Michelle Berman Kowalewski
Founder and Director
michelle@cicru.org
Michelle Berman Kowalewski established the Channel Islands Cetacean Research Unit (CICRU) as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in July 2013 to continue responding to deceased cetaceans through the Marine Mammal Health Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP). Prior to the inception of the Channel Islands Cetacean Research Unit, the cetacean stranding program and funding source was managed through the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History for over a decade.
Michelle has 25 years of stranding experience, first in the California Marine Mammal Stranding Network (CMMSN) during an internship at Moss Landing Marine Labs, followed by three years with the Florida Marine Mammal Stranding Network, and then returning to the CMMSN in 2000. Her Master’s thesis was on Lipid Metabolism in Steller Sea Lions and gained animal handling experience through that work. In addition to response-related training, Kowalewski has sat on the Prescott Technical Review Panel for eleven years.
Lili Hartounian
Lead Cetacean Stranding Biologist
lili@cicru.org
Lili’s motivation for the work of CICRU arose during her first experience assisting a Tursiops necropsy. She felt a deep sense of wonder and a passion to determine and understand the causes of cetacean death. This motivation grows with every necropsy even after investigating several hundred animals.
After working as a part of the CICRU team on multiple necropsies, attending stranding network conferences, and writing Prescott Grant proposals, Lili became the PI for CICRU.
Andrea Dransfield
Stranding Assistant
andrea@cicru.org
Andrea is a marine biologist with a background in cetacean research. Her Master’s thesis focused on humpback whale habitat modeling and reducing ship strike risk in the Bay Area and her undergraduate thesis focused on harbor porpoise habitat use in British Columbia. She has contributed to a variety of other projects researching harbor seals in Point Reyes National Seashore, monitoring gray whales along the coast of California, studying Irrawaddy dolphins in Thailand, and aerial and boat-based monitoring of large whales species such as blue whales at risk of ship strike in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. In her spare time, Andrea enjoys biking, SUPing, horseback riding, and scuba diving.
To report a dead stranded whale, dolphin, or porpoise, please call or text our Stranding Hotline: 805-500-6220
Please note the exact location and provide a photo, if possible.