Meet the Board
Michele Lamping
ABSTP Inc. President and Volunteer Coordinator
Michele is an Ohio transplant who became a North Carolina resident after graduating from UNCW with a bachelor’s degree in marine biology. Her love for sea turtles developed during an internship in Florida in 2000. She has been working for the North Carolina Aquariums since 2004 as an aquarist and sea turtle specialist. After being a nest volunteer for a few years she became the Atlantic Beach Sea Turtle coordinator in 2008 and is now President of the Atlantic Beach Sea Turtle Project, Inc.
Nancy Brady
ABSTP Inc. Vice President
Norma Jean Gomez
ABSTP Inc. Secretary
After growing up in Annapolis, MD and living in Guatemala for over a decade, Norma Jean has called Morehead City home for the last 22 years. Raising two kids on the coast further developed her interest in sailing, camping, biking, and paddle boarding. Her love for sea turtles began years ago but blossomed when she and her husband became empty nesters and her daughter encouraged her to take more walks on the beach. Norma Jean joined ABSTP as a volunteer in 2021.
BJ Tapley
ABSTP Inc. Board Member at Large
BJ began volunteering for the Sea Turtle program in 2008 after moving to the area in 2006. She is now Treasurer of the Atlantic Beach Sea Turtle Project, Inc.
Beverly Wells
ABSTP Inc. Co-Treasurer
Carolyn Arnold
ABSTP Inc. Co-Treasurer
Carolyn is a native Eastern North Carolina having spent all of her summers in Atlantic Beach. In 2016 she retired with her husband to become an Atlantic Beach resident and joined the Atlantic Beach Sea Turtle rescue program in 2017. She is happiest when on the beach patrolling for newly laid nests in the early summer mornings, monitoring nests during incubation periods (rain or shine) and nurturing resulting hatchlings as they make their way to the ocean.
Dawn Walsh
ABSTP Inc. Board Member at Large
Barbara Mallory
ABSTP Inc. Board Member at Large
Barbara J. Mallory is a native North Carolinian who spent many summer vacations with her family and friends along the shores of Atlantic Beach. Currently a resident of Atlantic Beach, she enjoys volunteering at the NC Aquarium, with the sea turtle patrol, and also with the Carteret Community Theatre. A graduate of East Carolina University, Barbara served the education profession as a teacher, high school principal, and graduate professor, and now, her love for sea turtles has shaped her volunteer “career” since her retirement in 2020. When not volunteering, Barbara enjoys traveling, as well as visiting friends and family, including spending time with her daughter and doodle in Wilmington, NC
Special Thanks:
Peter Nilsson for serving as webmaster.
Shannon Kemp for website content editing.
Lara Dalinsky for graphic design of our logo.
Former Board members Kathy Davis and Steve Vogios for serving.
To Report a North Carolina Sea Turtle Stranding Emergency
Stranding Hotline: 252-241-7367
To Report Sea Turtle Nest Violations
Call NCWRC Hotline: 1-800-662-7137