Stop Oil Seeps California welcomes Santa Barbara City College Professor Don Barthelmess to its board of directors.

Barthelmess is a Professor of Marine Technology at SBCC, where he has trained professional commercial divers for 27 years.

He is passionate about diving safety and marine education and shares his love of the Santa Barbara Channel and the ocean as a critical but fragile resource.

Barthelmess’s career has taken him on diving projects all over the world in support of marine research, offshore oil and gas operations and film projects for many organizations, including the National Geographic Society.

This past year, he trained divers for each of SeaWorld’s parks.

Professionally, he serves on the board of directors of the Association of Commercial Diving Educators and the technical diving advisory board for the National Association of Underwater Instructors.

Locally, he serves on the board of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum and is currently vice-president of the board of directors. He is also a past president of the Historical Diving Society.

Barthelmess received his associate degree in underwater technology from Florida Institute of Technology and completed his undergraduate work in occupational studies at Cal State Long Beach. He earned his graduate degree in educational technology from Pepperdine University.  

Barthelmess was the Director of SBCC’s highly acclaimed Marine Technology Program from 1994–2003, after which he returned to full-time teaching.

In 2007, his peers selected him as Santa Barbara City College’s 29th Faculty Lecturer, SBCC’s highest honor.

He and his wife Carol Kallman live on the Mesa in Santa Barbara. They have two adult children, son Robby and daughter DeeDee.  

— SOS California aims to alert the public to the magnitude of natural seep pollution in the Santa Barbara Channel and to the availability of an invaluable resource to fund environmental cleanup and develop alternative energy sources.