Our Beginning
CMERA was founded to provide students the unique opportunity to be in the field and work directly with marine life. This program was designed to be 100% hands-on and, in the field, so that each day you spent with CMERA you are on a boat catching and handling live animals. We are trying to give students the chance to use equipment, handle wild animals, and to participate in ongoing research. Many students choose a major without having any experience in their field of study. CMERA provides that experience so students can get a feel for real science outside a classroom or lab. Our application process is simple and we try to accommodate every applicant as best we can.
We hope that this experience will ignite a passion for science and research in the students involved, and we hope that this experience will help guide each student's path after they graduate. This experience has helped many of our previous students choose a specialty for graduate school, get accepted into other internships and into a career and we are thrilled to assist in that process!
Meet The Team
Alan Moore - President and Director of Operations and Development
Alan is the CMERA President. He develops new programs and opportunities to constantly update and improve the learning experience at CMERA. Alan is also the president of Moore Marine College, a new 4yr private college located in Clearwater, FL dedicated to marine studies with bachelor's and master's degrees in marine biology. He is a United States Coast Guard licensed masters boat captain and has over fourteen years of experience in field research, handling and tagging animals, and species identification. He previously owned and operated a scuba diving charter company that was in Sport Diver Magazine UK and on the Military Channel documentary Quest for Sunken Warships: USS Oriskany. He also has numerous years of experience in law enforcement with the federal government. You can contact Alan at alan@cmera.net
Dr. Cara Estes - Professor
Dr. Estes earned her Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from the College of Marine Science at the University of South Florida. While at the College of Marine Science, Cara worked on research involving coral reef ecology in the Florida Keys. She used multidecadal time-series data to analyze changes among coral cover and reef-fish assemblages since the creation of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. During her career, she has worked within the NASA DEVELOP program at the Marshall Space Flight Center using remote sensing applications to monitor drought conditions in the Southeast United States. She has also worked as a Reef Fish Survey team member with NOAA Fisheries to analyze reef-fish assemblages in the northeast Gulf of Mexico. She has spent hundreds of hours on various research cruises in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico and is ready to spend hundreds more. Her interests and expertise are in coral reef biodiversity, satellite oceanography and remote sensing, science communication, and ocean policy.
Jacey Jackard - Marine Biologist & Research Vessel Masters Captain
Jacey was born and raised in East Lansing, Michigan where she also obtained her bachelor's degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from Michigan State University. After doing and coaching gymnastics for over a decade she decided to pursue other life passions and signed up for CMERA as a student the summer of 2019 and has been here ever since. First as a student, then intern/marine biologist and now as a masters captain operating all five of CMERA's research vessels. This will be Jacey’s 6th season with CMERA and she's always excited to see what challenges and successes the new season brings ! YEAH BABY !
Dilise Dupre - Marine Biologist
Dilise grew up in St. Louis, Mo with a deep love of animals. She began horseback riding at age 7 and went on to ride competitively for over 10+ years. Her love for animals and the outdoors only grew after she spent 4 weeks on the island of Naxos at the age of 17. She spent several hours each day snorkeling, paddle boarding, and diving. Looking for various shells, and other sea creatures. This trip led to her decision to pursue a career in marine biology. She just graduated in December from southeast Missouri state with a bachelors in marine biology and minor in geoscience. In her free time, you can find her kayaking, doing yoga, trying new food, or binge watching her favorite shows. She’s absolutely ecstatic to be a part of the CMERA team, and cannot wait to get her hands dirty!
Christian Swanner - Biologist
Christian is from Carrollton, GA where he graduated from the University of West Georgia with a bachelor's degree in biology. While getting his education, he began working at a restaurant in his college town, where he is now the manager and head sushi chef. Christian played baseball and basketball for most of his life and continues to play these sports with his friends for fun. When he's not working or playing sports, he spends most of his time fishing or hunting, which is where his love for nature and animals comes from.
Heaven-Lee Nichols - Intern
Heaven-Lee was born in Cape May, New Jersey. She has always had a deep love for marine animals which grew from her mother and uncle being surfers. In 2019 she began working as a veterinary technician for Animal Talk Medical Center where her love for animals grew even more. Heaven-Lee came to us as a student in 2022 and was an intern for us the 2023 season. She just graduated in December from Davenport University with a bachelors in biological research. Heaven-Lee has played lacrosse her whole life and is currently playing at St. Thomas University where she is continuing her education in Marine Biology/conservation. In her free time, you can find her working out, hiking, surfing, or snorkeling. She’s absolutely thrilled to part of the CMERA team again!
Hannah Hawk - Intern
Hannah Hawk grew up in Pullman, Washington. She recently received her Liberal Arts and Sciences degree with a specialization in biology at San Diego City College. Hannah intends to transfer to the University of California San Diego where she plans on majoring in Marine Biology and minoring in chemistry/environmental science. Hannah has played soccer her whole life and was captain of her collegiate team at SDCC. Outside of school and soccer she likes to explore tide pools along the coast. This will be Hannah’s second year at CMERA returning from being a student last year. She is excited to be working with the CMERA team to pursue her passion of working with sharks and rays!
Raquan Coleman - Intern
Raquan Coleman was raised in Hopkins Park, Illinois. He is currently a sophomore attendee of Saint Mary's University. His major is Psychology with a double minor of Zoology/ Environmental Science. He plans on transferring these degrees into sharing his love for the water and animals. He then will begin a program to explore and train others like himself. In his own words " I am in Great Expectation of sharing my knowledge and learning from each of you! Welcome to Coastal Marine Education & Research Academy!"
Maddie Abrahamson - Biologist
Maddie lived in Tennessee her whole life before moving to Florida. She studied at the University of Central Florida, where she received her bachelor's degree in environmental science. Maddie's passion for marine life and conservation stems from her love of sharks. Her dream is to one day be a part of Shark Week. Maddie was a student for CMERA the summer of 2020 and is excited to return this summer as a biologist.
David Carlysle – Research Boat Captain
David graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. After becoming a registered Professional Engineer, he owned and managed an engineering consulting firm for almost 30 years before retiring and pursuing other interests, including becoming a United States Coast Guard masters boat captain. David has supported and helped her with shark and ray research since 2011. David is a master scuba diver, a licensed paramedic and a certified firefighter.
Tom Carlysle - Research Boat Captain
Tom has been involved with CMERA in various ways almost since the program began and has been a boat captain for multiple seasons.
He graduated from Georgia State University in Atlanta with a Journalism degree and worked in the media for several years. Most of his career was spent as an event manager where he managed trade shows, corporate events and tours. His fun retirement job has been working as an extra in TV and film, including Ozark, Stranger Things, The Resident and many others.