OUR MISSION
The Jumby Bay Hawksbill Project seeks to better understand the life history and population dynamics of the hawksbill sea turtle in hopes that our findings will serve as a foundation for wise management and sound scientifically-grounded policymaking. We strive to promote the successful conservation of sea turtles in Antigua and across the region through increased public awareness of marine turtles. Only through long-term public support will hawksbills in Antigua and Barbuda - and the greater Caribbean - have a chance at survival and recovery.
WHAT WE DO
The Jumby Bay Hawksbill Project is a long-term research and conservation program, monitoring the hawksbill sea turtle nesting colony on Long Island, Antigua in the West Indies. The JBHP stands as the longest, continuous running hawksbill research program in the world. Since the project’s inception in 1987, close to 500 nesting hawksbills have been individually identified and tagged, and hundreds of thousands of hatchlings have scurried down the sand into Pasture Bay to begin their life journeys. Many of those turtles first tagged back in the late 1980s are still returning Jumby Bay’s beaches more than two decades later! And new, first-time nesters join the population as new recruits every year.
While the island and the project continue to evolve, the core of our research program – nightly, hourly beach patrols to tag nesting hawksbills – remains the same as it has for the past quarter-century. This research consistency is one factor that sets the JBHP apart and highlights the project’s value to the sea turtle conservation community.
Emily Evangelist, 2026 Field Director
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​​​​​​​Abby is serving as a Field Director during the 2026 field season. She graduated from the University of Florida in Spring 2026 with a degree in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation and a minor in International Studies.
Sam Zwiefelhofer, 2026 Field Director
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Sam will be patrolling Pasture Beach as a JBHP Field Director for the 2026 nesting season.
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Kate Levasseur, Research Associate
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Kate served as a Field Director from 2008–2011 and later collaborated with the JBHP as a PhD student at the University of South Carolina. She developed a research program focused on population genetics, including the fine-scale genetic structure of hawksbills nesting at JB and surrounding beaches of Antigua and Barbuda. She is now a visiting assistant professor at Davidson College in North Carolina, where her research program continues to build in exciting directions related to hawksbill genetics.
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Alexandra Fireman, Research Associate
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Alex served as a Field Director from 2016–2019. She collaborated with the JBHP during her Masters thesis research at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Her research involved an assessment of the diet and foraging strategies of the nesting hawksbills on Jumby Bay using chemical tracers. She is beginning a PhD in the fall of 2026 at the University of Miami in collaboration with the JBHP. She will be working on projects assessing population status and demographics of hawksbills in Antigua and the wider Caribbean. When not on Jumby Bay, Alex has worked with turtles on mainland Antigua, in Florida, and the Virgin Islands.
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Andrew Maurer, Research Associate
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Andy served as Field Director from 2015 to 2017. He collaborated with the JBHP for his PhD research at NC State University, leading projects ranging from satellite tracking, to estimating hatchling sex ratios, and describing effects of beached Sargassum macroalgae. After his PhD, he was a postdoctoral researcher with NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center, and is now working on the global Blue Corridors for Turtles project. Andy still works closely on JBHP research initiatives.​
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Carol Guy-Stapleton, Communications Director
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Carol served as a JBHP Field Director in 2004 and 2005 with her husband Seth Stapleton. She continues to serve the project by supporting communications initiatives. In her day job, Carol works to accelerate the shift to clean energy while protecting wildlife on the environmental team at Apex Clean Energy. Previously, she was an environmental consultant in Hitachi Consulting’s Sustainability Practice, having earned an MEM in Environmental Economics from Duke University and BSFR in Wildlife from the University of Georgia. She loves laughing with Seth and their three sons Jonah, Leo and Cole.
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Seth Stapleton, Director and Principal Investigator
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Seth has served as Director and PI since 2007 after first joining the JBHP as Field Director in 2004 and 2005 with his wife Carol. For his day job, he oversees the Minnesota Zoo's wildlife conservation projects, ranging from black rhino research in Namibia to wood turtle tracking in Minnesota. He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota and at NC State. Seth completed his PhD at the University of Minnesota researching polar bears, and earned an MSc in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Georgia and BS degrees in Biology and Environmental Science from the College of William & Mary. He enjoys hanging out with Carol and their three young sons Jonah, Leo and Cole, walking his dog, traipsing through the woods, and traveling to far flung places.
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WHO WE ARE
Emily, a University of Wisconsin - River Falls graduate, began working with the JBHP as a Field Director >4 years ago. During her contributions over several field seasons and thousands of nesting patrols, she has become an integral part of the JBHP team.​​
Abby Needles, 2026 Field Director​​​​
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