Faculty Contact Info

Karen has worked at Orange Coast College since 2005 in the Marine Science Department. Her love of the ocean has continued since her study abroad experience in St. Andrews Scotland, as well as her graduate work at San Diego State University. At San Diego State University she studied the behavior of bottlenose dolphins with R.H. Defran at the Cetacean Behavior Laboratory. Her favorite pastime is eating pizza.

Rob has worked at Orange Coast College since 2011. He served as the director of the OCC Aquarium for 9 years and has coauthored three oceanography textbook editions with OCC Professor Emeritus, Tom Garrison. When not on campus, Rob often helps develop and teach international field courses in marine science and management in various parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and the South Pacific. His graduate work focused on marine resource management at UC Santa Barbara, and he has participated in and managed research projects and educational programs in many parts of the world.

Dr. Jeff Armstrong is the Environmental Supervisor of the Orange County Sanitation District’s Ocean Monitoring Program. He has been with OC San for over 27 years, all in Ocean Monitoring. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology and a master’s degree in Biology from the California State University, Long Beach, and a Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from City University Los Angeles. Dr. Armstrong was formerly an adjunct professor of marine biology at CSU Long Beach where he worked in the Environmental Endocrinology Laboratory researching the effects of contaminant on the marine environment. Dr. Armstrong’s professional experience and interests include ocean water and sediment quality assessments, fish and invertebrate community health monitoring, and how marine policy and environmental law shape ocean conservation efforts.

Ty has worked at Orange Coast College since 2024. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a Concentration in Marine Biology, and a Master of Science in Biology, both from Cal State Fullerton. His master's research investigated how factors such as season, depth, and substrate orientation influence the recruitment dynamics and succession on an artificial reef in San Diego Bay. He has also assisted with other research that investigates the impacts of human-introduced habitats on native and non-native species in Southern California. Ty has also worked for 5+ years in informal education at the Aquarium of the Pacific, where he aims to inspire marine conservation and stewardship to a broad audience. 

Greg Gardiner is a veteran teacher with 24 years of experience. His Bachelor’s degree is in Biology from Whittier College and he has two Master’s degrees, the first in Environmental Studies from California State University Fullerton with emphasis in Environmental Sciences and the second in Educational Leadership. He began teaching at Edison High School in 2001 as a Biology and Environmental Science Teacher in the Huntington Beach Union High School District. In 2018, Greg was selected as district, county and California State Teacher of the Year. Ten years ago, he established the Innovation Labs for students to learn and gain experience about aquaculture, aquarium sciences, aquaponics, and hydroponics.

Don has worked at Orange Coast College since 2014 in the Marine Science Department. Don found his passion for studying the Ocean while attending Orange Coast College straight out of High School. After Graduating from California State Long Beach, he worked as a Marine Field Biologist studying human impacts along the southern California Coast. He was hired by a local high school to expand its Marine Science program, which he has been working at for 25 years.