If you meet Marine Discovery Center volunteer Carla Izaguirre Slye, you will understand that this woman does not do anything halfway or half-hearted. She is “all-in” at all times, which is why this U.S. Navy veteran was MDC’s top volunteer in 2025 with 351 hours of service.
Whether she is volunteering as a kayak-tour sweep, lifting oyster shells or shoveling mulch in shoreline restoration efforts, monitoring horseshoe crabs in the conservation program or cleaning the seagrass tanks, Carla is willing and able. And while she will turn 55 in July, this volunteer has energy to spare.
Get to know more about Carla, who talks about her volunteer experience at MDC with staff writer Lisa D. Mickey:
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Washington, DC., grew up in Hyattsville, Maryland and moved to Edgewater, Md., on the outskirts of Annapolis.
Did you go to college?
Community college didn’t work out, so I joined the U.S. Navy in 1990. I wanted to be a marine biologist, but because I couldn’t handle air pressure in my ears, they told me I couldn’t dive. That kind of crushed my dreams. The Navy recruiter asked me what I wanted to do and I told them I wanted to do a non-traditional job for a woman, but not be on a ship.
Are you a military kid?
My grandfather, Carlos Izaguirre, was a general in the Honduran Army, as well as the ambassador of Honduras at the U.S. Embassy there. My father, Charles Izaguirre, was sent to America from Honduras at age 6 and traveled by train to a military academy in Tennessee. He enlisted in the U.S. Army, becoming an American citizen when he took his oath. He served in the Pacific in 1944, earned a degree at the University of Maryland after the Army and then worked for NAVSEC [Naval Ship Engineering Center] in the Department of the U.S. Navy.
What was your first assignment with the U.S. Navy?
I trained to become construction electrician. I was in the CBs, the construction battalion – also known as Navy Seabees – and we build. What I didn’t know is we also had to climb utility poles and I’m afraid of heights. That was a challenge, but I did it because there were only two women in the class and I didn’t want to be defeated. I finished in the top of my class, so I was able to pick my duty stations.
Where did you go?
The top three duty stations were Scotland, Bahrain and Iceland. The Gulf War was starting, so I wanted to go to Bahrain. If I want to learn, I want to be where everything happens. I learn by using my hands and being involved.
What did you do over there?
We were in a public works area, so we maintained a small military base, but we were in a war zone. We would have drills and have to don our [gas] masks and I remember the buildings would shake. It only lasted a few minutes and then everything was over, but there were still residuals from it.
When was this?
It was 1991-1992. I’m a Gulf War veteran for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Then after the war was a recovery period. My rank was an E2 and I got put up for a Navy Achievement Medal in less than two years, which was cool.
Did the Admiral present the medal to you?
Yes, and then I got to pick my orders for my next tour of duty, which was Brawdy, Wales. The Royal Air Force was there, which was another public works site. We worked in support of oceanographic technicians and they also track submarines. I had to get a security clearance for that. I learned UPS [Uninterruptible Power Supply], which is battery backup, generators, reverse osmosis and worked with 240 voltage. I was there for two years and then I went to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which was awesome, because it was a beach.
That’s quite a change from Wales to Cuba!
I just knew I could fish, snorkel and go to the beach. I was on a high-voltage line crew there, so we were climbing poles. The minefield was on the leeward side at the airport and it separates U.S. territory and Cuba. I was there for a year.
And then where did you go?
So, then I joined a Naval Model Construction Battalion in Gulfport, Miss., and was one of the first group of women who were allowed in a battalion. Women weren’t allowed in a battalion because that’s a combat group. After seven months, we deployed to Puerto Rico for seven months. Utility poles in Puerto Rico are 90-foot poles, so you can’t use a bucket for that. You have to climb! I came back to Gulfport, then went to Okinawa and then to Yokosuka, Japan. I left active duty in 1998, and stayed in active reserve until 2000 – leaving the military with 10 years of service.
You had a lot of experiences in the military.
I did and at times, I feel like nature saved my life. It reminded me to be present. In Bahrain, I would sleep in my [gas] mask. I would hear the siren go off, telling us to don our CBR gear [protection from Chemical, Biological and Radiological threats]. I didn’t get hurt, but a lot happened there. In Kuwait, we used jackhammers and most of it was coral based. We inhaled all that stuff. There also were burn pits all around. I started having problems focusing and I have functional aphasia, which means I know what I want to say and it’s in my mind, but I can’t always articulate it into a sentence. So, I write a lot of notes. I don’t know if that’s from being around the burn pits.
What happened after you left the military?
I got out in 2000, and decided to go into telecommunications. Digital communications was really emerging and I got hired by Verizon as a central office technician. They saw my power background, so they hired me as a power technician. I dealt with power plants and generators, retiring in 2022.
Is that when you moved to Florida?
I married Ray Slye after the military. He was an arson investigator and a captain for the Washington, D.C. Fire Department. We have a son who’s a U.S. Marine right now and he just turned 20. We moved to Mount Dora and later moved to New Smyrna Beach.
Did your love of the coast come from spending time on Maryland’s Eastern Shore?
I was the youngest and only girl with three older brothers and when I was little, my dad would take me to this place called Horsehead, located on the Eastern Shore. My dad loved water fowl and he always took pictures of them. I started really enjoying going out there with him. Years later, when I got married, we moved down the street from Horsehead in 2016. It’s now a nonprofit called Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center.
As an adult, didn’t you become a Maryland Master Naturalist?
The Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center had a volunteer program, so I got involved. I helped with paddleboard tours, kayak tours and wood duck monitoring. Then they offered the Maryland Master Naturalist classes and I took classes for four months. The requirement was that you had to commit to 40 hours a month to keep your master naturalist certification.
What were you doing at the environmental center?
My second year there, we held a cool fundraiser called Paddle Palooza. It was a 45-kilometer leisure paddle around a peninsula. We did that for two years to raise money for the nature center. I would do whatever was needed. Ray always encouraged me and is very supportive. He’ll say I’m a badass, and help me believe in myself. Sometimes I get anxiety, but once I’m out there kayaking or doing something on the water, it’s all good.
Water seems to have a real calming effect on you.
I think so. After the military, I was just a different person. I’m getting back to where I was, but my escape was always nature and what kept me grounded was being outside. I suppose you can’t grow up in Maryland and not be in the water. And here, the Indian River Lagoon reminds me of the [Chesapeake] Bay.
How has the Indian River Lagoon impacted your life?
When I first moved here, I weighed 240 pounds. I was heavy and pretty unhealthily and I had a lot of stress and anxiety. I found MDC in 2024 and started volunteering right away. I felt so grounded and it brought back a lot of memories — happy times with my father. It gave me a sense of clarity – just being able to breathe, and everything settled down. Now, I go to groups at the VA [Veterans Administration], and I tell them to go outside and don’t be dependent on medication. Being involved here has been very healing for me and I’m down to 165 pounds.
How has MDC help you find a new community?
It’s like a breath of fresh air and it’s where I want to be. There’s so much passion at MDC and it’s contagious. I felt like I fit in instantly. This winter, I took the Florida Master Naturalist Program’s Coastal Systems class and the Marine Habitat Restoration class in May. I also joined the Turtle Trackers to help as a wash-back watcher and I took a training class to learn how to handle and transport injured birds.
Are you involved with any other local groups?
I do things with Team Red, White & Blue [a nonprofit for military veterans] and I’m part of Island 19, out of Daytona, which is for retired Seabee veterans. I’ve also volunteered in the Oceans of Hope program and with the Little Pink Houses of Hope program.
Did you know you put in 351 hours of volunteer time last year?
No, it didn’t feel like it. I like to be busy. I’m just doing what I enjoy, what I love. I like structure and routine. I like having things organized. It’s about stewardship, camaraderie and giving back. And for me, it’s about healing and keeping me grounded. I really believe that the ocean heals me, nature grounds me and volunteering gives it all purpose. It keeps me out of the darkness.
Did “the darkness” start in the military?
Yes, but you don’t realize it until you’re out of the military and things aren’t hustle and bustle anymore. Memories start coming back and you just don’t know how to handle it. A lot of veterans need a way to vent, to get it out of their head and to talk about it. I have found that nature slows down the noise and I feel connected to something that’s bigger. When I’m out on a kayak tour, it’s just calm. Peaceful. I see things clearly and I’m not worried about all the things around me.
How have you evolved as a lover of nature?
My dad taught me to slow down and to breathe in the nature around me. I lost that for a while. Nature isn’t just something to see. It’s something to appreciate and protect and I have taught that to my son. Every time he comes home, we go fishing, bodyboarding or kayaking. I’ve also learned a lot at MDC. For example, everybody loves the beach, but behind the scenes, you realize there are so many issues. How can we help?
Has there been a highlight for you at MDC?
Snorkeling in the Florida Keys during the Marine Habitat Restoration class was pretty awesome. I got earplugs, and I found out that I didn’t need them, so I probably outgrew my ear problem.
What’s left on your bucket list?
I want to learn how to surf. That will be the next thing I’m going to do with my son. I love his passion for the outdoors and for the water. Maybe he gets that from me.
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