Susan Berta

Co-founder and Executive Director

Susan received her Bachelor of Arts degree from The Evergreen State College in 1982. She co-founded Orca Network with Howard Garrett in November 2001, and serves as Executive Director and program coordinator for the organization. Susan originated Orca Network's Whale Sighting Network and is coordinator and administrator for Orca Network's Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network, overseeing volunteer training, stranding response, necropsy and sampling of stranded marine mammals in three counties.

Susan was the Program Coordinator for the Island County/WSU Beach Watchers program from its inception in 1989 until 2000. During this time she coordinated annual volunteer training courses for over 200 volunteers, implemented the Penn Cove Water Festival and created the annual community seminars Sound Waters and Wonders of Whidbey, served as a technical advisor to the Island County Marine Resource Committee. During 2000/2001 Susan was the project lead on Maxwelton Salmon Adventure's Watershed Landowner Education and Involvement project.

Wendy Berta Sines

Langley Whale Center Manager

Wendy Berta Sines began as the Langley Whale Center Manager shortly after they opened in March, 2014. That year, they were open 4 days a week, and greeted 7,000 visitors in 9 months. As the Whale Center became more popular, it moved into a larger building in October 2015, moving again to the current location at 105 Anthes Ave, Langley WA in October, 2017. The Center began opening 5 days a week in the winter and 6 days in the summer and visitor numbers reached 30,000 in 2019! Wendy oversees the day to day operations at the Whale Center, recruiting, training and scheduling volunteers, organizes events at the Whale Center and manages the Gift Shop.  Wendy has a great team, including Katie Watkins, LWC Assistant Manager and Amanda Colbert, Education Assistant and many, many dedicated volunteers who keep the Center staffed and offer an amazing educational experience for all ages.  Wendy especially enjoys educating the many kids who come to the Center with their families, and she started the LWC Youth Team Activities, now organized by other staff and lead volunteers. 

Wendy’s favorite part of managing the Whale Center is it not only connects people to the whales, it connects people to each other-families, youth, volunteers, artists, naturalists, authors and musicians! The gift shop features many local artists and authors and is a gathering place for those who care about the local whales and the environment. Her favorite time of year at the Center is when the gray whales are feeding near Whidbey in the springtime.  Many families stop by on their Spring Break travels and the Welcome the Whales Festival is her favorite Orca Network event!

Wendy worked 20 years in Memory Care communities as Activity Director and then as Marketing Director, and planned many events and marketing promotions. Previously, she managed an antique and gift shop for 14 years and helped organize and promote successful classic car shows for 15 years, helping to raise funds for many non-profit organizations.

As with many of our volunteers, Wendy says the Langley Whale Center is her “happy place” and invites you to visit or join our team of Volunteers!

Amanda M. Colbert

Education and Events Assistant

Amanda works as our Education and Events Assistant supporting a broad range of outreach events, volunteer trainings, advocacy efforts, and assisting the Langley Whale Center. Through educating people of all ages, it is her hope to foster stewardship for the Southern Resident orcas, as well as all the other whales of the Salish Sea. A Florida native, the beaches of the Atlantic and the Gulf, along with the movie “Free Willy”, sparked her passion for the ocean and for orcas when she was just a young girl.

Amanda also sits on the board and is an educator with the nonprofit The Salish Sea School, a boat-based experiential learning program for middle and high school students. The Salish Sea School’s goal is to create student leaders in marine conservation ecology through these programs.

When not educating, Amanda enjoys birding, sketching, kayaking, hiking, reading, cooking, and is a hobbyist photographer. She lives with her husband in Skagit county.

Katie Davis Watkins

Assistant Manager for the Langley Whale Center

Katie is the Assistant Manager for the Langley Whale Center. Her love for orcas started at a very young age and she always dreamed of seeing one in the wild. She first learned about the Orca Network through the Lolita Campaign while living in upstate New York. She made a point to take a trip to Whidbey Island to check out Lolita’s native waters and was hooked on the Salish Sea from that point on.  After moving to Whidbey, she began following the Orca Network and then eventually found her home at the Langley Whale Center. She has a degree in Social Work and has spent most of her life working with kids and their families in the foster care system. She has found the work of orca advocacy is not much different than working for families who need support. She feels blessed to be a part of the Orca Network family and working to better the lives of all life in the waters around us. She believes that when we help our whale friends, we help all of us.

Cindy Hansen

Education and Events Coordinator

Cindy was born in Indiana and grew up in Alberta before moving to Washington, so being inland her entire childhood, she of course developed a passion for whales. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology from the University of Washington and has worked as a naturalist and educator for over 20 years. After volunteering with Orca Network for much of that time, she joined the staff as the Education and Events Coordinator in 2016.  She works from her home on San Juan Island in addition to doing education, outreach and advocacy throughout the region. She especially enjoys giving presentations and creating educational materials, and she strongly believes that working on issues with partners and colleagues is essential in order to achieve Southern Resident orca recovery and create a healthy Salish Sea for all of our marine mammals.

Cindy has also migrated with the gray whales to San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja Mexico for many years, where she works as a naturalist/guide. She is a licensed veterinary technician, volunteers in wildlife rehabilitation, and fosters orphaned bottle-fed kittens who can sometimes be seen watching whales with her along the shores of San Juan Island.

Garry Heinrich

Volunteer and Response Coordinator for the Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network (CPSMMSN)

Volunteer coordinator of the CPSMMSN and investigator for the CPSMMSN since 2010.  Former middle school Math and Science teacher, he currently holds a 200-ton masters license and works part time as a captain on west coast tall ships.

Worked as a marine mammal keeper/vet aide at the marine mammal rehab facility at Marineland of the Pacific, Palos Verdes, California.

Former instructor for Whidbey Watershed Stewards.  Received his marine mammal naturalist certification form the Whale Museum on San Juan Island 2010.  Has taught marine science at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, CA and Los Angeles Maritime Institute in San Pedro, CA. Lives in Freeland, WA with his dog Captain.

Alisa Lemire Brooks

Whale Sighting Network Coordinator

Born and raised in King County, Alisa has lived most of her life in Washington along the land and wildlife of the Pacific Northwest. Exploring the many local rivers, forests, mountains, and waterways around Puget Sound, along with annual weeks-long family summers camping on Shaw Island, and a grandmother connected to native peoples shaped and influenced her being.  
Alisa worked for 2 decades with a peer-counseling organization, is a certified Marine Naturalist and has spent time as a volunteer at PAWS Wildlife (when HOWL), and has rescued animals, both domestic and wild since a child.

With her lifelong love of and interest in all marine life, Alisa began volunteering with us in 2010 contributing sightings, which eventually expanded to all our programs, including assisting the opening of our Langley Whale Center in 2014. She was hired on as staff January 2015 to fill the newly created position of Whale Sightings Network and Education Coordinator. An artist, Alisa is passionate about and believes in the inherent connection of art and music in our lives, and has a love of adventures on the wide-open road & appreciating new places. Fair & equal justice for all beings & earth, play, and her connections with friends and family are deeply important to her. 

Cheryl Payne

Operations Manager

Cheryl lives in Freeland, WA.  She has a BS from the University of Washington in Wildlife Biology with extensive experience in field biology together with a real estate and accounting background.  She enjoys helping to develop solutions to problems, and creating and exploring new opportunities.  She is excited to be a part of the Orca Network as a way of helping to protect and preserve our wildlife.