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About TMA BlueTech

Developing the inventors and entrepreneurs of the future

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Get to know us

TMA BlueTech™ is the non-profit industry association and cluster organizer for the San Diego ocean and water technologies community. Its tag line is Promoting BlueTech and Blue Jobs®.

We bring education, policy and technology resources together to promote innovation and economic development in the Blue Economy. We create a strong “Blue Voice” via unique events, information sharing, national and international outreach, networking, research, and workforce development.

We believe that in order to promote sustainable, science-based Ocean and Water industries, the BlueTech community must collaborate with all members of our society.  Diversity and inclusion is critical to the success of the planet and the BlueTech industry.  As an organization, we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool that possess the required skills, experience and education to succeed.  We support efforts of our member companies and partners to select from a diverse candidate pool.  As part of our ongoing efforts, we encourage diversity within our internal practices, the voices we feature and amplify, and the partners with whom we engage.  We encourage presenting companies to help provide a diverse speaking panel during BlueTech Week.

Our mission

We believe in creating BlueTech and Blue Jobs by promoting sustainable, science-based ocean and water industries.

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Our Vision

Promoting the economic development in the  Blue Economy allowing it to flourish and provide the foundation for sustainable growth, and international outreach which fortifies global networks spanning the breadth and depth of the oceans.

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National and International Outreach

TMA BlueTech promotes collaboration in the region combined with active national and international outreach.

TMA team

Matt Classen, Executive Director

mclassen(at)TMABlueTech.org

Matt Classen joined TMA BlueTech as the Executive Director in September 2021. He has worked with small, medium, and multinational organizations in a wide variety of sectors in areas as diverse as communications, corporate strategy development, project management, sports sponsorship, organizational change management, and corporate culture development. One of his proudest professional highlights was co-producing an award-winning documentary that was filmed in both the US and Myanmar. He sits on the board of directors of two nonprofits, is a dual citizen of the US and Germany and speaks four languages.

Virginia Casey, Program Manager

vcasey@tmabluetech.org

Virginia Casey is TMA BlueTech's Program Manager and has over 25 years of experience as a communication professional in both the nonprofit and international sectors. Virginia brings experience in advocacy, lobbying, and community outreach to managing BlueTech's events and government relations efforts and is excited to help build awareness of the Blue Economy's vital role in our future. In her spare time, Virginia enjoys playing padel, participating in a local running club, and enjoying life in San Diego again after many years in much less inviting climates.

Michael Jones, TMA BlueTech Board Chair

MBJones(at)TMABlueTech.org

Michael Jones is Board Chair of TMA and TMA Foundation. He founded TMA in 2007 after noticing that San Diego has a strong cluster of maritime technology companies. His background is finance and international relations, having spent 8 years as a commercial lender and 31 years as an investment banker. He is an angel investor, member of the Board of Directors of the Maritime Museum of San Diego, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS). Michael speaks five languages and travels extensively.

Board of Directors

Executive Committee

Board Chair of TMA BlueTech

Michael Jones

Michael Jones

Managing Partner

Michael Jones

SubSeaSail

Bio

Executive Committee

CFO

Rick Hotz

Rick Hotz

Partner

Rick Hotz

Considine & Considine

Bio

Alex Halterman

Director of Technical Program Development

Quartus Engineering

Bio

Amit Singh

Partner and West Coast Corporate Lead

Dentons

Bio

Brendan Gray

Independent

Bio

Dave Abrams

CEO

Training Resources Maritime Institute

Bio

Dennis Calvert

President

BioLargo

Bio

Dr. Gil Dhawan

Founder and CEO

Applied Membranes, Inc

Bio

Jack Pan

CEO

Ocean Motion Technologies

Bio

Jim Mullen

CEO

Earthwise Sorbents

Bio

Linda Kurokawa

Executive Director

MiraCosta College

Bio

Mark Gundersen

CEO

Marine Advanced Robotics

Bio

Matt Classen

Executive Director

TMA BlueTech

Bio

Matthew Melling

Senior Trade & Investment Partner

U.K. Department for International Trade

Bio

Michel Boudrias

Associate Professor, Environmental & Ocean Sciences

University of San Diego

Bio

Nate Sachdeva

Partnerships and Adult Education

SDUSD, Office of College, Career & Technical Education

Bio

Nick Rotker

Chief BlueTech Strategist

MITRE

Bio

Richard Hine

CEO

ThayerMahan

Bio

Sean Newsome

Principal

Shorebreak Tech

Bio

Sushil Tyagi

CEO and Founder

Berkeley Marine Robotics

Bio

Thalía Krüger

Senior Trade and Investment Partner

Principle Power

Bio

Vanessa Scott

Director of Industry Relations, Innovation & StartBlue Accelerator

Scripps Institute of Oceanography

Bio

Xavier Martinez

Business Partnerships Specialist

San Diego Workforce Partnership

Bio

Jim Bertsch

Marine Program Manager
Solar Turbines

Orianna Bretschger

CEO
Aquacycl

Jordan Cousino

President & CEO
Cardinal Point Captains

James Espino

President
Gnostech

Bill Kikendall

President
Teledyne RD Instruments

Linda Kurokawa

Director
MiraCosta Community College

Scott Marchand

Vice President
Programs
San Diego Workforce Partnership

Joao Metelo

CEO
Principle Power

Dennis Calvert

President
BioLargo

Gwen Nero

Director of Corporate Affiliates
UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography

David Pasquini

Consul
UK Government Office,
San Diego

Dave Gentle

VP, Business Development
BMT Scientific

Nate Sachdeva

Strategic Partnerships
San Diego Unified School District

Drew Stephens

Ocean Industry Manager
Esri

Dean Wakeham

President & CEO
XST, Inc.

Josh Wells

CEO
Planck Aerosystems

TMA BlueTech supports the
UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals