thinks like a writer.” Through her past work experience, she discovered that she thrives when focused on storytelling that draws from distinct and high concept worlds while relying on the emotional depth and comedic spirit of the characters. She feels that the rich histories and ingenuities of Disney, Marvel and eOne have provided her with an excellent education in this kind of storytelling and is confident that this knowledge will lead her to create inspiring content for the ANGARI library.
Kari earned her B.S. in Communications with majors in Motion Pictures and Studio Art from the University of Miami. She is experienced on the water, holding a U.S.C.G. Merchant Mariner 100-ton license and SCUBA diving and rescue certifications.
Amanda Waite, Director of Science Education & Advancement
Dr. Amanda Waite leads ANGARI Foundation’s education and outreach programs. Amanda earned a B.A. in Geology from Hamilton College, M.Sc. in Oceanography from the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean and the Environment, and Ph.D. in Marine Geology and Geophysics from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami. A paleoceanographer and geochemist by training, Amanda studied the relationship between our oceans and climate and how they have changed through time, having conducted earth and marine science research in academic, museum, and petroleum industry settings.
Amanda has also maintained a commitment to science education throughout these endeavors, previously teaching at the college level, as well as in K-12, teacher professional development and informal education settings. Amanda has an innate appreciation and passion for the power of hands-on field and lab based learning in the sciences, and she is thrilled to be able to share this with audiences of all ages at ANGARI Foundation.
Kevin Davidson, R/V ANGARI Relief Captain & Engineer
Kevin’s love for the ocean started in 1988 when he started as a cook in the live-a-board industry. After becoming a SCUBA instructor and captain, he continued to hone his skills as an underwater photographer, his true love. In 1993 he operated a photo and video shop in Palau, and for the next 15 years, guided dives, taught photography, piloted yachts and acted as tour guide and photographer for visiting super yachts.
After eleven years in the yachting industry and becoming an expert in the Pacific and Micronesia regions of the world, he moved back to Florida and started a new chapter in his life working onboard R/V ANGARI. Fast forward several years later, and Kevin is just as excited as he was on his first day at ANGARI to make use of his experience in yachting and SCUBA diving and share his love for the ocean, underwater photography and food with everyone who comes aboard. During expeditions, Kevin’s keen underwater photography skills are regularly used to capture research in action and share the marine environment with others.
Laura Jessop, Community Outreach Programs and Education Manager
Laura serves as our Community Outreach Programs and Education Manager and oversees our citizen science and outreach programs. Laura is originally from the United Kingdom where she earned her B.Sc. in Geography from Canterbury Christ Church University. Prior to joining us in Florida, Laura had worked with a variety of charities and nonprofits, including as an ANGARI remote intern, where she helped with social media, content creation, digital marketing and virtual learning education programs. She also worked at ZSL London which is an international conservation charity driven by science, and Local Ocean Conservation, a marine conservation nonprofit where she helped digitize and clean 20 years of data and designed and created an app to collect their data more efficiently, while also being extremely hands-on with their sea turtle conservation programs.
Laura brings her passion for the marine environment and experience with conservation projects to ANGARI in her role as Community Outreach Programs and Education Manager. As part of her role at ANGARI, Laura oversees the Lagoon Drift citizen science program where she involves thousands of students, teachers and community members in looking at marine debris and pollution transport in our local waterways. She also leads the Foundation’s participation in outreach events and exhibiting.
Madie Mendels, Coastal Ocean Explorers Program Coordinator
Madie is Coastal Ocean Explorers Program Coordinator at ANGARI Foundation where she coordinates and oversees the operation of our Coastal Ocean Explorers: Sharks program. Originally from Michigan, Madie stayed in the Midwest to earn her B.A. in Environmental Studies and Political Science from Denison University. Despite growing up near the Great Lakes, she always felt a call to the ocean.
Madie joins ANGARI after four years managing research and education programs at The Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute in The Bahamas. There, she engaged both local and international students in marine science and sustainable systems through experiential and place-based learning. During her time in The Bahamas, Madie spent countless hours on and under the water—captaining boats, leading SCUBA dives and snorkels, and designing field research experiences for students of all ages. She also served as the Dean of Students for the summer high school residential program, where she fostered an inclusive, intentional community and created unique learning opportunities for cohorts of 60 students. Overall, she played a critical role in sustaining meaningful, long-term relationships with visiting programs and mentoring the next generation of experiential educators.
In addition to her leadership responsibilities, Madie frequently collaborated on ongoing research projects at the Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) and formally led efforts to involve local and visiting groups in fieldwork. Her work has spanned everything from coral, to Caribbean spiny lobsters, to tiger sharks! A highlight of her time at CEI was serving on the shark and ray conservation team, where she gained hands-on research experience with offshore captures and seining for rays and juvenile sharks in mangrove creeks. Nothing makes Madie happier than long days on the boat with sharks and students!
Madie’s passion lies in transforming the work of scientists into tangible, impactful experiences for the public. She is dedicated to advancing marine conservation initiatives, fostering the spark at the intersection of research and education, and creating inclusive spaces where anyone can explore the world of marine science.
Will Sample, Research Associate
Will Sample is a Ph.D. candidate in the Marine Community and Behavioral Ecology Lab at Florida International University. His current research uses both long-term historical datasets and newer methods, such as high-resolution accelerometry, to study the movement and behavioral ecology of juvenile bull sharks. He specifically focuses on the way these sharks may be transporting nutrients across habitat boundaries, how they may be optimizing their movements to save energy and what the long-term implications of different behaviors they specialize in may be. Will’s research in the Florida Everglades studying the ways sharks move through this crucial ecosystem is important for conservation and informing habitat restoration and management efforts. Will earned a B.S. in Liberal Arts and Sciences from Florida Atlantic University in 2018 and has lived all throughout Florida for most of his life, from Jacksonville to Jupiter to the Keys. He is passionate about community outreach and education, particularly regarding Florida’s natural habitats, and currently serves as lead scientist for ANGARI’s Palm Beach County based Coastal Ocean Explorers: Sharks program aboard R/V ANGARI.