Meet the Staff

The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary office is co-located with The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia.

Monitor National Marine Sanctuary
100 Museum Drive
Newport News, VA 23606
Phone: 757-599-3122
Fax: 757-591-7353

Management

David Alberg, Sanctuary Superintendent
757-591-7326
David.Alberg@noaa.gov

David Alberg joined the National Marine Sanctuary Program in the fall of 2005.  As Sanctuary Superintendent for the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, Mr. Alberg serves as the onsite manager for the sanctuary and as the primary point of contact between NOAA and The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia which is conserving the thousands of artifacts recovered from the wreck of the USS Monitor.  He has an extensive background in cultural resource management, museum work and exhibit development and has been involved in a number of high-profile museum projects.  In 1992, Mr. Alberg began his museum career as the first curator for the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton Virginia and went on to serve as the Director of Exhibits and Collections for the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville,  AL.  Most recently, he served as the Deputy Director for Nauticus in Norfolk, Virginia where he was instrumental in the expansion of the NOAA@Nauticus partnership.

During his career, he has been involved in the development of a curation strategy for the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in conjunction with the Department of Energy and also led a major effort to preserve the Apollo One spacecraft that was involved in the 1967 Apollo fire that took the lives of astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffe.  Preserving our Nation’s history has always been a passion for Mr. Alberg. As Sanctuary Superintendent for the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary he continues the work of protecting and preserving the history of the USS Monitor; works to assure that the remains of the USS Monitor are preserved for future generations; and works to promote and expand the work of the National Marine Sanctuary Program.  Mr. Alberg serves in the United States Navy Reserve and holds a bachelors degree in Museum Studies from George Mason University and a master’s degree in Museum Education from the College of William and Mary.

Administrative/Budget

June Feggins-Hooe, Program Specialist
757-591-7333
June.Feggins@noaa.gov

June Feggins-Hooe is the Administrative Support Specialist for the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and the Maritime Heritage Program. She has worked with NOAA since 1989, beginning her career as an administrative support specialist at the NOAA Officer Training Center at Fort Eustis, Virginia. She also worked at the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations 1995 to 2001. She has been the administrative support specialist at NOAA's Maritime Archaeology Center since 2001.

Research

Jeff Johnston, Historian
757-591-7351
Jeff.Johnston@noaa.gov

Jeff Johnston is a Program Specialist who has worked with the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary since 1995.  Jeff serves as the Sanctuary historian and has over 20 years experience specializing in the fields of maritime and Civil War history.  Jeff served as one of the archaeological team leaders for NOAA on Monitor during the recovery years and continues to work with private research groups to fulfill NOAA’s efforts to preserve the USS Monitor.

Education, Outreach & Sanctuary Advisory Council

Shannon Ricles, Education and Outreach Coordinator
Shannon.Ricles@noaa.gov

Shannon Ricles is the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. Formerly, Shannon was the Director at Patuxent River Naval Air Station of STARBASE-Atlantis-a US Navy educational outreach program that focuses on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and which serves over 1,000 local fifth grade students annually. Prior to working for the Navy, Shannon was the Program Manager and Coordinating Producer for NASA's educational broadcast program, the NASA SCI Files™, which aired nationwide on PBS and on over 800 cable access channels. The program won numerous awards including five Emmys. Shannon has over 15 years classroom experience as an educator at multiple grade levels and received her Bachelors of Science degree in Education with an Earth Science emphasis from the University of North Texas at Denton. She is currently working on her Masters of Business Administration at Saint Leo's University.

Lauren Heesemann, Education Specialist
Lauren.Heesemann@noaa.gov

Lauren is the Education Specialist for the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. She attended the College of Charleston where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Biology and is currently attending Colorado State University where she is working on a Master's degree in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources. Lauren's educational experiences have included teaching middle school science, teaching marine biology camp classes in the Florida Keys and the Bahamas, and much more. Drawing on her education and experience, Lauren works towards the preservation and conservation of natural and historical resources through education and outreach.

Joe Hoyt, Maritime Archaeologist
Joseph.Hoyt@noaa.gov

Joe Hoyt is a maritime archaeologist serving as a field tech and researcher for the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. He has worked on several NOAA projects in the Thunder Bay, Florida Keys and Monitor National Marine Sanctuaries since 2001. In 2004, he was awarded the North American Rolex Scholarship through the Our World Underwater Scholarship Society. He has worked on underwater archaeology projects in the Great Lakes, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and several inland rivers. Joe is also an avid photographer and diver, and has crewed documentary expeditions on BBC's Planet Earth and PBS. Joe holds an MA in maritime history and underwater archaeology from East Carolina University's Program in Maritime Studies.