CCSN Staff

Katie Touhey

Katie Touhey is the Executive Director and Senior Scientist for the Cape Cod Stranding Network, Inc. (CCSN), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing rapid and effective response to all stranded marine mammals in southeastern Massachusetts. The network has a staff of five individuals and a corps of over 300 volunteers that respond to hundreds of reports of stranded animals each year. Katie dedicates her time to all aspects of the program: stranding response, research, education, and conservation. Her research projects currently include the development of mass stranding prevention protocols and the investigation of health status and the presence of biotoxins in marine mammals that strand on Cape Cod. She has been involved in stranding response efforts since 1994, starting first as a volunteer before serving as the National Marine Fisheries Service Representative for the Stranding Network in North Carolina. She trained under Vicky Thayer and Bill McLellan. During her tenure at NMFS, Katie also served as a beach-based, at sea, and aerial survey observer. She has also served as the On-site Coordinator for an Unusual Mortality Event. Katie received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies from Wheaton College (MA) and a Masters of Environmental Management degree, with a concentration in coastal management, from Duke University.

Sarah Herzig

Sarah is the Stranding Coordinator for the Cape Cod Stranding Network. Her primary responsibility is to oversee CCSN’s response to reports of stranded marine mammals on Cape Cod and in southeastern MA. Other responsibilities include animal care and handling, conducting necropsies to determine the cause of death and/or stranding, development and maintenance of protocols and procedures, volunteer and staff training and management, and community outreach.

Sarah moved into the position as Stranding Coordinator after serving as the Assistant Stranding Coordinator at CCSN for a little over a year.  Sarah got her start in the stranding field through the AmeriCorps Cape Cod program, in which she served as a member and crew leader over the course of two years.  Prior to residing and serving on Cape Cod, Sarah graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Biology and an Area of Concentration in the Biological Basis of Behavior. Sarah also focused much of her studies on marine biology by attending SEA Semester of Woods Hole, a semester abroad at James Cook University in Australia, and a quarter at Hopkins Marine Lab in Monterrey, CA.

C.T. Harry

C.T. is the Assistant Stranding Coordinator for the Cape Cod Stranding Network (CCSN). His primary responsibility is to provide effective and efficient marine mammal stranding response to the Cape Cod region and throughout southeastern Massachusetts. He also assists the stranding coordinator in facilitating the daily functioning of CCSN. Other duties include managing CCSN’s marine mammal database, performing diagnostic necropsies (animal autopsies) on marine mammals to determine cause of death, aiding in live animal response and triage, assisting in volunteer education and outreach, and maintaining vehicles and gear.

Before becoming part of the CCSN team in February 2006, C.T. worked for 2 ½ years as the Marine Mammal Technician for the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Program in Virginia Beach, VA. C.T., a native Virginian, graduated with a B.S. in Biology from James Madison University in 2001.

C.T.’s professional interests center on investigating the morbidity and mortality of stranded marine mammals and understanding their role as indicators of the baseline health status of marine mammal stocks. These investigations can lead to more effective management practices and help to broaden the knowledge of how marine mammals function naturally in their environment. Other interests include pursuing a better understanding of the nature of anthropogenic effects on marine mammals, especially mortality from fishing gear entanglements, and trying to identify alternative methods to reduce such interactions.

Katie Pugliares

Katie Pugliares joined the CCSN team in February 2006. As the necropsy coordinator, Katie’s primary responsibility is conducting necropsies on marine mammals that strand in the CCSN coverage area. Katie’s current projects include developing a necropsy manual that will be utilized by members of the stranding network for teaching and reference purposes and disseminating data and samples to collaborating marine mammal researchers. In addition to all things that pertain to necropsies, Katie is also part of the live animal stranding team in which she assists with responding to live animal calls, animal care and handling, volunteer training and education outreach.

Prior to working with the Cape Cod Stranding Network, Inc., Katie was the veterinary pathology technician at Sea World San Diego where she first got her hands dirty doing necropsies. Katie received a bachelor’s degree in Marine and Freshwater Biology from the University of New Hampshire in 2002, where she also minored in Psychology. Her pre- and post graduation experiences in the marine mammal field include volunteering for over 400 hours with the New England Aquarium’s rescue and rehabilitation program and an intensive hands-on internship at Theater of the Sea, Islamorada, FL.

Jane LaRocque

Jane LaRocque, joining the Cape Cod Stranding Network, Inc. in November, 2006, is the Marine Mammal Stranding Technician for the organization. Jane's duties include providing marine mammal stranding response to the Cape Cod region as well as southeastern Massachusetts, animal assessment, handling and care, as well as performing necropsies in order to determine cause of death. Furthermore, Jane is responsible for stranding preparedness, including equipment and supply restocking and maintenance, data entry and editing for both the CCSN and National Stranding Databases, and educating the public in regards to marine mammals and their life history.

Prior to obtaining her position with CCSN, Jane gained valuable marine mammal experience in 2002 as an intern with the Marine Animal Lifeline in Portland, Maine, an organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of marine animals. Upon graduating in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Science from Saint Anselm College, Jane was accepted into an internship with the New England Aquarium. The internship was within the aquarium's Rescue and Rehabilitation Department, where, upon completion of her internship, she remained a volunteer Captain for three years, dedicating over 1,000 hours of her time to the organization and its efforts.