Dr. Russell Schnell, a distinguished scientist and expert in atmospheric science, has made significant contributions to the field of climate research and environmental monitoring. Born and raised in Castor, Alberta, he has a rich ancestral heritage traced back to Norka. Dr. Schnell earned first-class honors degrees in Biology from the University of Alberta and Chemistry from Memorial University in Newfoundland. Seeking further specialization, he obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from the University of Wyoming.

On August 26th, 1922, in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Captain Sam Baker was born to a father who had immigrated from Lithuania in 1902 at the age of 15 and a mother who hailed from Louisville, Kentucky, born in 1900. After graduating from Clarksdale High School in June 1940, Baker pursued further studies, earning a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Mississippi State University in August 1943. In September 1943, he enlisted in the Marines and served in Hawaii, Guam, and Guadalcanal, where Baker joined the 6th Marine Division.

Rear Admiral Samuel P. DeBow Jr. was born in Philadelphia in 1953.  He earned his B.S. degree in Commerce and Engineering from Drexel University.  When RADM DeBow graduated in 1976, he became a commissioned officer in the NOAA Corps.  Sam earned his M.S. in Hydrographic Sciences from the Naval Postgraduate School, and was also a Senior Executive Fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

"Dr. Sim Aberson is a meteorologist at NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division, located at AOML in Miami, FL. His research has focused on observing systems to give Hurricane Specialists at the National Hurricane Center information to improve their hurricane forecasts. He participates in NOAA’s annual Hurricane Field Program and has worked with different observing platforms, especially dropwindsondes, to optimize sampling from Hurricane Hunter Aircraft and the way the data are assimilated into forecast models.

Mr. Stephen Gill was born in Lake Placid, New York in 1948.  He earned his BS and MS in Oceanography from New York University School of Engineering and Science.  Gill came to work for NOAA in 1975 as an Oceanographer for the National Ocean Service.  From 1997 to his retirement in 2016, Mr. Gill served as Chief Scientist for NOAA/NOS Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services.  

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Mr. Steven Wilson was born at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines in 1959.  He studied Food Science and Technology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.  Wilson worked as a USDA poultry and then NOAA fishery products inspector.  In 1988, he became Deputy Branch Chief for the National Marine Fisheries Service.  He also worked as Deputy Director of Field Operations, Chief Quality Officer, and Assistant Director of Quality and Technology.

Suzanne Tully McCarthy was born in 1936 in Roanoke, Virginia. She is of English, Scottish, Northern European, Scandinavian, and Germanic descent, with her maternal grandparents, Emma Row Arbenz and Herman Leonard Arbenz, hailing from Wheeling, West Virginia. Her paternal grandparents were Mary Clarcia Jarrell and Richard Grant Tully, with roots in West Virginia and Virginia. Suzanne pursued her education in mathematics, earning a B.A. from the College of William and Mary in 1957. She furthered her studies with an M.S. in numerical analysis from Johns Hopkins University in 1975.

Since 1980, Tom Wrublewski has been a physical scientist with the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS).

Tim is a native of Tampa, Florida and the son of school teachers. He graduated from Florida State University in Marine Biology. Earning two graduate degrees at Louisiana State University, he was awarded a Fellowship in the NOAA Sea Grant Program and worked as a staffer in the U.S. Senate. He added another four years of Senate staff experience before joining the Washington office of Asea Brown Boveri (ABB Inc) Corporation, a manager in public, private infrastructure contacts and projects. Tim rejoined NOAA when offered a position in it’s headquarters offices.

Timothy Schmit was born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, in 1962. He earned a B.S. and M.S. in Meteorology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduating, he worked as a researcher for the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies. From 1996 to the present, Mr. Schmit has worked as a meteorologist for NOAA/NESDIS and is based in Madison, Wisconsin.  

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