Executive Board Members

Frank cummings - President

Frank Cummings began his efforts with The CORE Foundation in 2012 as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the island of St. John, eventually Frank was asked to shoulder the responsibility of becoming the Education and Outreach Director for the Foundation as a whole. To this day Frank finds the educational aspect of teaching CORE Responders to become effective Marine Stewards one of the highlights of his efforts with the lionfish management program. In 2017, for his work with the lionfish invasion mitigation Frank was awarded Environmental Champion Award from the Environmental Protection Agency. During his role as Education and Outreach Director Frank trained hundreds of people to be CORE Lionfish Responders. CORE Responders remove lionfish daily from the surrounding waters of the U. S. Virgin Islands. Frank has been instrumental in raising funds, identifying lionfish aggregating "hot spots" and organizing removal efforts. In 2018 Frank was voted in by the CORE Board of Directors to become the current President. You can contact Frank about the next CORE Responder training at: cell # 340-643- 5089 or email: [email protected]

Jeremy PrudHomme - Treasurer

Born and raised on the Island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, Jeremy has had a love of the ocean from a very young age. He immigrated to Virginia in 2001 where he completed high school and earned a degree in Business Management from the University of Virginia.

Jeremy discovered St John while on vacation in 2011 and immediately fell in love, moving there for the first time that same year. After many years in the maritime and hospitality industries, in 2019 he took over as General Manager of Low Key Watersports.

Jeremy first learned about C.O.R.E. when Frank Cummings called to ask if Low Key would be able to take some C.O.R.E. responders out to treat Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease. Since that call in 2020, Low Key Watersports and Jeremy have continued to support C.O.R.E’s efforts, including fundraising for C.O.R.E. programs, volunteering staff and boats as resources and donating supplies. Jeremy was voted onto the board of C.O.R.E. in February of 2024 and is excited to continue supporting the organization and all of the vital work it does.

Jeff Miller - Science Officer

Being more comfortable in the water than on land, Jeff became a Caribbean Island resident in 1984 when, after completing university studies, he began dive instruction and coral reef ecology work in
Cayman Brac, BWI. In 1988 he moved to the USVI, first to St. Croix until 1997 when he moved to St. John. He was the Fisheries Biologist for the National Park Service, South Florida and Caribbean, Inventory and Monitoring program charged to develop and implement the benthic monitoring protocol in four National Park units (in the VI and Florida).

That work coincided with the proliferation of coral diseases in the Caribbean, and especially the USVI where Jeff work with NPS to expand the monitoring protocols to quantify the impact the coral disease “white plague” outbreak in 2005-2007. Realizing that coral reefs are largely “out of sight” for most people, Jeff understands that outreach is vital to this environmental work.

He has given hundreds of presentations on the coral monitoring status and trends, coral reef ecology and community stewardship. Programs ranged from international professional meetings to local island service clubs and campgrounds. He is an author of approximately 50 publications ranging from peer-reviewed journal articles to the community group newsletters. He’s appeared in NBC nightly news, NPR and various podcasts and videos all in effort to bring awareness, concern, and protection for coral reef communities. He retired from NPS work in 2021 yet continues to stay active in environmental issues within the park service and wider Caribbean. He joined the CORE board of directors in the spring of 2022.

Michael Funk - VICE Preseident

Mike Funk came to St. Croix in 2012 as a faculty member of the Barry University Physician Assistant Program and quickly got involved with the dive community, getting certified as a PADI Dive Master. He first joined the CORE Foundation as a Lionfish Removal Diver in 2013 and was elected Education and Outreach Director in 2018. In 2020 he was then elected Treasurer. Mike assumed the St. Croix lionfish dive coordinator position, helping Wess Tester with coordination responsibilities to build out a robust network of active lionfish removal divers. This program has proved to be tremendously successful in mobilizing the community and removing large quantities of invasive lionfish from the reef ecosystem around St. Croix. Mike was also involved with the CORE Stony Coral Tissue Loss Response Team from the earliest days; surveying coral reefs around the island and providing treatment from its inception. This program required close collaboration and communication with various Territory agencies. The quantity and quality of data gathered, the large number of corals surveyed and treated, and the expansion of SCTLDS awareness throughout the territory are key victories from this program.

Matthew Sims - Education and Outreach

Matthew was voted in to the CORE Board of Directors in early January 2022 as the new Education and Outreach Director. Taking over the position from Michael Funk during his transition to Treasurer, Matthew stepped in as the youngest member of the team to head up the revamp of CORE's communication strategy, outreach programming, and developing new ways to engage our community of dedicated responders.

Matthew operates out of STX, and has been an avid scuba diver since 2019 when he was certified in St. Croix. He began his journey with CORE as a volunteer diver in the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Response program, helping identify, count, and treat corals on a weekly basis. Matthew is also active in other communities on St. Croix, including Disc Golf, Ultimate Frisbee, Beach Volleyball, Yoga/AcroYoga, Golf, Cycling, Kiteboarding and Triathlons.

Gregory Hansen - Chief Adviser