We are sad to report the passing of our dear friend and longtime naturalist, Izzy Szczepaniak (1950-2021).

Izzy Szczepaniak holds a M.S. from San Francisco State University and is both a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences and the research project lead for Golden Gate Cetacean Research. Izzy studies harbor porpoises in the Gulf of the Farallones and humpback whales in California and Costa Rica, and has done so for 35 years. Izzy is one of Oceanic Society’s longest running wildlife naturalists, guiding both whale watching programs and international expeditions since 1983.