Faculty, Instructors, Staff and Volunteers at CIEE Research Station Bonaire

Faculty

Dr. Rita Peachey is the Resident Director in Bonaire. She received her B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Zoology from the University of South Florida and her Ph.D. in Marine Sciences from the University of South Alabama. Dr. Peachey’s research focuses on ultraviolet radiation and its effects on marine invertebrate larvae and is particularly interested in issues of global change and conservation biology. Rita teaches Independent Research.

Professor Caren Eckrich is the Coral Reef Ecology Faculty and the Dive Safety Officer for CIEE. She holds a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries from Texas A&M University and a M.S. in Biological Oceanography at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez. Caren is the instructor for Coral Reef Ecology, Marine Ecology Field Research Methods and Advanced SCUBA. Caren’s research interests include fish behavior, seagrass and algal ecology, sea turtle ecology, and coral disease and she is currently working on a study of algae that over grow corals in Lac Bay.

Caren Echrich

Anouschka van de Ven is the Assistant Resident Director for CIEE. She is a PADI Dive Instructor and underwater videographer. She assists with Advanced SCUBA and the Cultural and Environmental History of Bonaire courses. She has a B.A., First Class Honours Degree in Communications Studies, from the London Metropolitan University and worked in television and advertising in Amsterdam before moving to Bonaire. Anouschka provides administrative support for the research station and is responsible for the website and public relations. She is also a volunteer operator at the hyperbaric chamber.

anouschka van de ven

Staff

Volunteers

Scott Hausmann, diving control board member

Scott does everything from scientific advising…to painting and hanging shelves….to diving with our visiting scientists….to fixing the plumbing when we can’t find a capable plumber. He is a Dive Medic and is one of the supervisors at the hyperbaric chamber in Bonaire when he is not at his farm in Wisconsin and is often consulted on issues concerning our Dive Safety Program. Scott has a Master’s degree in Limnology and is an avid diver and scientist. He is very interested in mapping and saving the coral reefs in Bonaire.

Pahle Hausmann, volunteer gardener

Pahle retired to Bonaire recently because she love’s Bonaire and has been coming here since she was a child. Her beautification project at the station began this past spring and the station is looking better than ever. She has certainly seen a lot of changes over the years and is always happy to chat about it all especially if you are willing to pick up a shovel or hoe and help out. Pahle is a certified Bonairian tour guide and is also concerned with conservation and has been vegan for the past 15 years. She provides special meals for CIEE students when necessary.