About Us

Protecting the Gulf's Vibrant Heart

We want the Sanctuary, its programs, and visitor experiences to be expansive and widely accessible. Without Friends group support, the Sanctuary’s reach and impact would be limited. Our goal is to connect as many people as possible to Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.

Our Promise

We help the Sanctuary seize key opportunities and meet urgencies with innovative

funding, advocacy, and vibrant community support.

We promise to make the online, on-land, on-water, and underwater experiences of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary extraordinary.

Meet The Board

Shane Cantrell

President

Capt. Shane Cantrell has over 20 years of fishing experience. He is owner and operator of Galveston Sea Ventures, a deep sea and offshore fishing charter business, located in Galveston, Texas. He received his B.S. in Marine Fisheries from TAMU-Galveston and then worked as a fishery observer on commercial fishing vessels in the Gulf. Capt. Cantrell is actively involved in the fishery management process with the Gulf Council serving on the steering committee of the Marine Resource Education Program and on the Data Collection Advisory Panel. Additionally, he is the treasurer of the Charter Fisherman’s Association.

Kristen Maples

Vice President

Kristin Maples is co-owner of Texas Scuba Adventures, a dive shop in Galveston, Texas. She is also a local diver, working biologist, and dive instructor. Through the dive shop, Kristin oversees dive operations that facilitate community connection and bridge informal science communication to local and visiting divers. She is passionate about leading international scuba trips for recreational divers, and hosting "Try Scuba" events so the next generation can experience scuba and build confidence with their in-water skills.

Sandra Metoyer

Treasurer

Dr. Sandra Metoyer joined the Environmental Institute of Houston at University of Houston Clear Lake in May of 2024 as the Institute’s third executive director since its founding in 1991. Dr. Metoyer has over 13 years of experience in administering and directing projects in higher education. Most recently, she served as director of ED Title V Pathways, director/co-PI of the NSF HSI Institutional Transformation Project at Galveston College, and as visiting faculty at Texas A&M University at Galveston. Dr. Metoyer holds a Ph.D. in geography and an M.S. in geosciences from Texas A&M University.

Sepp Haukebo

Secretary

Sepp Haukebo is a program manager at the Environmental Defense Fund where he focuses on researching and implementing solutions that balance access and sustainability of our ocean’s most important resources. He earned his B.S. in Marine Biology from Texas A&M University at Galveston, where he researched distribution of juvenile grouper abundance across FGBNMS. He also has an M.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from Texas A&M main campus, where he investigated underwater cave ecology and nutrient sources in the Yucatan Peninsula. In addition to his scientific background, Sepp has been an informal educator of marine sciences since 2002, a lifelong passion that led him to a Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship with NOAA’s Office of Education in 2013.