C
aptain John moved to the Outer Banks in 1984 where he and his wife, Wendy, raised their three children. He became a United States Coast Guard Master in 1998 and bought the Nags Head Dolphin Watch in 2008.
Currently, he is on the Board of Directors for the Outer Banks Center for Dolphin Research. Even after more than 30 years of living here, he still marvels at the beauty the Outer Banks has in store and can’t wait to show some of it off to you.
Captain Carl is a United States Coast Guard licensed 100 ton master, and has been following the path of the Bottlenose Dolphin, Manatee, Whales, and other marine wildlife from the east coast to the Gulf of Mexico for the past twenty years.
Carl is looking forward to having you on board!
Jessica Weiss Taylor has a Bachelors of Science in Marine Science from Rutgers University and a Masters of Coastal Environmental Management from Duke University. Her Masters research focused on studying the specialized feeding behaviors of bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota, FL. She has also participated in several field research studies of bottlenose dolphins, humpback whales, Stellar sea lions, and predatory fish in Florida, South Carolina, Australia, Alaska, and New Jersey. Jessica has worked as a naturalist with the Nags Head Dolphin Watch since 2007.
In 2008, she incorporated the Outer Banks Center for Dolphin Research (OBXCDR), a non-profit dedicated to conservation of bottlenose dolphins in the Outer Banks, and currently serves as President and lead Principal Investigator of the organization. Jessica has 6 years of teaching experience in Dare County Schools; through the OBXCDR, she has presented educational programs related to dolphin conservation to local schools and organizations. While not out on the water, Jessica lives with her husband, Jay, and their two children in Kill Devil Hills.
Jenny Cavallero graduated from San Diego State University this past December with her Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology. 
During her schooling, she discovered a very strong interest in marine ecology, and, within the next few years or so, hopes to pursue a graduate degree studying pinniped population ecology with special focus on anthropogenic influences. Jenny has also spent the last 7 years as an animal care volunteer at the Marine Mammal Center near San Francisco, CA, where she has also held roles in the Education and Rescue departments . Though she will miss her California roots, she is very excited to spend her summer gaining marine mammal research and conservation experience with the Outer Banks Center for Dolphin Research!
Julia Jacobs graduated from North Carolina State University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources. She has conducted research on Key deer throughout her undergraduate studies. She spent a summer as a research tech on Bald Head Island studying Painted buntings and a summer in Iceland conducting photo identification on cetacean species found in their waters. Julia hopes to attend Graduate school studying ecology. She enjoys environmental education and conducting research and has a passion for photography and is very excited to spend a summer working with the OBXCDR where she can combine all of these passions.