Navtech is produced by Colibri Northwest. Happening December 4-5, 2024.
2024 SPEAKER BIOS
CAPT Paul Amos
American Pilots’ Association
Paul was born and raised in Denton, Texas. In 1974 he permanently relocated to the Pacific Northwest where he was employed continuously in the tug and barge industry for 16 years. From 1980 to 1990 he worked as captain on towing vessels on the Columbia/Willamette/Snake River system. He has a wide range of experience on various types of towing vessels but the majority of those years were spent on grain barge tows between Portland, OR and Lewiston, ID. For the last 32 years, beginning in 1990, Paul has been a Columbia River Pilot. As a member of the Columbia River Pilots (COLRIP) he served two years as treasurer and was vice president in 1999. He was re-elected as vice president in 2006. Shortly afterwards he became president and has served continuously in that position since then. He was also deeply involved in developing COLRIP’s AIS-based navigation system and continues to work on improvements to that system. He is a past president of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, a past chairman of the Lower Columbia Region Harbor Safety Committee and has served on a variety of industry related boards and committees.
Paul is married to a sailor, Della, one of the first women to graduate from Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy. He has 3 adult children and lives in Vancouver, WA.
George Burkley
Maritime Pilots Institute
Mr. George Burkley serves as the executive director of the Maritime Pilots Institute (MPI) in Covington, Louisiana and is a partner in LOCUS LLC. MPI specializes in training, research and technical projects for maritime pilots. The institute operates both electronic simulation and physical modelling training and research facilities.
George is a 1989 graduate of the California Maritime Academy and completed his master’s work at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He served as an aviator in the US Navy and sailed for Hawaiian Tug and Barge and Masters, Mates and Pilots as a ship’s officer.
VADM Michael Connor, USN (ret)
Thayer Mahan
Mike founded ThayerMahan in order to accelerate the United States’ ability to effectively and efficiently monitor ocean activity using autonomous systems. He serves as the company’s chairman and CEO — driving direction and decision-making.
Recognized globally as one of the foremost authorities in undersea operations, Mike brings a wealth of experience to this endeavor. Over a 35-year career, in which he rose to the rank of vice admiral in the United States Navy, Mike commanded at the ship, squadron, and task force levels. His assignments include command of USS SEAWOLF, a nuclear-powered attack submarine; Submarine Squadron EIGHT; Undersea Forces in the Western Pacific; Undersea Forces in the Arabian Gulf; the United States Submarine Force; and NATO’s Allied Submarine Command.
Mike led the US Navy Submarine Force's move into robotic undersea systems, achieving key milestones including the first operational deployment and recovery of an unmanned vehicle from a submarine. He led an innovation effort that began the shift away from expensive undersea search operations platforms toward operations based on large numbers of inexpensive vehicles. In doing so, he broke new ground in undersea communications, development of undersea networks, and development of technology to support extended range undersea weapons.
Mike has written extensively on the future of undersea warfare and is a sought-after speaker on undersea warfare topics.
Mike earned a BA degree in physics from Bowdoin College and a master’s degree in national security studies from United States Naval War College.
Christian Hempstead
Hempstead Maritime Training, LLC
Christian Hempstead, Master Mariner, began his inland, coastal and ocean navigation career as a lad using traditional methods. He continued piloting as limited tonnage captain for several years while completing two undergraduate degrees. Then for 19 years he shipped on US flag tankers as senior deck officer, experiencing the transition to GPS and ECDIS navigation. During that time, he completed an MA in literature and the psychology of perception. Following a calling to teach, he came ashore in 2000 as professional instructor at maritime schools and eventually full professor at USMMA. He gained Transas (now Wartsila) vendor certification for teaching NaviSailor ECDIS. He contributed ECDIS training requirements to STCW-2010 and developed the 2012 revision to the IMO ECDIS Model Course 1.27, based on in-depth experience in navigation and simulation-based training. Since 2013 he has run Hempstead Maritime Training full time, focusing on STCW-certified ECDIS training, training in advanced integrative navigation, and training instructors & operators using marine simulation systems. In 2024 he gained Furuno certification to teach FMD3x00 in STCW ECDIS courses, another first for the Americas.
Jon Kjaerulff
MITAGS
Jon obtained his first license (as a Danish yacht master) at the age of 17, and subsequently attended the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. After graduating in 1983, he sailed in positions from deckhand to master aboard ships and workboats all over the world. After running a support vessel during the Exxon Valdez cleanup effort in Prince William Sound, Jon came ashore and founded Fremont Maritime Services in Seattle, Washington. Over the next 27 years, Jon established a reputation as a pioneer in the field of maritime safety, survival and firefighting training.
His company was one of the very first organizations in the US to obtain Coast Guard approval for STCW Basic Safety Courses, and from 2003 to 2015 Fremont Maritime was the only private company utilized by the US Navy to provide marine firefighting training to its military sailors. Over the years Jon and his team worked with tens of thousands of inland and offshore mariners, providing training not only at Fremont’s school in Seattle, but at customer locations in Alaska, Oregon, California, Florida, Europe, Australia and the Caribbean.
When MITAGS established the Pacific Maritime Institute in Seattle, Jon worked to forge a strong working relationship between the two schools.
In 2017, Fremont Maritime was purchased by MITAGS, and Jon came aboard as a marine safety training and business development specialist. At the beginning of 2021, he took over as director of business development.
CAPT Richard Madden
MM&P
Rich was raised in Sackets Harbor, NY on Lake Ontario, where he began his maritime career working at marinas, cleaning charter boats and racing sailboats. He graduated from NY Maritime College in 1990 and worked for Military Sealift Command (MSC) on a variety of underway replenishment, cargo and towing vessels. After leaving MSC in the late 90s, Rich transitioned into the tug and barge industry in Hawaii and then in the Northeast, conducting coastal towing, ship tows and, occasionally, ship assist.
Transitioning back from brown to blue water shipping in the early 2000s, Rich began shipping on commercial deep-sea vessels. Over the past 19 years, these have ranged from contract survey vessels for the US Navy to heavylift/multipurpose vessels to his current command on a medium-sized container ship in worldwide trade. Working on a feeder container ship between the Middle East and East Africa afforded extensive experience during the height of Somali piracy, which lead to an increasing interest in security and safety.
Captain Madden has been an adjunct instructor at MITAGS since 2013. Courses he has been involved with range from operational to management level meteorology, hazardous weather avoidance, navigation (terrestrial, celestial, and electronic), safety, bridge resource management, leadership and management, and shiphandling courses. Rich particularly enjoys simulations and has been involved with port research projects and the Navigation Skills Assessment Program (NSAP) in a variety of roles.
Rich is an associate fellow of the Nautical Institute, member of the Council of American Master Mariners (CAMM) and has been an appointee to the US Coast Guard Navigation Safety Advisory Committee since 2015. He is founder of the Maritime Safety Innovation Lab LLC, a maritime industry consultancy and research organization. Through this organization, Captain Madden works to identify and promulgate best practices in both human and technical skills with the goal of keeping seafarers and vessels safe from harm.
Rich is married to Kelly, a former US Coast Guard boatswain’s mate who now runs the couple’s powerboat extensively on the Chesapeake Bay. They have three adult children and live in Glen Burnie, MD.
Captain Jeremy Nielsen
Columbia River Pilot
Captain Nielsen was born and raised in the great land-locked state of Montana. Seeking adventure after high school he received congressional appointments to three federal academies and ultimately chose to study at the US Merchant Marine Academy in New York. In 1999, after traveling to many countries aboard commercial cargo vessels as part of his education, he graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in marine transportation & technology, simultaneously receiving his US Coast Guard Unlimited Tonnage, Oceans, Third Mate License, certification as a Qualified Member of the Engine Department, and a commission as an ensign in the US Naval Reserve.
Captain Nielsen has worked in cargo logistics for a major US trucking company, has been a steamship agent at ports along the US West Coast, and has been a stevedore working with longshore labor to manage cargo operations for commercial merchant vessels.
Seeking to become a Columbia River Pilot, he transitioned to the inland towing industry, beginning as a deckhand and quickly rising to become a captain aboard tug and towboats providing ship assist and barging services on the Columbia and Snake River System. Eleven years ago he was accepted into the Columbia River Pilots and has now operated or piloted almost every type of vessel from WWII-era tugboats to state-of-the-art cruise ships. Captain Nielsen has served the organization as its vice president for two years and is now in his fifth year as president. In this position he manages the business, industry, and government relations demands of a 45-member pilot organization, always working to strengthen the Columbia River maritime industry, improve pilot selection and training, and solidify the position of pilots as a primary force for environmental and public safety on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers system.
Brendan P. O’Shea
American Pilots Association
Brendan P. O’Shea joined the American Pilots Association (APA) as deputy director – associate general counsel on August 22, 2022. Brendan assists the executive director in the management of APA’s office operations, membership services, and administrative activities. He also assists in a legal capacity by advising pilotage authorities on operations, practices, business structures, and oversight of pilots and pilotage systems.
Prior to joining the APA, Mr. O’Shea served in the US Coast Guard for more than twenty years, reaching the rank of commander. His last assignment was as the legislative counsel in the Coast Guard Office of Congressional Affairs where he was the primary Coast Guard representative to Congress on legislation affecting the Coast Guard, and liaison to Congressional Authorization Committees.
Brendan is a 2001 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy with a BS in government. He was also awarded a juris doctor from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law and a master’s degree of law from Georgetown University Law Center. During his career with the Coast Guard, Mr. O’Shea served in several operational, staff, and legal positions, including service aboard two Coast Guard cutters. During his operational assignments, Brendan was responsible for boarding foreign vessels and enforcing US laws on the high seas, conducting security and ice operations in the port of New York, and conducting search and rescue in the Bering Sea. As a lawyer, he served in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the General Counsel where he advised DHS leadership on operational law issues, the Department of Justice’s admiralty office, the Coast Guard’s Office of the Judge Advocate General where he advised on investigations and personnel issues, and US Marine Corps Base Quantico where he prosecuted cases for the Marine Corps.
In addition, Brendan was in private practice for two years, where he represented individual and corporate clients in civil matters including intellectual property disputes and business litigation.
Brendan is a member of the Maryland Bar and resides in Washington, DC with his wife and three children.
Peter Philips
President – Colibri Northwest
Peter and his team work with transit agencies, municipal administrators, elected officials and associations to develop policy, communicate policy to stakeholders and successfully implement public policy in the field. Areas of particular expertise include marine transit policy, industrial and urban land use, print communications and public relations. Peter has 35 years of experience in maritime publishing, conference production, industrial and marine lands policy, and advocacy for the maritime and commercial fishing industries. From 1999-2020 Peter was president of Philips Publishing Group and publisher of Fishermen’s News, Foghorn and Pacific Maritime Magazine, monthly magazines for the commercial fishing, marine transit, and maritime transportation industries.
CAPT Jonathan Samuell
Chair Safety Committee, APA
Captain Jonathan Samuell currently serves as the chairman of the Safety Committee for the American Pilots Association (APA). He previously served as the vice-chairman for the APA’s NavTech Committee for the past 7 years.
Jonathan also currently works as an active pilot on the Houston Ship Channel for the last 16 years. As a member of the Houston Pilots (HP), he has served as chairman of the HP’s eNav Committee for 10 years. Jonathan is an active member in several maritime industry organizations including the NI, RIN, CAMM, IFSMA and MTS.
Prior to working as a state-licensed pilot, Jonathan served aboard various deep sea/drilling vessels and harbor tugs for 15 years. He sailed as master for 6 years and spent 1 year ashore as vessel manager.
Jonathan is a graduate of Texas A&M University at Galveston earning a BS in marine sciences and the university award for Excellence in Research. He is married with twins in college and currently resides in Houston, Texas.
Brian Tetreault
US Army Corps of Engineers
Brian Tetreault is the Marine Transportation System (MTS) program manager for Headquarters, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). In this role he also serves as senior advisor to the US Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS) and USACE liaison to the US Coast Guard. Prior to this position, he was a navigation systems specialist at the USACE Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory where he worked on projects to develop and implement navigation information systems. He has been a US representative to national and international navigation-related bodies, including the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC), International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM). He is a graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy and served in the Coast Guard for 22 years at sea and ashore.
Gerald Thornberry
US Army Corps of Engineers
Gerald Thornberry has served the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for 15 years. He is an alumnus of the University of Louisville where he earned a bachelor of science degree in geography (environmental analysis). He has supported USACE as a GIS specialist, hydrographic surveyor, dredge inspector, and provided mapping and analytical support to emergency operations. Currently, Gerald is a marine information specialist supporting USACE’s enterprise navigation programs and its hydrographic surveying community. His primary focus is on the Inland Electronic Navigational Charting (IENC) Program and eHydro, the USACE hydrographic survey repository. He is a member of the Inland Electronic Navigational Charting Harmonization Group (IEHG), co-chairs the US Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS) Future of Navigation Integrated Action Team (FutureNav IAT) and is the US representative to the Permanent River Information Services (RIS) Working Group of the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC). In addition to working for USACE, Gerald has been a GIS software and database developer in the private sector. He got his first experience in GIS while serving as a signals intelligence (SIGINT) analyst in the US Army in the 1990s.
David Tyler
Artemis Technologies
David is a co-founder and board member of Artemis Technologies, a global leader in transformative clean maritime solutions based in Belfast, UK. David was instrumental in the creation of the Belfast Maritime Consortium, led by Artemis Technologies, including securing of a £33m grant from UK Research and Innovation’s Strength in Places Fund to develop the company’s transformative eFoiler® technology and launch the world’s first 100% electric foiling passenger ferry.
David is chair of Maritime UK’s Regional Council, a member of the UK Department for Transport’s Maritime Council which was established in 2023 to provide the top level of governance across all themes and drive delivery of the UK Government’s Maritime 2050 recommendations, and a member of Operation Zero working groups, a UK government initiative launched during COP26 with the mission to accelerate the adoption of zero-emission vessels for offshore wind operations and maintenance in the North Sea’s wind farms.
Darren Wright
NOAA Office of Coast Survey
Darren Wright is the Precision Marine Navigation program manager of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey (OCS). Darren has been with NOAA since 1984 and worked in operational oceanography and meteorology for more than 34 years before moving to the National Weather Service (NWS) more than five years ago. There he was responsible for improving coastal, offshore and high seas forecast products and services for the NWS. Darren recently moved to OCS and is now using his past NOAA experience to work with other NOAA line offices, federal agencies and the marine community to provide NOAA’s important marine navigation information such as nautical charts, bathymetry, water level, currents and weather in an internationally standard format for navigation system manufacturers to create data overlays and dynamic displays.