The Coastal Group boasts primarily Ph.D. and Masters level coastal engineers and coastal geologists, who are dedicated to applying their understanding of complex coastal processes to solving real world problems. The staff's experience and background is diverse, providing the Coastal Group with the unique ability to service a wide range of clients, including commercial companies, government entities at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as private homeowners and associations.
Our staff routinely collaborate to provide multi-disciplinary solutions to the problems facing our clients. Key members of our staff are listed in alphabetical order below, along with available bio information. To send an email, click the employee's name.
David G. Aubrey, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO
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Dr. David G. Aubrey, founder and CEO of the Woods Hole Group, provides overall scientific and engineering guidance. He performs high-level QA/QC on many WHG projects while managing many projects on his own. Prior to founding the Woods Hole Group, Dr. Aubrey was for 22 years a Senior Scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). While at WHOI, Dr. Aubrey served as Director of the Coastal Research Center where he oversaw and performed many studies in the area of the coastal environment and climate change. Dr. Aubrey has more than 90-refereed publications and numerous technical documents, and is co-author on several books.
Dr. Aubrey specializes in international environmental projects including science, engineering, policy, legal, regulatory, and management. His most recent projects focus on coasts, rivers and their basins, terrestrial environments, and marine environments, for physical, chemical, biological, and information technology applications. Dr. Aubrey has developed international environmental programmes in diverse places such as the Black, Caspian, and Yellow Seas, Gulf of Honduras, West Indian Ocean, Guinea Current region of West Africa, and in the Middle East. He has directly assisted countries in the implementation of environmental policy, legal, regulatory, and integrated management regimes. Dr. Aubrey has performed many environmental impact analyses, health impact analyses, and audits to evaluate the impacts of proposed projects on both the environment and human health, for various sectors including intergovernmental bodies (UNEP, UNDP, World Bank, International Development Bank), national governments, local governments, commercial firms, and private individuals.Brief Bio Sketch
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Donna L. Benevides, B.S.I.T., Marketing Coordinator/Graphics Specialist
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Ms. Benevides serves as the Marketing Coordinator, Graphics Specialist, and Webmaster at Woods Hole Group. She received an A.A. degree from Cape Cod Community College and a B.S. in Information Technology from University of Massachusetts Lowell. Ms. Benevides has over eleven years of experience in digital imaging, web design, and providing graphics and administrative support to professionals dealing with engineering, coastal, and environmental projects. She is proficient with both the Adobe Creative Design Suite and Microsoft Office on both Windows and Macintosh platforms. She also has knowledge of C programming, UNIX, JavaScript, HTML, DHTML, CSS, XML, and multimedia.Brief Bio Sketch
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Kirk F. Bosma, P.E., M.C.E., Team Leader/Coastal Engineer
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Mr. Kirk Bosma's expertise is in the areas of numerical modeling of coastal and estuarine processes, coastal engineering design for shore protection, wave propagation and transformation, sediment transport and littoral processes, hydraulics for marsh restoration, and data collection and implementation of coastal engineering projects. Mr. Bosma earned his Masters in Coastal Engineering from the University of Delaware in 1997 and his B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1994. He has extensive experience in the analysis of nearshore wave conditions and the impacts of waves on coastal erosion, evaluating hydrodynamics of estuarine systems, and currently serves as the team leader of the Coastal Sciences, Engineering, and Planning Division. Mr. Bosma has implemented technically advanced data analysis techniques to assess the estuarine, coastal, and oceanographic environment, including wave, tide, current, sediment, and particle transport processes. Mr. Bosma also has extensive experience developing and employing numerical models for marsh restoration, sediment transport, nearshore spectral wave transformation, particle transport, bathymetric evolution, two- and three-dimensional hydrodynamic processes, and then being able to interpret and analyze the results. He is experienced in utilization of UNIX- and PC-based software packages and programming languages to present, analyze, and solve engineering and scientific problems. Mr. Bosma has designed a number of coastal engineering structures and erosion mitigation solutions.
Recent types of coastal projects Mr. Bosma has managed include: beach nourishment plans, wave, current, and sediment transport modeling, beach nourishment design, marsh restoration projects, coastal engineering design, and borrow site impact assessment. Mr. Bosma has been the project manager for both large coastal restoration and marsh restoration projects that have included evaluation of a variety of restoration alternatives and included the implementation of a comprehensive data collection and physical processes modeling programs.
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Mitchell A. Buck, M.C.E., Coastal Engineer
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Mr. Buck is a Coastal Engineer at Woods Hole Group with a broad base of experience in various phases of coastal projects. He received a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 2005 and a M.C.E. from the University of Delaware Center for Applied Coastal Research in 2007 where he investigated beach erosion under storm conditions in a wave flume. Mr. Buck has experience developing and employing a wide range of models for coastal processes and nearshore hydrodynamics. Recent types of coastal projects in which Mr. Buck has participated include: wave, current and sediment transport modeling; beach nourishment design; and engineering design. Mr. Buck is currently performing numerous topographic and bathymetric surveys using Real Time Kinematic Global Positioning Systems (RTK GPS), total stations and echosounders. He has experience with using and deploying tide gauges as well as performing ADCP current profile surveys. Mr. Buck has also supported various field data collection efforts for the US Army Corp of Engineers projects including sediment coring, grab sampling and biological sample collection. Mr. Buck has his OSHA 40-Hour HAZWOPER training certification and will support the project team with their field efforts, if necessary.Brief Bio Sketch
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Shannon L. Carey, AutoCAD Technician/Graphics Specialist
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Ms. Shannon Carey has more than 20 years of experience in the production of engineering plans, 18 years of experience in computer aided drafting and 10 years of experience in computer graphics. She specializes in preparing technical and graphic depictions of dredging plans, dune stabilization plans, beach nourishment plans, permitting plans, oceanographic equipment details and presentations.Brief Bio Sketch
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Teresa Coy, Administrative Assistant
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Nathan Dill, M.S.C.E., Coastal Engineer
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Mr. Nathan Dill received a M.S. in Civil Engineering from Louisiana State University in 2007, and Bachelor of Arts with a major in Physics from Bowdoin College in 2002. His academic studies have given him a strong background in physical sciences with particular focus on free surface flow, water wave mechanics, sediment transport, coastal morphology, numerical modeling, and high performance computing. Previous experience as a high school physics teacher has helped him hone his communication skills and ability to present abstract physical ideas in an easily understandable way. Professionally he has gained experience in developing and applying numerical models in both PC and high performance computing environments for coastal restoration projects and also hurricane storm surge-related problems. Additionally, he is skilled at applying standard software tools and developing efficient project specific tools to support data analysis in support of modeling projects.
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Paul C. Dreyer, P.E., DEE, Senior Civil Engineer
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Mr. Paul C. Dreyer is a professional engineer with extensive experience in the development and implementation of projects in the environmental and water resources sectors. He has more than 30 years' experience in planning and implementing infrastructure programs in the United States, South Caucasus, Central Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South America, the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim countries. Mr. Dreyer has developed an excellent knowledge of engineering projects with a demonstrated ability to oversee the management and implementation of all program activities. With a proven ability to work effectively in a multinational-team environment, he liaises effectively with personnel from government agencies, civil society, international donors, and consultants. Mr. Dreyer is a licensed Professional Engineer and is certified as Diplomat by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE). Brief Bio Sketch
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M. Leslie Fields, M.S., Coastal Geologist/Marine Environmental Analyst
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Ms. M. Leslie Fields has over 20 years of experience in the areas of coastal geology and coastal process evaluation. She specializes in analyses of shoreline change, geomorphic evolution of coastal systems, coastal hazard evaluation and mitigation, GIS development, coastal wetland delineation, sediment transport analyses, and permitting (local, state, and federal). Ms. Fields is experienced with all facets of environmental impact analyses, ranging from the design and collection of field data to alternative analyses, and design for mitigation. All of her projects benefit from Ms. Fields' strong written, communication, and organizational skills. Further, Ms. Fields has extensive experience in the use of GIS technology to display and analyze spatially-related data for coastal and marine projects. She routinely uses ESRI's suite of ArcGIS products to analyze, evaluate, and present information for Woods Hole Group projects. She has combined her familiarity with GIS software, database management, coastal processes, and cartography to effectively manage and present a wide range of coastal and marine issues.
Over the past 16 years, Ms. Fields has been responsible for managing and conducting numerous projects involving the evaluation of coastal processes and shoreline response. She has performed numerous shoreline change studies along the eastern US. These studies examined issues including impacts from inlet stabilization, installation of shore protection structures (groins, revetments), inlet formation, and dredging. Where possible these studies developed information on historical shoreline change, incorporating data on regional geomorphic evolution. In many cases, information from the shoreline change analyses were coupled with numerical model results for wave transformation and sediment transport to help evaluate impacts of shore protection alternatives.
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Robert P. Hamilton Jr., M.C.E., V.P. Business Development/Coastal Engineer
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Mr. Hamilton is a Civil/Coastal Engineer and Vice President for Business Development at the Woods Hole Group. He's been with the Woods Hole Group since 1994, and has previously served as Coastal Engineer, Business Unit Director, and V.P. for Scientific Operations. He earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University, and a M.S. from the University of Delaware Center for Applied Coastal Research. He is focused on development of business relationships and multi-disciplinary project and client management. His extensive market and contracting experience includes government agencies, architectural/engineering partners, offshore oil and gas producers, private owners/developers, power utilities, and manufacturing industries. He has strong technical, analytical, and problem-solving skills combined with an effective leadership, communication, negotiation, and personnel management approach. His technical expertise is on solving problems related to shoreline erosion, coastal structures, water quality, environmental permitting, and the transport and dilution of thermal discharges and contaminants released into the marine environment. He also has multi-jurisdictional regulatory experience, including preparing EIS documents under NEPA, and has served as an expert witness. Mr. Hamilton's technical skills include numerical modeling and analyses of nearshore wave refraction, diffraction and breaking, sediment transport and shoreline change, and two- and three-dimensional hydrodynamic processes, including plume dispersion and mixing zones. His field skills include site assessments, wave and tide data collection, bathymetry data collection, beach profile surveying, and scientific SCUBA diving. Recent types of coastal projects in which Mr. Hamilton has participated are related to beach nourishment, salt marsh restoration, dredging and dredged material disposal, and environmental resource impact assessment and management planning.
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Beth Hays, A.A., Environmental Permitting Specialist
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Ms. Beth Hays is an experienced professional in coastal and marine permitting. She has a strong knowledge and understanding of wetlands and waterways regulations and by-laws regarding permitting requirements and interpretations. Ms. Hays assists the engineers in formulating, developing and prioritizing the work to ensure a full understanding of agency requirements and project deadlines. She also assists in field data collection, site evaluations and construction progress inspections. Ms. Hays has excellent organizational and coordinating skills ensuring timely and accurate application filings within prescribed deadlines. She has established close working relationships with program regulators at various local, state and federal regulatory agencies, and attends meetings with these individuals to assist in coordinating project actions. She also has extensive experience in performing registry of deeds research for the engineers and reviews various recorded documents for any potential issues that may impact a project, i.e. ownership, restrictive easements, etc. Brief Bio Sketch
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Eric Holmes, M.S., B.S., Coastal Scientist
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Mr. Eric Holmes was awarded his M.S. in Physics from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2010 after receiving his B.S. in physics in 2008 at the same institution. During his time as a masters student his focus was on fluid dynamics and physical oceanography. As a research assistant for the University's Physics department and then as a research technician in the University's Fisheries Oceanography department he gained a large knowledge base in the area numerical of modeling, especially, open ocean fronts, working with unstructured grid models, and wind-wave-sediment interactions in coastal settings. This time also allowed him to develop technical his technical writing and ability to present scientific findings. He is skilled in a variety of computer operating systems and software packages.Brief Bio Sketch
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Tara P. Marden, M.S., Coastal Geologist
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Ms. Tara Marden has more than 10 years of experience in the areas of coastal geology and coastal process evaluation. She specializes in managing and assisting with projects related to tidal inlet and barrier island processes and geomorphology, shoreface geologic framework, sand resource investigations, coastal wetland delineation, sediment transport analyses, and permitting (local, state, and federal). Ms. Marden is experienced with all facets of environmental impact analyses, ranging from the design and collection of field data to alternatives analyses, and design for mitigation. Ms. Marden also has experience in the use of GIS technology to display and analyze spatially-related data for terrigenous, coastal and marine mapping projects. She has combined her familiarity with GIS software, database management, coastal processes, and cartography to effectively manage and present a wide range of coastal and marine issues. While at Woods Hole Group, Ms. Marden has worked on several historical shoreline change analyses and coastal structure repair projects. Ms. Marden worked closely with the project team to complete the coastal structure damage assessment, alternatives analysis, environmental impact analysis, permitting, construction oversight, and long-term monitoring of these projects.Brief Bio Sketch
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Peter J. Markunas, B.S., Coastal Engineer
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Mr. Peter Markunas has more than 35 years of professional experience in engineering, government, research and development, and project and program management. Mr. Markunas has over 20 years' experience exclusively involving the fields of coastal engineering, shore protection, dredging, sediment transport, nearshore processes and resource and habitat restoration.
Mr. Markunas served as Project Management in projects requiring extensive and/or complex designs and permitting approvals. He specializes in marine and coastal projects, including strong experience in various multi-disciplined projects. Additionally, he has expertise in the development of municipal harbor management plans, including working with local boards and committees, assessing present and future requirements, evaluating current conditions and facilities to accommodate the requirements, and finally developing intermediate and long-term plans for planning and funding purposes.
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Catherine A. Morey, B.S., Special Projects Assistant
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Ms. Morey provides support to project managers and engineers on a variety of technical projects. She organizes and executes permitting applications throughout the various Cape Cod & Island's town hall departments; including Conservation Commission, Board of Health, Planning, and Zoning Boards. She helps conceive, design, organize and execute corporate marketing events and programs, and manages tradeshow and conference logistics; including staff schedules, speaking slots, booth setup, onsite company representation, and compiling meeting reports. Ms. Morey implements and designs new database structures to enable the company wide sharing of leads and information through e-mail synchronization. She also is the editor, publisher, and distribution manager for the Woods Hole Group external newsletter. For the USACE-NAE, Ms. Morey has primary responsibility for Task Order administration, financial tracking and invoicing, and developing subcontract documentation with Woods Hole Group's teaming partners.Brief Bio Sketch
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Nadine A. Sweeney, Executive Assistant
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Ms. Nadine Sweeney has been with Woods Hole Group since 1993, and has a complete understanding of the corporate management systems and procedures. She is primarily responsible for the publication of high-quality deliverables, including layout, formatting, and production. She has a wide range of publication software skills, including expertise with MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as graphics software experience with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. She is the designated Report Coordinator, responsible for ensuring timely and consistent completion of monthly reports and other documentation. For operations management support, Ms. Sweeney is a MS Project specialist, including applications for individual project scheduling and planning, as well as program roll-ups for resource tracking across multiple projects, clients, and departments within Woods Hole Group. She also helps define and track work breakdown structures in support of Project Managers for individual projects. With her experience and knowledge of management processes, she helps Project Managers review and produce monthly (at minimum) project budget update reports, client invoices, and progress reports as required.Brief Bio Sketch
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Dack G. Stuart, M.S., Coastal Scientist
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Mr. Stuart earned his M.S. in marine studies (oceanography) from the University of Delaware-Lewes in 2010 after receiving his B.S. in oceanography from the University of Michigan in 2008. As a graduate student researcher he studied the human effects of large-scale historical modifications to wetlands, and their subsequent effect on marsh sediment accumulation. Through this and a variety of other projects, Mr. Stuart has acquired substantial experience dealing with the movement and preservation of sediment in coastal environments. Other experience includes work on water sample filtration for suspended sediment concentration, utilization of radiogenic isotopes for determining sediment accumulation rates and wetland delineation.Brief Bio Sketch
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John H. Trowbridge, Sc.D., Senior Coastal Engineer
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Dr. John Trowbridge has more than 22 years of academic and consulting experience in hydrodynamics, sediment transport, coastal processes, and oceanographic measurement programs. Dr. Trowbridge received his Doctorate in Oceanographic Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in 1983, his Masters of Science in Civil Engineering from MIT in 1979, and his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from University of Washington in 1977. Dr. Trowbridge has been actively involved in the quality control and technical oversight facets of numerous Woods Hole Group projects. He has designed oceanographic measurement programs for the evaluations and improvement of coastal waves, currents, and sediment transport. He has developed simplified conceptual and analytical approaches to provide preliminary estimates, facilitate feasibility studies, design complex measurement programs, and analysis methods for extraction of robust statistics from measurements. He has developed a code for numerical simulation of wave-driven currents and alongshore sediment transport on beaches. Dr. Trowbridge has vast experience in the scientific background used to develop and simulate aquatic systems. Additionally, he plays a significant role in model design, development, and model implementations. His expertise in design and interpretation of field measurements is essential for understanding coastal systems and evaluating and improving models.
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David R. Walsh, M.S., Coastal Scientist/Field Oceanographer
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Mr. David Walsh uses field and laboratory data to resolve and evaluate geologic processes within coastal, estuarine, and oceanic environments. His primary specialty is the spatial and temporal quantification of shoreline and bathymetric change using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and other geospatial software packages to map and define geomorphological processes. In addition, Mr. Walsh has extensive field experience in the acquisition, processing, groundtruthing, and interpretation of bathymetric, side-scan sonar, and sub-bottom sonar surveys in order to investigate subaqueous sedimentary environments on a regional scale. Mr. Walsh received his M.S. in Oceanography in 2004, and a B.S. in Geology in 1999.
As a coastal scientist, Mr. Walsh works in concert with coastal engineers to collect and analyze the oceanographic and geophysical data necessary for the development of hydrodynamic models and the satisfaction of permitting requirements in various coastal environments.
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J. Michael Walsh, B.S., Field Technician/Marine Vessel Captain
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Mr. Walsh holds a Master 100-ton near coastal Captain's License and has 6 years experience as a field technician. Mr. Walsh has experience with mobilization and demobilization of equipment, sample collection and analysis, shipment of samples, oversight and training of staff, and collection of hydrographic data. Mr. Walsh has conducted water quality monitoring surveys, which included the deployment/retrieval of YSI moorings. He has also captained survey vessels in numerous sediment vibra/push core surveys. He maintains OSHA 40-hour HAZWOPER training, and has extensive Superfund Site experience, including New Bedford Harbor.
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Lee L. Weishar, Ph.D., PWS, Senior Scientist/Coastal Engineer
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Dr. Lee Weishar has more than 25 years of experience in the fields of oceanography, coastal engineering, sediment transport, and nearshore processes. For the past 10 years he has focused on coastal engineering and wetland/marsh restoration. Dr. Weishar specializes in the integration of biological, ecological, and hydraulic data to develop wetland restoration designs and to ensure that the design will meet the restoration objectives. Additionally, Dr. Weishar has extensive experience in evaluating the potential impacts of proposed restoration projects on existing wetlands and adjacent transitional, buffer, and upland areas.
Dr. Weishar's current work involves the restoration of both large and small-scale salt marshes. He has been involved in the design, permitting and construction phases of restoration projects for more than a decade. During the design phases of large-scale projects, Dr. Weishar spearheads the preliminary hydraulic design and hydrodynamic analyses that prove to the client that a large-scale restoration is feasible. Dr. Weishar has worked to perform critical examinations of the marsh restoration performance through frequent on-site visits and analytical analyses. Dr. Weishar helped pioneer the applications of Ecological Engineering and Adaptive Management in the field of marsh restoration.
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