Meet the Crew!
Taylor maready
Taylor is the owner of Topsail Aquarium. He has been in love with the ocean his whole life.
When he isn't surfing, he is swimming, snorkeling, SCUBA diving, eating ice cream, speaking some espanol, playing guitar or just running around on the beach like a big, crazy kid. To him, life revolves around the ocean, and he wouldn't have it any other way. His spirit animal is an opossum, but he really loves sharks. All of them, but especially the wobbegong.
OwnerAmber “Ling” Maready
Owner
Ling is our Topsail Aquarium "mom". She is the epitome of fun.
Sometimes we wonder where she gets her wild energy, it never runs out. She is a "whale" of knowledge and can answer any question that you have about the aquarium. If she's not in the lab teaching, dissecting or playing with Petunia, you can catch her on the beach doing yoga, playing in the sand with Indy, Vai, and Tola or singing karaoke. (Not really the singing karaoke part, thank goodness.) If she were a sea animal, she would want to be a whale shark, or a seahorse, or a sea turtle, or a black tip reef shark… Or anything, really.
Ethan Koch
Director of Animal Husbandry & ConservationEthan has been fascinated by marine life for as long as he can remember. Growing up in rural Maryland, he admired the ocean from afar before transferring to UNCW to finish his Marine Biology degree. Now, as the Director of Animal Husbandry at the Topsail Aquarium, he channels his passion through hands-on care for aquatic creatures and creative enclosure design. He is dedicated to inspiring future generations by showcasing animals in their natural habitats.
Morgan salge
Director of Operations EMMA FICORILLI
Husbandry Technician skyler grappo
Director of Education & OutreachSkyler grew up here in Topsail and has always loved the ocean and the marsh (the best of both worlds). She graduated from CFCC with an associates in applied science marine technology where her passion of knowledge continued to grow. She has a never-ending collection of Species Identification books that she hopes to turn into an at home library one day. Manatees are her favorite marine animal and the time she swam with them in Florida was one of her best memories. She loves walking the beach, shark tooth and shell hunting, and paddle-boarding in the marsh. She strongly believes that education is conservation and the way to get more people to care is to teach them. As a kid Skyler wanted to become an art teacher and now as the Director of Education and Outreach, she gets to use her creativity to help teach the community.
Morgan grew up in New Jersey and spent her summers going to the beach, crabbing, and hiking! She moved to North Carolina in 2019 with her husband after graduating college.
She started working at EMA in 2020 as our SUP & Science director where she fell in love with all things ecological marine adventures. Her favorite place to be is the marsh, where she can find her favorite ocean animal: Crabs! If you have been on a ghost crab hunt with us on the beach, chances are Mrs. Morgan has made you dance the YMCA. In 2024, Morgan made the jump from elementary teacher to director of EMA. She will not be out in the field much, but she will jump in on classes any change she gets!
In her free time, she likes finding shark teeth, hanging out with her dogs & husband, helping stray dogs, going to concerts, and singing karaoke.
Jessica Coan
Husbandry Technician Jen Reveals
Lead EducatorSage johnson
Educator Our Partners
NCWRC: Oysters Microplastic Watch & Gopher Frog Headstart Programs
EMA: Sister Company and Collaborator
UNCW: Internship Program, Field Trips, etc