Dave Abrams is the CEO of TRLMI, having acquired Training Resources Limited from Captain Ray Addicott and Ray Gillup, the two company founders. Mr. Abrams subsequently acquired Maritime Institute, and joined the two businesses together to form TRLMI in June 2018.

Mr. Abrams is also the President of Meliora Capital, Inc., a private investment company that provides capital and value added management advisory services to under-performing businesses. Through Meliora Capital, Mr. Abrams is an owner and Director of Reyn Spooner, an iconic brand of resort apparel based in Honolulu, Hawaii. Mr. Abrams is also the President of Westech Realty Co., LLC, a real estate investment company with holdings in California and Washington State.

Prior to acquiring Reyn Spooner, Mr. Abrams was the CEO of Passport Food Group, LLC, a leading provider of Asian foods to the foodservice industry, where he continued to serve on the board of Passport as a significant shareholder until the sale of the company in March of 2017.

Prior to joining Passport Food Group, Mr. Abrams was the CEO of Jain Irrigation, Inc., one of the largest micro-irrigation companies in North America. Prior to joining Jain, Mr. Abrams was President/CEO of Monitor Products Company, a manufacturer of electronic components, and Cape Composites, a manufacturer of advanced composite materials. Previously, he was a senior vice president of Zimmerman Holdings, a private investment company that owned many manufacturing companies.

A former U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer, Mr. Abrams holds an MBA from the University of Southern California and a BA from the University of Rochester. He is an active member of Young President’s Organization and San Diego Yacht Club. Mr. Abrams is a licensed pilot and Coast Guard Licensed 100 Ton Master.

Kevin Baldwin, LCDR USN (Ret) joined TRLMI in 2018 as part of the merger between Training Resources Limited and Maritime Institute, where he had been an instructor since 2004. A former Surface Warfare Officer with 28 years of active duty service and 21 years at sea, Kevin qualified as a OOD Underway, US Navy Craft Master and Docking Officer while serving on a variety of surface ships, submarines and docking craft.  Kevin is a 100 Ton Master and International Yacht Master 200 Ton Instructor and Examiner.

At TRLMI, Kevin is our Operations Manager, ensuring the smooth execution of our classes and training evolutions. Kevin can be found on the podium from time to time, as he is qualified to teach over 20 of our deck related courses. Kevin is also our IYT (International Yacht Training) instructor, teaching the International Yachtmaster courses of instruction. When he is not at TRLMI, Kevin enjoys gardening, geology and spending time with his family and horses.

Dan Leininger, LCDR USN (Ret) joined TRLMI in 2018 as part of the merger between Training Resources Limited and Maritime Institute, where he had been an instructor since 2010. A former Surface Warfare Officer, Dan served on three combatant vessels in both engineering and deck roles. Upon retirement from the Navy, Dan worked in the high tech industry for 10 years before returning to the waterfront in various roles, including as a harbor master and sailing instructor, before coming to Maritime Institute. In addition to running our Alameda office and working on business development in Northern California, Dan teaches several courses including 100 Ton Captain’s Course, Radar Observer, Able Seaman, Deck license renewal and several others, both in Alameda and in our remote training locations. When Dan is not teaching, he enjoys bike riding, hiking, sailing, kayaking and spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren. Dan also serves on the Board of Directors of the Alameda Community Sailing Center.

Doug Moore, QMCM, USN (Ret) joined TRLMI in 2014 after retiring from his U.S. Navy career of 30 years, including 21 years of sea duty. Doug served on four different amphibious ships including USS Peleliu (LHA-5), USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6), USS Rushmore (LSD-47), and USS Essex (LHD-2) where he was the Navigation Department Leading Chief Petty Officer. Additionally, he qualified as Craft Master on 85’ and 105’ Torpedo Weapons Retrievers and was qualified as a Master Training Specialist.

At TRLMI, Doug is our Operations and Facilities Manager, where he is responsible for course scheduling, instructor assignments, instructor development, and overall quality and consistency of instruction to maximize student learning and development experience. In addition, he oversees facilities operations and maintenance for all three of TRLMI’s locations. As an instructor, Doug teaches many of our deck courses, specializing in Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS), Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA), and all Radar courses.

Tammy Poole is the Marketing and Administration Manager at TRLMI. Having worked for over 13 years in the Maritime Training Industry, Tammy is now bringing her experience in USCG policy, regulation and administration of a maritime training facility to TRLMI.

Mrs. Poole manages the Student Services, Accounting and Credentialing team at TRLMI and supports Operations in day to day management of the school.

Prior to returning to the Maritime Training industry in 2014, Tammy moved to Banstead, England where she raised her two boys, Ryan and Ollie.

During the 14 years in the UK, Mrs. Poole was the Executive Assistant to three Managing Partner at Scott, White & Hookins, a structural engineering firm for six years and the Chief Buyer and Marketing Manager of Insignia Ltd., an advertising specialties company for eight years. Tammy worked closely with overseas manufacturers and was instrumental in sourcing new market trends.

In addition to this, Tammy was the Accounting Manager for Poole & Sons Ltd. a family-based construction company. Additionally, she was the Art Director for a local bi-monthly glossy magazine for the Banstead area.

In her free time Tammy enjoys giving back to the community and acted as the chairperson for Warren Mead Amenities Group, a local charity supporting schools, for eight years and was highly involved in other local children’s charities.

Upon returning to the US, Mrs. Poole continued to support many of her companies in the U.K. and worked freelance for marketing agencies in San Diego. Tammy’s experience in website development and marketing allowed her to work on many exciting projects for government agencies, SME’s and charities.

Ed Angeles, ENC USN (Ret) joined TRLMI in 2016 after a successful 28 year career at sea on both U.S. Navy and Military Sealift Command vessels where he focused on engineering and refrigeration systems. Ed was also part of the engineering staff with the San Diego Unified School District,  maintaining the refrigeration systems on various campuses. A wealth of knowledge and expert in refrigeration systems, Ed teaches the QMED Refrigeration Engineering course at TRLMI. In his free time, Ed is a musician and enjoys spending time with his wife and daughters.

Andrea joined TRLMI in 2020 while studying to upgrade her licensing to Master 1600 Ton Oceans.  She was born and currently lives in Newport Beach where she teaches our 100 Ton course.  She received her first boating credentials over 20 years ago while living in New Zealand. Then as a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer holding 17 Specialty Instructor Ratings, she worked on liveaboard dive boats internationally gaining sea service on upper tonnage vessels.  Upon returning home, she’s spent time operating the larger local charter boats, performing weddings and burial ceremonies. Currently teaching ‘behind the wheel’ training and operating privately owned vessels, she’s proud to join the TRLMI team.

Gary Brennan, LT(USN/LDO)(Ret) joined TRLMI in 2019. He retired from the Navy in 2002 after serving 25 years as both enlisted where he obtained the rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer(SW), and as a commissioned Limited Duty Deck Officer, obtaining the rank of Lieutenant. He had 19.5 years of sea duty, serving on the USS Knox, USS Arkansas, Assault Craft Unit – Two, USS Iowa, USS Shreveport, USS Suribachi, USS Cleveland, and USS Constellation. His enlisted occupation was in Navigation. He ran the Seamanship training team and played an integral role within the Damage Control Training Teams on numerous ships. Once commissioned as a Deck Officer, he held the position of Ship’s Bos’n and Deck Department Head. He also was Officer of the Deck underway on three ships and has thousands of hours of bridge time driving ships. After he retired from the Navy, he became a State Park Peace Officer for the California Department of Parks and Recreation and served as a Ranger for ten years in Santa Cruz, CA. Redwoods. He was also a POST Certified Firearms Instructor and weapons inspector. He left State parks in 2014 and worked for USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service for five years as a Biological Science Technician (Government Trapper) in San Diego County where he once again was a firearms instructor for USDA.

 

At TRLMI, Gary is part of the Government Vessel and Firearms Training Teams teaching a number of our courses, including Government Vessels, Readiness Refresher and, and various weapons courses. In his spare time, Gary is President of the San Diego County Wildlife Federation, he teaches Hunter Education for California and sits on the board of directors for the CA. Rifle and Pistol Association.