Meet the Staff

Tony Morelli (tonmo) -- Founder, Webmaster Tony began TONMO.com as an octopus and cephalopod interest site in May 2000. He began his career in the online/Internet industry in 1992, and has worked for companies such as Prodigy, iVillage.com, Reuters and Comcast. Tony is CEO of Deep Intuition, LLC, which is a business partnership he manages with his wife to support their various online hobbies. He graduated from St. Bonaventure University with a B.A. in Mass Communication, and lives in Pennsylvania. Email: email [at] tonmo [dot] com Mark Montague (monty) -- Associate Webmaster As a youngster, Mark was fascinated by the GPO at the Steinhart Aquarium. He has taken some advanced biology classes and spent many hours reading literature on cephalopod biology in musty libraries, so his knowledge of marine biology is a curious mix of "ignorant computer scientist" and "master of arcane lore." He is particularly interested in the neurobiology, vision, and musculature of cephalopods, and believes that the comparison of cephalopod biology to vertebrate biology has great potential to advance our understanding of general biological principles. He has a personal web page as well. Email: monty [at] tonmo [dot] com Olaf Blaauw (ob) -- International Liaison Having been fascinated by deep sea cephalopods since early childhood, Olaf honed his skills in biology at Leiden University in the Netherlands, before meandering into his current position at the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research. Being a prolific traveler, Olaf has made it his mission to forge as much of a union between the different TonMo members as is humanly possible on a blatantly exploited expense account. Participating in the research and description of the largest cephalopod ever seen by man has been a highlight in his life as a biologist, which without the bonds forged by this forum would have been impossible. Inspired as such, Olaf aspires to strengthen these bonds further and further, hopefully encompassing even the remotest corners of this forum. Email: ob [at] tonmo [dot] com
CEPHALOPOD CARE Colin Dunlop (Colin) -- Cephalopod Care Moderator Colin is a Countryside Ranger with a background in Applied Biological Sciences and joined the TONMO.com staff in March 2002. Based in one of the UK's largest country parks he is responsible for the care, conservation and management of many natural waterways, woodlands, bogs and forests across Lanarkshire. He is a published author on cephalopods and experienced in keeping them in the home; this includes cuttlefish and octopuses, and has advanced diplomas in both 'Fish Biology & Fish Health' and 'Water Quality & Filtration'. Colin is a licensed amphibian worker and currently lives just South of Glasgow, Scotland. Email: colin [at] tonmo [dot] com Nancy King (Nancy) -- Cephalopod Care Moderator Nancy has an interest in all things cephy but especially octopus behavior. She maintains two saltwater aquariums and has kept O. bimaculoides and O. briareus as well as many other invertebrates. She joined the TONMO.com staff in March 2002 with a background in management, editing and technical writing in technology companies. She enjoys helping people with ceph keeping, including writing articles. Nancy also has a strong background in art and currently works in precious metals and watercolor with a goal of producing high quality art with marine themes. She holds an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin and presently lives in Dallas, Texas – only five hours from the Gulf! Email: nancy [at] tonmo [dot] com Carol Sauer (corw314) -- Salt and Freshwater hobbiest for over 25 years, with many years experience in the Pet Trade from petshops to shelters to rehabilitation of wildlife. Currently work in a Finance department. Favorite activity besides watching the Octo at the moment and photography, is exploring with my daughter Jess! Currently, resident of New Jersey along the coastline.	CEPHALOPOD SCIENCE Dr. Steve O'Shea (Steve) -- Cephalopod Science Moderator Steve is an expert in the systematics and biogeography of cephalopods, and joined the TONMO.com staff in June 2002. He can be seen on the Discovery Channel documentary, Chasing Giants: On the Trail of the Giant Squid. For more information, see his Autobiography and Select Bibliography (2008). Dr. O'Shea lives in New Zealand. Email: steve [at] tonmo [dot] com Kat Bolstad (tintenfisch) -- Cephalopod Science Moderator Kat joined the TONMO.com staff in November 2002. Her PhD thesis (Systematics of the Squid Family Onychoteuthidae Gray, 1847) is due for imminent submission in the EOS Research Institute, Auckland University of Technology (New Zealand). She also works at Kelly Tarlton's, the local aquarium in Auckland. Originally from Minnesota, she has spent recent years variously visiting overseas squid collections, diving, teaching ecology, biology and German. Her previous marine experience includes a semester at the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian) studying isopod systematics, three years at the New England Aquarium working on lobster and jellyfish husbandry, and a behavioral field study on Hector's Dolphin in Akaroa, New Zealand. [Kat's CV] - Email: tintenfisch.staff [at] tonmo [dot] com
CEPHALOPOD FOSSILS Phil Eyden (Phil) -- Cephalopod Fossils and History Moderator Phil joined the TONMO.com staff in April 2003. He collects fossils as a hobby, frequently plundering a quarry at Folkestone in the U.K. He has a degree in British archaeology and works for a government department at Dover in England. Email: phil [at] tonmo [dot] com Kevin Bylund (architeuthoceras) -- I have been collecting fossils since the early 60's when I got my first set of toy dinosaurs. Since about 1970, when I found my first ammonite, I have been collecting fossil cephalopods. A self taught amateur paleontologist with interests in taphonomy, the way cephalopods become fossilized, and biostratigraphy, the order cephalopod fossils are found in the earths rocks. You can find me wandering the deserts of Utah searching for fossils of these fascinating animals.
CEPHALOPODS IN CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT Brian Walls (WhiteKiboko) -- Culture & Entertainment Moderator An errant college student and beast of burden, Brian joined the TONMO.com staff in June 2003. Rarely seen without shorts and sandals (even in winter), he is surprisingly uptight about reading the comics before the rest of the newspaper. Brian lives in North Carolina. Email: whitekiboko [at] tonmo [dot] com
CTHULHU Erich Orser (erich orser) -- Erich has long been obsessed with cephalopods and is proud to have a home at TONMO.com. He's a voice actor, producer of live shows, music promoter, sculptor, and the Master of Ceremonies at the Mighty Cthulhu Old Time Revival Show as well as The Bat Show, his annual bat conservation-themed cabaret. He provided invaluable support and direction to ensure the success of the first TONMOCON cephalopod convention. He and his wife divide their time between Los Angeles and Tucson, AZ. Greg Ewald (cthulhu77) -- A love of cephalopods came early to Greg, who was informed by his brothers and sister that he was not human, but was actually found under a large rock in Wyoming on a family vacation...after spending a few decades in the animal trade, he now works as a freelance artist, and frequently delves into the odd and almost alien intelligence that these unusual animals possess, as inspiration. In any minute bit of spare time, he continues to populate the walls of his house with more and more PT boats.