Ocean Outreach, Inc.
Great White Crew
Crew.........
Greg Barron
Director of Operations
We haven't quite figured out what to call Greg Barron. This week, we're leaning toward "Director of West Coast Shark Ops". A San Francisco Bay Area native and entrepreneur, Greg has spent his entire life living and diving along the North Coast of California as well as spending time working research vessels and dive operations all over the Caribbean and in the Atlantic as well. He has worked three National Geographic Flag Expeditions, done shark wrangling and helped recover sunken Spanish artifacts off Cuba. He has been involved in our San Francisco shark adventure from the very beginning. Greg helped the people at DOER Marine design and build our massive shark cage and he helped transform our boats into some of the best shark boats on the planet. He then assembled the perfect mix of people to make sure every aspect of your adventure is as perfect as it can be.
In his other life, when he isn't working to show you the fantastic Farallon Islands and their most famous residents, Greg operates two of his own companies. Barron Properties and Rideable Bicycle Replicas, Inc. Barron Properties is a real estate development and management company based in Alameda and Oakland, California. Rideable Bicycle Replicas, Inc. of Alameda, CA. is a small manufacturing company specializing in making antique and specialty style cycles mostly from the end of the 19th century. If you've been to Burning Man, you've probably seen Greg with one of his "High Wheel" bicycles or other vehicle creations. His company has been supplying cycles and custom vehicles for folks, film, theater and museums for 37 years so if you see a high wheel bike in a movie or play, chances are Greg made it. Some of the recent shows featuring Greg's stuff include Deadwood, Jack Ass 2, Lonesome Dove, Haunted Mansion and the stage show Wicked.
Did we mention that Greg can fix just about anything...almost before you know it's broken? He's Greg "MacGyver" Barron.
Julia Bissinger
Dive Staff Administrator
Our team of great dive instructors is lead by the wonderful Julia Bissinger. As a child growing up in Pennsylvania, Julia dreamed of one day diving with sharks. (We think she loves her job so much that she'd probably do it for free...but we pay her anyway.) Customers rave at how good she is at making them feel comfortable in the cage. When she's not out at the Farallons, she keeps busy working full time at a biotech company, going to college and leading dives to Carmel and Monterey. She's also an avid road biker.
Kyra Seymour
Never underestimate the importance of a cup of hot soup after a turn in a shark cage. Thankfully, we've got Kyra Seymour on our team. She's our Queen of the Galley and oversees our Guest Services crew. Feeding 40 or more shark lovers on two different boats great hot food is no easy task (especially when one boat has a galley the size of a closet) but Kyra and her assistants rise to the challenge. The Sausalito native and one-time metal worker admits to being head-over-heels in love with the sea. (Not like it's a secret...you can see it on her face.) She is a graduate student of underwater archeology and volunteers at the San Francisco Maritime Museum. She spent two seasons fishing the Bering Sea and has never, ever been seasick.
Natualist
Ed Estes
Susan Sherman
Dida Kutz
