Phil Zerofski was born and raised in Tewksbury, MA where summer trips to Cape Cod began a lifelong love of the ocean. He got his Bachelors of Science in Marine Biology from Roger Williams College in Rhode Island and then headed to the Florida Keys to begin his career as an outdoor educator and marine technician. Upon moving to San Diego in 1994 with future wife Amy, Phil started working with Mike Yeakle, the founder of SEACAMP Enterprises, and quickly took on the role of Program Director. In 1997, Mike sold the program to Phil and Amy and they have been in charge ever since. Upon moving to San Diego, Phil became an active volunteer at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and in 2010 he was approached to take over their position as Marine Collector which was an offer he could not refuse. For the last 7 years, Phil has been wearing both hats but remaining active in supervisory and decision making roles as well as staff training and dive mastering at SEACAMP San Diego.
Amy Bergen Zerofski originally hails from New Jersey and then Maryland, getting her Bachelor’s Degree from Vassar College in New York State. Right out of college, Amy began her outdoor education career teaching Marine Biology at the Newfound Harbor Marine Institute in the Florida Keys. Upon moving to San Diego, Amy gained experience as a classroom teacher and then began her career with SEACAMP San Diego in 1995. In 1997 Amy and Phil took over ownership of SEACAMP San Diego and have had the reigns ever since. Amy also holds a Masters of Marine Science from University of San Diego where she is now also an adjunct Professor. Amy loves to travel with her husband Phil and their daughter Delilah anywhere they can do some fun family snorkeling!
Starting as a Marine Science Instructor, Whitney is our most senior employee. Since her start in 2003, Whitney has been devoted to providing the best experience to every student that attends SEACAMP San Diego. Rising to the Program Director position in 2007, Whitney’s enormous knowledge of marine science and local marine animals is invaluable to our program. She earned a Bachelors of Science from Coastal Carolina University in Marine Science in 2001. Her favorite activity at camp is the Floating Classroom Boat Trip where she is able to interact and share her expertise with students from all over the country. Whitney’s favorite marine animal is a basket star; she is always on the hunt to find this elusive invertebrate.
Erika started with SEACAMP San Diego in 2012 and quickly become an integral part of the inner workings of SEACAMP. A native San Diegan, Erika grew up in the North County community of Fallbrook. As one of the few non marine science majors, Erika has made great strides to improve her marine science knowledge. Earning her degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Arizona State University in 2008, Erika brings a level of organization and precision to her position as Administrative Director. She loves speaking to and helping teachers and parents learn more about SEACAMP San Diego. When you call the office you will likely speak to her or her counterpart Sue.
Sue is originally from Baltimore, MD. She attended Virginia Tech where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science with a minor in Chemistry. After graduating college in 1997, she moved to California after accepting a position as a Science and Outdoor Education Instructor at the Desert Sun Science Center. The following year, she moved to San Diego to become a high school math and science teacher. Prior to working at SEACAMP San Diego, Sue was Manager of Science Content at Scantron, where she managed the science portion of their K-12 educational products. This included developing, writing, and reviewing science materials and aligning them to state science standards. She received her Master’s Degree in Education from San Diego State University. Besides traveling, running, and hiking, Sue enjoys spending time playing tennis and going to the beach with her two boys.
Although John grew up in Minnesota, it didn’t stop his passion for nature and the ocean. John’s love of biology started at a young age. He spent his childhood sailing and camping at lakes in northern Minnesota. During his high school years, he spent his summers educating families about the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. His love of the ocean grew when he went to school in Orlando, Florida studying the ocean, and then receiving a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Rollins College in 2015. John relocated to San Diego in 2018 to finally be near the ocean and to work at SEACAMP teaching what had always inspired him. His favorite part of working at SEACAMP is being on the water all day for our full-day boat trips.
Rachel earned her Bachelor’s in Marine Biology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She grew up in Napa, California and knew she wanted to become a marine biologist at a very young age. Combining her love for the ocean and desire to work with kids made working at SEACAMP San Diego a dream come true! As an instructor, she enjoys watching students when they have that ‘aha’ moment during lab and loves inspiring students to protect our oceans.
Favorite Marine Animals: Manatees and Corals
Favorite Activity: Snorkeling
Rex Shettlesworth is from San Diego and graduated from University of California San Diego with a degree in marine biology. He decided to become a marine biologist after his first SCUBA dive. During the dive he experienced such an abundance of marine life that he had never been exposed to before and decided to find out what else he didn’t know about the ocean. Rex insists that his favorite thing about SEACAMP San Diego is our resident Sarcastic Fringehead he named Fringilla, he visits her every day. As a Marine Science Instructor, he loves when a student is able to identify an animal based on traits that he taught during a lab.
Favorite Marine Animal: Whale Shark
Favorite Water Activity: SCUBA Diving
Ashley grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but her time vacationing in tropical places as a child quickly made her fall in love with the ocean. Her passion for marine life in particular was sparked when she learned how to scuba dive in middle school. During college, she studied biology at Point Loma Nazarene University, and there she enjoyed learning about the local marine life and conducting field work by the ocean. This encouraged Ashley to spend one summer at the Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies in Washington for a course in marine biology where she spent her time out in the tide pools and learning about the sea life in the Puget Sound. At SEACAMP San Diego, Ashley loves teaching labs, snorkeling with the kids, and seeing their faces light up when they experience unique sea creatures for the first time.
Favorite Marine Animals: Orca whales and sea slugs
Fun Fact: When Ashley lived in Michigan, she was a ski racer in high school.
Connor grew up in Santa Barbara along the California coast, spending most of his time in and on the ocean waters. Although he originally thought of becoming a music major out of high school, his love for marine biology was sparked after taking one class during his senior year in high school. He went on to take seven more years of college, obtaining his bachelors in Marine Science in Monterey and his masters in Oceanography from UCSC in Santa Cruz. During those years, he interned at a variety of marine science education programs which involved hands-on marine classes interacting with live animals and ecosystems, as well as classes that allowed students to experience what it was like to be a marine researcher. Connor moved to San Diego in the spring of 2022 to begin working at SEACAMP in order to continue to teach what he loved. His favorite part of being a Marine Science Instructor is seeing the kids’ excitement during their experiences at camp and their interest to continue learning more about the oceans.
Profile for Jack Shurtz coming soon!
Erin grew up in northern California and quickly fell in love with the ocean at her local spot, Stinson Beach. After taking environmental and marine science classes in college, she realized she wanted to help protect the ocean and the organisms within by researching, educating and sharing her passion for the ocean with the next generation. So, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies at University of California, Santa Barbara, and joined SEACAMP as Marine Science Instructor.
Erin’s favorite thing about being a marine science instructor is being able to show kids new sea creatures. She believes teaching them and giving them hands-on experience with the animals is an excellent way to get them excited about the ocean and conservation. She also loves the aquariums at SEACAMP and being able to spend time with and take care of our sea creatures.
Favorite Water Activities: SCUBA diving and surfing
Fun Fact: In college Erin learned Morse code.
Audrey knew she wanted to be a marine biologist from growing up in a beach town and constantly being surrounded by the ocean. She went to camp at Loggerhead Marine Life Center in Juno Beach, Florida for many years, where her love for marine animals developed. Originally from Palm Beach Gardens, Audrey received her Bachelor’s in Marine Science at the University of Tampa, and her Master’s in Oceanography at Florida Institute of Technology.
As a marine science instructor, Audrey loves watching the students learn and develop a love for marine science during their time at SEACAMP. Her favorite part of working at SEACAMP are the daily adventures in the marine environment – from snorkeling, to kayaking, to days on the boat.
Favorite marine animal: Cuttlefish
Fun fact: She danced at the same dance studio for 15 years.
At the age of 7, Maiya moved to Seattle, Washington and was exposed to the ocean for the first time. After that moment, she knew she always wanted to live by the water and continue to learn about everything it has to offer. This lead Maiya to pursue and earn her Bachelor’s of Marine Science from the University of Hawaii at Hilo. At SEACAMP, she loves being outside and working with kids, especially with students who are seeing the ocean for the first time like she did, and inspiring them to learn more. Her favorite activity as a marine science instructor is the all-day boat trip, and she also loves to paddle board and kayak.
Favorite marine animal: Sea otter
Fun Fact: Maiya lived on a tiny island in Greece for a month to study microplastics for the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Science
Caleb grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado and was exposed to the ocean when his eighth-grade class went to Catalina Island as part of an Environmental Leadership club. This is where his interest in marine science and conservation began. Caleb then went on to study Environmental Science at Point Loma Nazarene University where he conducted hours of field work studying marine environments and eventually earned his degree. During his senior year, Caleb conducted a research project at South La Jolla Marine Reserve that gave him further knowledge and information about the unique Southern California Marine Ecosystem. At SEACAMP San Diego, Caleb enjoys leading activities like snorkeling and teaching lab, watching kids have positive experiences learning about Marine Science, and seeing them become passionate about conservation.
Favorite marine animals: Horn Shark and Orca Whale
Favorite water activity: Snorkeling
Profile for Nikko Garoufalias coming soon!
Profile for Hope Ashworth coming soon!
Profile for Jeremy Goodsnyder coming soon!
Profile for Celeste Schwartz coming soon!
Profile for Zach Greenberg coming soon!
Profile for Blue Stirling coming soon!
Profile for Amanda Brooks coming soon!