Dr. Donald H. Keith
Donald has over 40 years of experience in prehistoric and historic terrestrial and underwater archaeology, participating in or directing projects in ten countries. He is the founder and president of Ships of Discovery (1989). His experience includes all aspects of initiating, funding, and conducting archaeological investigations, research, conservation, and preservation. Donald directed the excavation and analysis of the oldest shipwreck in the New World, the Molasses Reef wreck (ca. 1510). He led the successful searches for the Slave ship Trouvadore Project in 2004, and the NOAA funded projects in 2006 and 2008. He has established two archaeological conservation laboratories and conducted primary research into techniques for conservation of objects from maritime environments. Donald assisted in founding the Turks & Caicos National Museum in 1991 and served as chair of the board of directors for 10 years. He designed and was the curator for the permanent exhibits in the Turks & Caicos Islands National Museum. He has written and published extensively in both popular and peer-reviewed journals and given numerous public and professional presentations. Other areas of interest include ships of the earliest period of New World exploration, 15th and 16th century ordinance, WWII equipment, aircraft, and ordinance.
Dr. Toni L. Carrell
Toni has nearly 40 years of experience in prehistoric and historic terrestrial and underwater archaeology, participating or directing projects in seven countries. She is the co-founder and vice president of Ships of Discovery (1989). Her experience includes all aspects of initiating, funding, and conducting archaeological investigations and Phase 1 through 3 archaeological survey and documentation. She was the field director for the excavation of the French ship La Belle lost in 1684 off the coast of Texas (1996-1997) and was the curator of the permanent exhibit at the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History. She was the co-PI for the Search for the Slave ship Trouvadore Projects. Since 2009, she has been actively involved in WWII research and has received grants from the National Park Service (NPS) American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) and from NOAA Ocean Exploration Research. Toni was the chair of the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology from 1996-2001 and served as the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) representative to the UNESCO negotiations on the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage 1999-2001. She has written and published extensively in both popular and peer-reviewed journals and given numerous public and professional presentations. Toni recently co-edited (with Jennifer McKinnon) a new book with Springer Press entitled, Underwater Archaeology of a Pacific Battlefield: The WWII Battle of Saipan. Other areas of interest include ship construction, underwater heritage management, public outreach, WWII, and conflict archaeology.
Research Associates
Dr. Jennifer McKinnon
Jennifer has a background in historical and maritime archaeology and cultural heritage management. She has worked in the US, Australia and the Pacific on sites ranging from the colonial period to WWII. Her research areas include Spanish colonial archaeology, archaeology and history of the U.S. Life-Saving Service, conflict archaeology of WWII in the Pacific; landscape and seascape archaeology; in situ conservation and preservation, and community archaeology. Jennifer has published a number of book chapters and journal articles and recently co-edited (with Toni Carrell) a new book with Springer Press entitled, Underwater Archaeology of a Pacific Battlefield: The WWII Battle of Saipan. As a Research Associate since 2009, Jennifer has partnered with us to conduct wide ranging innovative WWII-related research in the Pacific. Prior to teaching at ECU, she was a Senior Lecturer in Flinders University’s Program in Maritime Archaeology in South Australia (2006-2013) and a Senior Underwater Archaeologist with Florida’s Bureau of Archaeological Research, Department of State (2004-2006).
Jason M. Burns, M.A., RPA
Jason has collaborated with Ships of Discovery on various projects since 2004. He formerly led the SEARCH Maritime Archaeology Division, which he co-founded in 2006, where he was responsible for maritime business development, research integrity, strategic growth, and industry leadership. Jason has over 20 years of professional experience on submerged remote-sensing survey, diver investigation, data analysis, and public outreach projects. His research specialties include nineteenth-century sailing vessels, ship construction, and marine recovered artifact conservation. Jason worked on the recovery of the Civil War-era submarine CSS Hunley off Charleston, South Carolina, and the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama near Cherbourg, France. He served as the Director of Conservation for the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP) in St. Augustine, Florida; as Deputy State Archaeologist–Underwater for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, where he created a statewide program for underwater archaeology; and as an Archeologist for the USACE Mobile District. Two books have been published on his maritime research, and he has authored numerous articles, papers, presentations, and web-based media. Jason has worked on offshore, nearshore, and inshore waterways across the United States and internationally across the West Indies, Europe, Africa, and the Pacific. Jason is listed on the Register of Professional Archaeologists and is a US Navy veteran.
Michael C. Krivor, M.A., RPA
Michael Krivor has over 20 years of professional maritime archaeology experience and has collaborated with Ships of Discovery on various projects since 2006. Formerly with SEARCH, he was the co-founder of their Maritime Archaeology Division in 2006 where he conducted all project management, maritime operations, emergency response, and scientific data accuracy on submerged remote sensing, diver investigation, and data recovery projects. He is an expert in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century New World ships, western river steamboats, Civil War wrecks, and small vernacular craft construction. Michael has worked on offshore, nearshore, and inshore waterways across the United States and internationally across the West Indies, Europe, Africa, South America, and the Pacific. He received his MA from the Program in Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology at East Carolina University in 1998, and he received his bachelors’ degree in Aquatic Archaeology from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, in 1990. He serves as a guest maritime archaeology lecturer at ECU and University of West Florida. Michael has managed more than 100 maritime projects and has authored or co-authored over 150 reports, professional papers, and articles. He is listed on the Register of Professional Archaeologists.
Dr. Peggy Leshikar-Denton
Peggy has worked in Latin America, the Caribbean, the United States, Spain, and Turkey. Her focus is on seafaring, ships, and shipwrecks in the Caribbean, including the 1794 loss of HMS Convert and its convoy. From 1990-2006, she worked with the Cayman Islands National Museum, conducting research, creating exhibitions, enlarging a shipwreck register, launching a maritime trail, identifying shipwrecks to become preserves, and advocating legislation. Peggy joined Ships of Discovery in 2008 and participated in the Search for the Slaveship Trouvadore expedition. Her knowledge of British material culture of the 17th and 18th century adds greatly to our depth of research. Chair of the Society for Historical Archaeology UNESCO Committee, Peggy also serves as secretary of the ICOMOS International Committee on Underwater Cultural Heritage, and is on the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology (board 1993-2004; currently Emeritus member). She has written extensively on the protection and management of underwater cultural heritage in the Caribbean.
