Chris Amer received his M.A. from the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A & M University in 1986, and currently heads the Maritime Research Division. His research interests and background include post-medieval watercraft, historic ship construction and shipyards, cultural resource management, remote sensing and GIS. Prior to joining SCIAA in 1987 Chris spent seven years with the Parks Canada’s Underwater Archaeology Section excavating vessels associated with the 16th century Basque whaling industry at Red Bay, Labrador. He has consulted and worked on submerged archaeological sites throughout the US, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Currently Chris is spearheading a survey to discover the remains of a ship that was lost near Winyah Bay during a failed attempt by the Spanish in 1526 to colonize southeastern North America.

Jim Spirek received his M.A. in Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology from East Carolina University in 1993. Jim is in charge of review and compliance for the division, and is responsible for conducting archaeological research in the state's waterways. Research interests lie in shipbuilding and seafaring of the 16th-century, ship architecture, remote-sensing operations, and in providing public access to submerged maritime resources. Before working for the Institute, Jim spent three and a half years working for the Pensacola Shipwreck Survey locating and recording shipwrecks in Pensacola Bay, Florida. Research and contract projects have taken him throughout the US and International waters to document sites ranging from a 16th-century Spanish dispatch vessel to a 370-foot Great Lakes bulk freighter. Jim is currently directing the Port Royal Sound Survey, a regional survey to document intertidal and submerged cultural resources in the sound and connected waterways.

Joe Beatty attended Walter State College in Morristown, Tennessee, where he majored in business administration. He joined the Transportation Services Division of the University of South Carolina in 1978. He transferred to the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1985. His duties include acting as Diving Officer and Equipment Master for the Columbia office, secretary to the Dive Safety and Control Board, coordinator for Public Notices under Federal Section 106 requirements, and manager of the division archives.

Lora Holland manages the Sport Diver Archaeological Management Program. Lora received a B.A. in History in 2000 from Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC, and her M.A. in Anthropology from the University of West Florida in 2006. Before completing her M.A. and joining SCIAA, Lora worked as a graphics intern on the H.L. Hunley project. Her interests lie in public archaeology, including public outreach and volunteer training in archaeological principles and methods, historical and nautical archaeology.

Carleton Naylor
Archaeological Technician
Canaylor@gwm.sc.edu

Carl Naylor is a 1975 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Journalism. He spent the next ten years as the editor of several weekly newspapers in South Carolina. In 1987, he joined the staff of the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology as an archaeological technician. His duties, in addition to issuing Hobby Diver Licenses, include conducting historic research for archaeological sites, overseeing diving operations for the Charleston Office of the MRD, and serving on the editorial board for the Institute newsletter, The Legacy.