Albert "Skip" Theberge, Jr.
NOAA Heritage Oral History Project
NOAA Heritage Oral History Project aims to document the history and legacy of NOAA through compelling interviews with its leaders. These firsthand accounts provide an invaluable resource that preserves NOAA's significant contributions to environmental research and management, fostering a deeper understanding of NOAA's vital role in shaping our understanding of the Earth's oceans and atmosphere.
Molly Graham
Captain Albert “Skip” Theberge, Jr. was born in 1946 in Coquille, Oregon. When Skip was three years old, his family moved to Santa Cruz, where he learned to surf and because fascinated with the ocean. He graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a professional degree in geological engineering. Skip also has a master’s degree in management from the Naval Postgraduate School. In 1969, Theberge was commissioned as an ensign in the ESSA Corps, which soon became NOAA Corps. He retired with the rank of captain in 1995, after nearly 27 years of commissioned service. Following his retirement as a NOAA Corps officer, Theberge began his “second career” with the NOAA Central Library, starting as a contractor for two years and serving the last twenty years of his career as a federal employee. He served for many years as acting as Chief of Reference, and retired in 2018. Skip now lives in Gainesville, Virginia, with his wife, Kathryn.
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