For more than 60 years, the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue (VAMMR) program has rescued, rehabilitated and released thousands of marine animals, including seals, sea otters, turtles, porpoises, and sea lions.
No one else in Canada, and few facilities around the world, have the skills and expertise of the VAMMR team to help marine mammals.
Executive Director VAMMR, and VA Staff Veterinarian
Dr. Martin Haulena graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1993 and completed a Master's degree in pathobiology from the University of Guelph in 1999. Dr. Haulena was the Staff Veterinarian at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA for nine years and is currently Staff Veterinarian at the Vancouver Aquarium. His special interests are in the medical management of aquatic animals—particularly marine mammals—with emphasis on innovative diagnostic methods such as MRIs, endoscopy and sonography, developing safe anesthetic protocols and improving surgical techniques.
Senior Manager, Marine Mammal Rescue
Lindsaye Akhurst is the Manager of the Vancouver Aquarium's Marine Mammal Rescue Centre and has been working at the Rescue Centre since 2006. Lindsaye is a registered Veterinary Technologist, President of the Oiled Wildlife Society of B.C. and a member of the Wildlife Rehabilitators network of British Columbia. Lindsaye possesses finely tuned rehabilitation skills specifically when working with seals, sea lions, porpoises, sea turtles, and sea otters.
Rescue Centre Assistant Manager
Emily graduated from the Veterinary Technology program at the University of Guelph, Ridgetown College in 1999. Throughout her career as an RVT she has worked in many aspects of veterinary medicine including ophthalmology, surgery, and internal medicine. Emily joined our RVT team back in 2010 and moved into the Assistant Manager position in 2017.
Aquarium Hospital Manager and Senior Veterinary Technologist
Sion graduated from Thompson Rivers University and has been working as a RVT for over 20 years. Her experiences have varied, working in small animal private practice, shelter medicine, education, and aquarium and wildlife medicine. Sion grew up on Vancouver Island and has been with the aquarium for the past 11 years.
Marine Mammal Research Assistant
Cassandra was born in Middleton, N.S. and grew up in Ontario where she completed her BSc Specialized Honours of Marine Biology at the University of Guelph. In 2012 she moved to BC in hopes of becoming involved at the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre and to pursue her dreams of becoming a marine biologist. After joining the team at VAMMRC in 2014 as a volunteer, she completed her practicum placement in 2015 before being hired on as staff in her role as a Rescue Assistant. Cassandra completed her MSc in Zoology at UBC in 2018 and started her new position as Research Assistant at VAMMRC in June of 2019.
Veterinary Fellow
Katie graduated from University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in 2023 with a certificate in Aquatic Animal Medicine. She then completed a small animal rotating internship at Oradell Animal Hospital, occasionally assisting the veterinarian at the local Bergen Zoo. As a veterinary student she externed at Sea World San Diego, Pacific Marine Mammal Center, and Georgia Aquarium. She has experience working with stranding networks in Florida and the Alaska SeaLife Center's wildlife rescue program. Katie loves marine mammal rehabilitation, diagnostic imaging, pathology, and conservation medicine. She is excited to join the Vancouver Aquarium and Marine Mammal Rescue Centre teams.
Aquarium Registered Veterinary Technologist
Gabrielle graduated as a Registered Veterinary Technologist from Thompson Rivers University in 2014. She has worked in specialty veterinary care, general practice with small animals, exotics and with aquatic and marine mammals since joining the Vancouver Aquarium in 2017.
Aquarium Registered Veterinary Technologist
Kate has been working in veterinary medicine since 2019 and is a 2022 graduate from the Animal Health Technology program at Thompson Rivers University. She has experience as an RVT in general practice but quickly found her passion with aquatic and marine mammal medicine after joining our team in 2022.
VAMMR Rescue Assistant
Natalie has been involved with VAMMR since 2015 as a volunteer, later completing a practicum placement in 2018, and was hired in the Summer of 2022 in her current role as a Rescue Assistant. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Applied Animal Biology in 2020 and her Masters of Science in Forestry in 2024 at the University of British Columbia.
Aquarium Registered Veterinary Technologist
Danielle graduated as a Registered Veterinary Technologist from Douglas College. Prior to school, she had many volunteer opportunities with various wildlife species that inspired her career. She has loved marine life since she was young and became an RVT with the dream of working with marine mammals.
VAMMR Registered Veterinary Technologist
Angelica was inspired to become an RVT while completing her practicum placement at VAMMR in 2018 as an undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia. She then graduated from the Veterinary Technology program at Douglas College in 2022, and joined the RVT staff team.
VAMMR Registered Veterinary Technologist
Hilary has worked in the veterinary field since 2021 and recently graduated from the Douglas College Veterinary Technology program. With a keen interest in conservation biology and a longstanding goal to work with marine mammals, she completed a veterinary technology externship at the Vancouver Aquarium. This experience fuelled her excitement to join the team at MMR.
VAMMR Registered Veterinary Technologist
Kendra has been a Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) for 8 years. Since graduating, she has worked with various agencies in marine mammal rescue and response. Her lifelong love for marine life has led her to work with a wide range of animals, from sharks to penguins to elephant seals, all over the world. Kendra is thrilled to be apart of the VAMMR team and work with her all-time favourite animal again - harbours seals!
VAMMR Registered Veterinary Technologist
Anna completed her RVT program in 2022 from Olds College in Alberta and started working with the ophthalmology team at Vancouver Animal Emergency. She also has been volunteering with VAMMR since 2016 and it has since been one of her goals to become a staff member - dreams do come true!
Volunteer Coordinator
Janna Werry is the volunteer coordinator of the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Center and has been working at the Rescue Center since April of 2022. Originally from Ottawa, Janna graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts. Her experience spans over a decade in public relations with a focus on tourism and volunteering for numerous charities. She holds a Certificate in Volunteer Management, earned the international professional Certification in Volunteer Administration (CVA) and is a certified SCUBA instructor.
Director of Development
Volunteers
Dedicated volunteers are essential to the success of the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre. Volunteers clean facilities and animal care spaces; prepare food and assist in feeding animals; assist with the preparation and administration of medications and treatments; accompany staff on rescues and releases; and help to ensure that every animal gets the care that it needs.
