Principals
Tim Robertson, General Manager
Tim Robertson has been providing consultative services in contingency planning, pollution prevention and response, and regulatory compliance for twenty years. Tim’s professional experience includes work in state and local government, the oil production industry, and oil spill response organizations. He has also worked as a research biologist, and has served on numerous boards and councils throughout his career.
Tim helped found the Seldovia Oil Spill (SOS) organization and served as its first president. During the EXXON VALDEZ oil spill, Tim was director of operations from Seldovia. Tim participated in the negotiated rulemaking for the U.S. vessel response plan regulations promulgated under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
Tim has a reputation as a consensus-builder with the ability to produce high-quality work products under tight budgets and aggressive project timelines. He is a natural facilitator with the ability to navigate contentious issues.
Tim has organized and facilitated dozens of oil spill response exercise, emergency management drills, and equipment deployment trainings. He is an ICS instructor and is qualified to fill ICS staff positions in the Logistics and Planning Sections, from the Section Chief level down. Tim has participated in the incident management teams for numerous oil spills, most recently serving as the Sampling Group Supervisor for the M/V Selendang Ayu oil spill in Unalaska.
Tim is a graduate of Colorado State University and holds a Master of Science degree in Fisheries Biology from the University of Alaska, Southeast. He manages Nuka Research’s Pacific Coast operations from his office in picturesque Seldovia, Alaska. Tim is an avid fisherman and kayaker, and may also be spotted rowing his wooden dory (the inspiration for our logo) around Seldovia Harbor, mountain biking, hiking, and back-country skiing.
Elise
DeCola, Operations Manager
Elise DeCola has spent most of her 15-year career working on marine environmental policy. Her broad range of experience includes natural resource management, oil spill contingency planning, disaster response planning, regulatory compliance, emergency response, fisheries management, environmental outreach, policy analysis, and legislative affairs.
Elise specializes in oil spill and all-hazards emergency response planning and policy analysis. She has developed Emergency Operations Plans for communities ranging in size from large municipalities to remote villages. She has developed oil spill contingency plans for exploration and production facilities, storage facilities, vessels and pipelines in Alaska, the Gulf Coast, and West Africa. She has organized and participated in dozens of oil spill and emergency response exercises and oil spill deployment drills, and she is qualified to fill Planning Section and Environmental Unit positions in oil spill and all-hazards IMTs. Elise has developed hundreds of geographic response plans for environmentally sensitive sites in Alaska, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
Elise has facilitated a number of agency-industry work groups, and she believes strongly in engaging stakeholders in the policy development and planning processes. Elise has written and published extensively in the field of oil spill policy and practice. She has contributed to scripts for environmental documentaries.
Elise holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from the College of William and Mary in Virginia, and an M.A. in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island. She manages Nuka's East Coast operations from her office in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where she resides with her husband and two young daughters. In her precious spare time, you may find Elise kayaking in Plymouth harbor, playing in recreational softball and soccer leagues, skiing, running, or embarassing herself on the golf course.