Our Research Team
Nan Hauser
CCRC President & Director
CIWR Director & Principal Investigator
SPWRC Exec. Committee
Nan Hauser is the President & Director of the Center for Cetacean Research & Conservation and the Director & Principal Investigator of Cook Islands Whale Research. She resides in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, where she researches the population identity, population abundance, acoustics, genetics, stable isotopes, behaviour, migration and navigation of cetaceans. She satellite-tags whales to gather information on their migration over long distances. Nan is an Adjunct Professor at Auckland University of Technology and has taught on a global level for the Dolphin Research Center, Whale Conservation Institute (now Ocean Alliance), the New England Dolphin Outreach Project, the Cook Islands Whale Research Project, and many other non-profit organisations and Research Institutes. As a registered nurse, Nan practices and teaches medicine on Rarotonga and the outer islands, where she also visits the local schools and teaches the students about “Whales and the Importance of Protecting the Ocean”. She holds a US Coastguard Captain’s license.
Nan serves on the Executive Committee and is a scientific researcher for the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium. She played a major role in the creation of a 2 million square-kilometre whale sanctuary in the EEZ of the Cook Islands, and built a Whale Research & Education Center in Rarotonga. In the US, she has served on many Boards, including Cet Law and the Gulf of Maine Aquarium (now known as the Gulf of Maine Research Institute). Nan has been the focus of many Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, BBC, Terra Mater, ARTE, and Smithsonian films. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Wildlife Conservation Films, along with Sylvia Earle of Mission Blue and Khalid bin Sultan of Living Oceans, in November of 2014.
Research Team
I am a U.S.-N.Z. dual national residing in Christchurch, New Zealand. I hold a continuing academic staff position (Associate Professor) in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Canterbury. My teaching and research expertise is best classified as Environmental Earth System Science - I teach across all levels of undergraduate and (post)graduate programs with an emphasis on geochemical/isotopic tracers of Earth system processes and conditions. My research includes astrobiogeophysical (i.e. Exo-Earth System Science) analysis of animal movements in a variety of spatial and temporal coordinate spaces, stable isotope (bio)geochemistry, and aqueous geochemistry.
Travis Horton
Collaborative scientist from University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Cameron has spent most of his life on or in the water. His experience as a dive guide, captain, and fisherman has also helped to contribute towards whale research. Cameron and Ali have a daughter named Skyla who is also in love with the ocean!
Cameron Thorp
Nan's son-in-law
Ali has been on the team since she was 1 year old! She learned to walk down the ramp of the dolphin research center to go and visit her favorite dolphins, Annessa and Aleta. Her childhood took place mostly on the ocean assisting her mom, Nan, with her research. To this day Ali still helps with the project along with her husband Cameron and their young daughter. Ali is an avid freediver and ocean lover.
Ali Haible Thorp
Research Assistant / Lecturer
Gracie Newman-Holt
Research Assistant
Cooks Island Country Manager at Air New Zealand
Experienced Leader with a demonstrated history of working in the airlines/aviation industry. Skilled in OperationsManagement, Flight Safety, Airlines, Airports, and Commercial Aviation. Strong support professional graduatedfrom Gisborne Girls High school and life!
Marisa Newman
Head Research Assistant
Residing in Auckland, New Zealand, Frances is the International Director at Auckland University of Technology, where she also completed a Bachelor of Education. She accomplished a Graduate Diploma of Education Management at UNITEC, followed by the completion of the Management and Leadership in Education program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Frances has devoted her time to education as a teacher, principal, and administrator for many years in New Zealand, and the Cook Islands. She has assisted Nan Hauser with whale necropsies on Mangaia, an island in the Cook Islands group, and continues to work with Nan. They are currently working to establish study abroad opportunities in Rarotonga for university students from the US, Europe, and Asia.
Frances Little
Scientific Collaborator
Marshall Humphreys
Research Assistant
Born March 8th, 1983 in Biddeford, Maine, Mandy is the second of four girls, and as the second child she was born to live life at it's fullest with a hunger for travel and adventure. After attending college for a brief period, she felt it was not for her and instead chose to explore the world. Mandy has lived in Greece, California, Florida among other places, meeting many new and exciting people along the way. With no formal art education, she is a self made artist, picturing things in her mind and putting them onto paper, walls or canvas. Aside from being an artist Mandy is currently studying at Maine Medical center to be a CNA. She also does Personal assistant work and organizing for The Whale Research Project.
Amy Koekemoer
An Environmentalist, presenter and one of Australia’s top plus size models. Holding degrees in both Biology and Law, qualifications in Environmental management systems and currently studying a Diploma of Paramedical Science; Laura’s passion for the environment, love for the ocean and interest in facilitating climate change action has led her to become a positive role model, advocate and ambassador for change.
Laura Wells
Team Member
South Pacific Whale Research Consortium
Phillip Clapham
SPWRC Exec. Committee
Cornish by birth, Phillip Clapham accompanied a girlfriend to the US in 1980, stumbled into whale biology, and is presently acknowledged as one of the world’s leading experts on large whales. Having more than a quarter-century of experience with cetaceans, Phil also holds a PhD in Zoology from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. He has worked at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole and directed a long-term study of individual humpback whales at the center for Coastal Studies in Massachusetts. He now directs research at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, Washington, where he has advised many governments on whale research and conservation. Currently he directs a program of large whale research and advises the US National Marine Fisheries Service on science and conservation, both locally and internationally. He is an advisor to many Masters and PhD students, including Nan Hauser. He edits for three scientific journals: Marine Mammal Science, Mammal Review, and the Royal Society’s Biology Letters. He is a member of the US Delegation to the International Whaling Commission’s Scientific Committee. Phil has published four books and one hundred peer-reviewed papers about whales and other cetaceans.
Board of Directors
Flora, currently the Licensed Branch Manager for Key Bank in Brunswick, earned her Bachelor degree in Social Science from Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya. While a student, she worked with the UNHCR office. After graduating she worked for the Kenyan Ministry for Foreign Affairs, helping with the Somalia Peace Process from 2002-2006. She later worked as a Communications Consultant in Columbo, Sri Lanka. After coming to the United States, she worked in financial advising with Morgan Stanley, HSBC and Key Bank. She holds an Executive MBA from the University of New Haven. She has 3 children, the oldest is at USM.
Flora Hull
Collaborating Scientists
We are able to achieve so much more when we collaborate with other scientists and work together towards the same goal. CCRC is honored to get to work alongside these and other amazing scientists. Read about some of our collaborating scientists below!
What We Do
CCRC raises public awareness of marine conservation issues, especially those concerning cetaceans, through the following four activities:
I. For the past two decades, CCRC educators have informed, involved, and inspired people about whales, dolphins, and the marine ecosystems they inhabit. Interactive educational presentations are tailored to groups of various ages and experiences. Outreach programs reach a wide range of community groups. Curriculum enrichment programs educate and involve students ranging from kindergarten to graduate school. Programs combine slides, acoustics, videos, and hands-on experience. Outreach programs are offered throughout New England, New Zealand, Australia, across Oceania, and elsewhere as our schedule allow.
II. CCRC offers first-hand experience in cetacean research and conservation through internships and volunteer opportunities. CCRC’s researchers have engaged numerous volunteers and interns over the past 26 years in the day-to-day operation of dolphin outreach and research projects around the world, a reciprocally beneficial arrangement that is integral to CCRC’s operation.
III. CCRC publishes its findings in both professional and popular formats through various media. Contributions vary from scientific to anecdotal and appear in publications ranging from peer-reviewed journals to mainstream magazines. CCRC also generates news stories for the internet, television, print, and radio broadcasts. CCRC contributes cetacean content and imagery to several prominent websites, television stations, news broadcasters, and film companies.
IV. CCRC produces educational documentary films for television, conveying marine conservation issues and information to broader audiences with documentary films. Over the past two decades, CCRC has contributed to numerous natural history documentaries which have been broadcast on major networks. CCRC is currently the focus of a television documentary on the intelligence of whales.
Contact us today to find out more about the Center for Cetacean Research and Conservation and our conservation efforts.
