Woods Hole, Mass. (October xx, 2026) – Two members of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) community have been elected to the Marine Technology Society (MTS) Board of Directors. Leslie-Ann McGee will serve as the board’s Vice President of Industry, Research, and Technology, while Jacquelyn Veatch will serve as Vice President of the Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPs).
At WHOI, McGee serves as the chief innovation officer of OceanWorks, an initiative she co-founded to connect industry partners with WHOI scientists and engineers to develop, test, and deploy solutions to ocean challenges. Their work spans technology commercialization, industry partnerships, and research translation, helping move marine technologies from early-stage research toward real-world applications.
In her role on the MTS Board, McGee will help guide the international professional society as it advances the development and application of marine technology and brings together leaders from industry, academia, government, and other sectors of the ocean community.
“Marine technology can help turn scientific ideas into practical solutions for the ocean and the people who depend on it,” said McGee. “Serving on the MTS Board is an honor, and an opportunity to bring together the people and ideas needed to move those solutions forward, while making sure they are grounded in science and the needs of the communities we’re trying to serve.”
(Photo by: Nicole Trenholm)
Veatch is a postdoctoral fellow-investigator at WHOI, who uses ocean observing technologies, satellite data, and computational tools to study how physical ocean processes shape marine ecosystems. A longtime member of MTS, she has served as chair of the Society’s Scholarship Committee and contributed to student competitions, career networking programs, and other efforts supporting early-career ocean professionals. In her new role, she will work to strengthen connections between students, early-career professionals, and the broader MTS community.
“The transition from student to early-career can be a uniquely challenging time in a professional’s career,” Veatch explains. “I look forward to working within MTS to support this transition, continuing to develop the strong global ECOP community within MTS, and bringing the unique challenges faced by ECOPs to the rest of the MTS board.”
Together, McGee and Veatch bring perspectives from across the career spectrum to the Society’s Board of Directors. Their three-year terms begin Jan. 1, 2027.
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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Founded in 1930 and based in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, WHOI’s mission is to understand the ocean and its interaction with the Earth system, and to communicate the ocean’s vital role in the global environment.
