Kate Moran is the President & CEO of Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), a position she has held since 2012. She first joined the University of Victoria in September 2011 as a professor in the Faculty of Science and as Director of NEPTUNE Canada. Her previous appointment was Professor and Associate Dean at the University of Rhode Island. From 2009 to 2011, Moran was seconded to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where she served as an Assistant Director and focused on Arctic, polar, ocean, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and climate policy issues. She is active in public outreach on topics related to the Arctic, ocean observing, and climate change. Professor Moran co-led the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program’s Arctic Coring Expedition which successfully recovered the first paleoclimate record from the Arctic Ocean. She also led one of the first offshore expeditions to investigate the seafloor following the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Professor Moran is a registered professional engineer, an Officer of the Order of Canada, a fellow of the Canadian Society of Senior Engineers, and was selected as an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow for the class of 2022.

As Executive Director Observatory Operations, Meghan leads the physical and digital operations teams, including co-ordinating efforts between the teams that ensure accessibility—for researchers and the public alike—to all data being produced from ONC and partner observatories. This is accomplished through continuous monitoring and improvement to the overall observatory network, qualifying and archiving data according to best practices in research data management, assessing the quality control of data being produced, and creating data products to support researchers in visualizing and interpreting data. Prior to joining ONC in 2020, Meghan spent over 20 years working in the energy industry in engineering and management roles for onshore and offshore projects in the US and internationally. Additionally, Meghan has been involved in scientific drilling expeditions including the Ocean Drilling Program and the Lake Malawi Drilling Project. Meghan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Dalhousie University and a Master of Science in Ocean Engineering from the University of Rhode Island.

Benoît Pirenne is Ocean Networks Canada’s Corporate Innovation and Technology Officer (CITO). He joined the University of Victoria in October 2004 to build the Data Management and Archiving System for the NEPTUNE Canada and VENUS observatories. In this outward-looking role with a focus on ONC's current needs, Benoît focuses on bringing about the rapidly evolving technologies, both digital (AI/ML, underwater communications) and physical (nodes, smart cables, mobile systems, new sensor types) that will position ONC to remain as a global leader. His position will serve as sponsor for major initiatives (e.g., P-ONE, node replacement). In addition he oversees the Canadian Integrated Ocean Observing System — Pacific Regional Association, and the World Data System — International Technology Office. Previously, Benoît spent 18 years at the European Southern Observatory (ESO, Munich, Germany), a leading Organization for astronomical research. At ESO Benoît assumed a number of scientific and technical positions. As Head of the Operations Technical Support Department in this Organization, he was responsible for running the data management and archiving system supporting both ESO's telescopes and the NASA/ESA's Hubble Space Telescope. Benoît earned a BSc. from Liège, Belgium, and a MSc. from the University of Namur, Belgium.

Kohen is a marine biogeochemist who is the Director of Science at ONC. He is focussed on supporting interdisciplinary projects related to marine biogeochemical cycling, ocean acidification, ocean deoxygenation, and climate dynamics. He earned his PhD from the University of British Columbia in 2019 and his MSc from the University of Toronto in 2013. His PhD thesis was focussed on reconstructing the history of oxygen in the ocean-atmosphere system and its links to the coevolution of life and climate. He worked on developing emerging and widely used geochemical tools that allow for more refined interpretations of Earth’s surface conditions captured in the rock record through time. Kohen conducted his post-doctoral research at the University of Hong Kong, where he worked on integrating geochemical data with conceptual computer models to understand the drivers, rates, and magnitude of ocean deoxygenation in Earth’s past and its connections to mass extinction events and climate change on different timescales. His current research interests are broad and include: ocean deoxygenation on varying timescales, the connections between climate and biogeochemical cycles, ocean chemistry and acidification, the role of microbes in marine biogeochemical cycles, the composition of marine sediments, and developing new and innovative biogeochemical proxy tools.

As Director, Observatory Digital Operations, Dr. Ben Biffard drives the transformation and evolution of ONCs digital research infrastructure and big data management by providing leadership from a strategic, executive, and operational level. Ben grew up on the Salish Sea and has a natural interest in the exploration of the Ocean. Ben joined ONC in 2012 as a scientific programmer, leading the development of data products within Oceans 3.0, and then moved to lead the software development team in 2023. With a PhD in Geophysics from the University of Victoria, Ben has brought his unique perspective and skill set to constantly and consistently make Oceans 3.0 data more accessible and digestible to a wide variety of users. He is passionate about acoustics and has worked to develop ONC's suite of hydrophone data products, the HydroCal hydrophone calibration system as well as comprehensive software suites for processing active acoustic data, such as ADCP (Acoustic Dopper Current Profilers) and echosounder data. Ben has also contributed to a wide variety of publications and presented technical papers at many conferences on behalf of ONC.

As Chief Finance Officer Sandy is responsible for the oversight of ONC’s financial administration and ensuring ONC’s long-term financial health, including financial risk and leadership of financial strategy. Responsibilities include budget and strategic planning, financial statements, contracts, and supervision of the finance team. Sandy worked as an accountant in the private sector construction industry before joining the University of Victoria, first as the Director of Research Accounting and then in 2015 as the Director of Accounting Services. Over her 30 years with UVic she has volunteered with national university organizations including CARA (Canadian Association of Research Administrators) and CAUBO (Canadian Association of University Business Officers). In 2019, she accepted the opportunity of working with ONC permanently as the CFO. Sandy has a CPA CMA designation, a BA Honours with distinction and an MA in Art History. In 2008 she received the President’s Distinguished Service Award for her work in Research Accounting. Sandy has a CPA CMA accounting designation, a BA Honours with distinction and an MA in Art History. In 2008 she was awarded the President’s Distinguished Service Award for her work in Research Accounting.

As Ocean Network Canada’s Director of Observatory Physical Operations, Dirk leads three key divisions: Operations Support, Testing and Development, and Field Services, all based at the Marine Technology Center in Sidney, BC. Dirk's professional journey began with a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Victoria in 2015, eventually leading to his current role as director at Ocean Networks Canada. He is a registered professional engineer through Engineers and Geoscientists BC and has developed knowledge in the areas of field operations, mechanical design, and large-scale infrastructure management. Passionate about innovation and collaboration, Dirk is dedicated to advancing marine technology and enhancing Ocean Networks Canada's capabilities. At the same time, his teams strive to provide reliable physical infrastructure for observatory-based science.

Sabrena joins ONC with 10+ years’ experience working as a strategic operations professional, providing leadership for a broad range of business functions, including HR, operations, administration, and social responsibility. Sabrena comes to ONC from the Hamilton Family Health Team, the largest in Ontario, where she provided Operations, Administration, & HR leadership. She’s also been a project manager at McMaster University co-leading a research project and developing a needs assessment strategy for family physicians in Hamilton. Sabrena has also worked in corporate sales support for Franklin Covey Canada Ltd.

As Director Engagement & Knowledge Mobilization, Daniela ensures that knowledge generated through ONC’s observatories is made accessible. Her division ensures dissemination, user engagement, co-production, and commercialization of ONC’s data and knowledge. The division comprises three teams: Applied Sciences Solutions, Learning & Community Engagement and Client Services - all aim to broaden the impact of ocean science to society and industry. Daniela joined Ocean Networks Canada in January 2020 as Director Corporate Services, a role which she held for almost five years before assuming her current position. Until December 2019, Daniela was the Associate Director of the Environmental Sciences Group at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, where her work contributed to government policies in Canada and abroad and helped set a standard for the environmental assessment and remediation of contaminated public lands. Daniela holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Victoria and an undergraduate degree in Engineering Chemistry from the Technical University Darmstadt in Germany. She is a chartered chemist in the Province of Ontario and a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada.

Jessica is ONC’s Director of External Relations. Since 2012, Jessica has engaged with external stakeholders, including government and industry partners, NGOs, Indigenous communities, and potential donors. From her experience, successful and mutually beneficial partnerships are a result of practiced and respectful interactions between stakeholders. Before joining ONC, Jessica worked for seven years at BC’s premier retirement community as the Marketing and Communications Manager. Jessica earned her Bachelor of Business Commerce at Royal Roads University, with a Diploma in Business Marketing Management at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. She has a Diploma in Culinary Arts from Vancouver Island University.

Dr. Maia Hoeberechts manages the Learning & Community Engagement teams, which are together responsible for creating products and services which meet the needs of the scientific, educational and broader user communities. Maia joined Ocean Networks Canada in 2010 as the Staff Scientist for Computer Science and Engineering, a role which she held for three years before assuming her current position. She continues her research involvement as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Victoria focusing on interdisciplinary connections between ocean science and computer science, principally in the areas of computer vision, data analytics and scientific visualization. Before joining Ocean Networks Canada, Maia worked as the project manager on an interdisciplinary research project at Western University to develop and market an emotionally adaptive computer music composition engine. Maia holds a PhD in Computer Science in the area of computability theory and a BSc in Philosophy and Computer Science from Western University.

Gord has 35 years of solution delivery experience involving large-scale enterprise solution development, deployment and sustainment in the government, health, financial, retail, transportation and manufacturing sectors. After receiving a B.Sc. in Computer Science from UVic, Gord worked internationally for several years before returning to Canada where he worked for organizations such as BCFC and IBM in product development and management roles. Most recently, he held the position of Senior VP Client Services for an international company headquartered in Washington, DC that specialized in providing enterprise-level solutions encompassing data collection, content management, workflow and business intelligence components.