Tour leader & Speaker bios

Carole Adams - Active with Audubon and a birdwatcher since age 10. Florida resident for the past 10 years. Completed the Seminars in Ornithology given by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University. Duval Audubon Vice President and Director with Audubon of Florida. Participates in Christmas Bird Counts, Migratory Bird Counts, Great Backyard Bird Counts, Birdathon and The Big Sit. Carole has been leading field trips and owl prowls for the past eight years.

Maren & Greg Arnett - Maren and Greg Arnett are the owners/operators of EcoMotion Tours – Island Explorations on Segways. These local Islanders are specially permitted by the Florida Park Service to provide interpretive, eco-historic tours of Fort George Island Cultural State Park. Greg, a mechanical engineer, grew up in Florida and is certified in the Coastal Systems module of the Florida Master Naturalist Program. Maren holds an advanced degree in adult experiential learning. They are currently Florida’s only tour operators using Segway transporters to guide people through the natural beauty of the state parks’ “Real Florida”!

Rachel Cimino - graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2008 with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology, a minor in American Humanics, and a certification in Non Profit Management. The first year out of college she worked as a traveling dance photographer and as a job placement specialist with the visually impaired. However, she decided to go back to her childhood dream of being a marine mammal biologist. In September 2009 she interned with the Tequesta Field lab in southeast Florida with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Marine Mammal Division. After an internship Rachel worked in the education department at SeaWorld Orlando until she was hired on as a Marine Mammal Biologist in July with FWC. She is looking to go to graduate school and obtain a Masters in Biology with a focus in Physiological Ecology of Marine Mammals.

Link Cooper - Link Cooper has been looking up since he was a Cub Scout. As a boy, he quickly became familiar with the stars and planets in the dark skies of rural Illinois, where he built his first telescope for an 8th grade science project. Two more followed over the years as he sought a better view of the Cosmos. Now, he has moved up to a "store-bought" scope and loves to share his hobby. Link has lived in Fernandina Beach for 10 years, watching our dark skies get increasingly light-polluted. For three years he and his wife, Lynne, presented "StarTalk", a monthly astronomy program for the Fernandina Beach Parks Dept. When he's not stargazing, Link works for the Navy as a Quality Assurance Specialist at Kings Bay Sub Base.

Sara DeNucci - Sara moved to Fernandina Beach full time in 2009 with her husband and two preschool children. Previously she operated Sara Dee Photography photo studio in Wisconsin, specializing in weddings, portraits, and product photography. Currently Sara is marketing her stock and art photos and is a stay at home mom. Sara has taught short courses and weekend photo camps to beginning and intermediate students both in Florida and Wisconsin. Please join her for the Basics of Nature Photography and Floral Photography courses.

Ray Hetchka - Ray has been leading kayak eco-tours in this area for over 10 years. A 'tree-hugger' since the term became popular, he enjoys introducing folks to the inside story of the critters, salt marsh and history of the area. Ray is a certified Eco-heritage toursim provider, certified interpreter from National Association for Interpretation and FL Master Naturalist.

Tom Monahan - Tom is owner of Up the Creek Xpeditions kayak shop in St. Marys, Georgia. He leads tours in the marshes and creeks around Amelia Island and to Cumberland Island and through Okefenokee National Wildlife refuge.

Christina Nelson - Christina Nelson, a native Floridian, graduated from Jacksonville University with degrees in Marine Science and Biology. She began the Nature Center at Amelia Island Plantation where she has been for 11 years. Christina is certified as a Northeast Florida Eco-heritage tour provider and is working toward Florida Master Naturalist. When not in the nature center, she can be found kayaking, hiking, and birding the northeast Florida landscape.

John Reed – John is a national recognized award winning nature photographer and author from Jacksonville, Florida. His photographs are displayed in many corporate and residential homes in our area. Additionally, John teaches photography classes at the University of North Florida’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, and conducts photography workshops in various Florida locations including Amelia Island. To learn more about John Reed, please visit johnreedphoto.com.

Maria Struss- Maria, a native of Amelia Island, recently relocated to the area. She is a nationally recognized award winning fine art and nature photographer whose images have been exhibited in numerous juried shows from Colorado to North Carolina to Florida. Her work is presently on exhibit in local galleries in the area. Maria is the creator and organizational wizard of the Wild Amelia Photography track. To learn more about Maria Struss, please visit MSImagery.com

Monica Zani - Monica is an assistant scientist in the research department of the New England Aquarium in Boston, MA. Monica’s career at the aquarium began in 1993 as a naturalist in the marine education boat programs. In 1999 she began as a whale watch captain for the aquarium’s fleet of whale watch boats. She became involved in the Right Whale Program as an aerial observer in the winter of 1999/2000 and began working full time with right whales in 2002. Monica currently spends much of her year in the field working with right whales in the coastal waters of northeast Florida, Nova Scotia, the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy. Monica is currently the co-investigator and project manager for the Early Warning System aerial surveys on the calving grounds in the southeast U.S.

Tour leaders