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Staff

Department of Paleontology and PaleoServices staff members have diverse backgrounds and skill sets that come together to form an expert team that consistently provides the highest level of service, and is committed to the preservation of southern California’s important paleontological history. Contact Us.

Curator of Paleontology/Director of PaleoServices:
Thomas Deméré, Ph.D.

Dr. Tom Deméré has worked as a professional paleontologist since 1974 and has been with the San Diego Natural History Museum since 1979. Since 1994, Tom has served as curator of paleontology and director of PaleoServices at the Museum. Dr. Deméré is the author of numerous scientific and popular articles dealing with the paleontological history of southern California and the evolutionary history of marine mammals.

As director of PaleoServices, Tom has conducted and overseen numerous paleontological resource projects ranging from initial resource assessments, through impact evaluation, to actual impact mitigation. Although the majority of this work has been with residential and commercial developments within San Diego County, it has also involved a number of water, sewer, natural gas pipeline, utility transmission line, and electrical generation projects in southern and central California. Contact: 619-255-0232


Rodney Hubscher

Field Manager
Professional Start Date: 2009
San Diego Natural History Museum Start Date: 2011
Contact: 619-255-0346

Melissa Soetaert

Contract Manager
Professional Start Date: 2001
San Diego Natural History Museum Start Date: 2001
Contact: 619-255-0309

Shelly Donohue, M.S.

Report Writer / GIS Technician
Professional Start Date: 2010
San Diego Natural History Museum Start Date: 2013
Contact: 619-255-0301

Kesler Randall, M.S.

Collections Manager, Fossil Vertebrates
Professional Start Date: 1994
San Diego Natural History Museum Start Date: 1998
Contact: 619-255-0310

Christopher Plouffe

Lead Fossil Preparator / Paleontological Monitor
Professional Start Date: 2002
San Diego Natural History Museum Start Date: 2004
Contact: 619-255-0320

Eric Ekdale, Ph.D.

Curatorial Assistant / Research Scientist
Professional Start Date: 1999
San Diego Natural History Museum Start Date: 2010
Contact: 619-255-0231

Katie McComas, M.S.

Collections Assistant
Professional Start Date: 2012
San Diego Natural History Museum Start Date: 2016
Contact: 619-255-0321


Paleontological Monitors

Gino Calvano, M.S

Professional Start Date: 1992
San Diego Natural History Museum Start Date: 2008

Evan Martin

Professional Start Date: 2013
San Diego Natural History Museum Start Date: 2013

Bradford Riney

Professional Start Date: 1982
San Diego Natural History Museum Start Date: 1991

John Pfanner

Professional Start Date: 1996
San Diego Natural History Museum Start Date: 1996

Patrick Sena

Professional Start Date: 1994
San Diego Natural History Museum Start Date: 1998

Research Associates

Dr. David Archibald
San Diego State University (retired)

Dr. Annalisa Berta
San Diego State University

Dr. Michelangelo Bisconti
Livorno, Italy

Dr. Ian Browne
Oklahoma State University

Dr. Eric Ekdale
San Diego State University

Kathleen Holen
Center for American Paleolithic Research

Dr. Steven Holen
Center for American Paleolithic Research

Dr. Robert Reynolds
Desert Studies Consortium

Dr. Hugh Wagner
PaleoResource Consultants

Departmental Associates

Richard Cerutti,
Imperial Beach, CA

Patricia Don Vito
San Diego, CA

Carol Stadum
Carlsbad, CA

Volunteers

Volunteers in the Paleontology Department assist with many tasks associated with maintaining the extensive collection. This includes fossil preparation, numbering fossil specimens, micropicking for hidden treasures, organizing the collection, entering database records, and more. If you are interested in this or other volunteer opportunities, view our current needs and apply. More.