Johnny Ocean
Bio - Jonathan Barron, who plays
the role of Johnny Ocean
​
Jonathan Barron is the producer, host and narrator of the Johnny Ocean episodes, in his role as Johnny Ocean. He is the composer of the soundtrack music and of the theme songs, where he performs vocally together with the children.
​
Education and Credentials
​
Barron holds a Master of Environmental Studies degree from the Yale University School of the Environment. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and English degree from the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB). While an undergraduate student in college, he served as an elected Representative-At-Large on the University of California Associated Students Legislative Council. As a legislator, he authored the bylaws and the bill, which he introduced to the Council, to found UCSB’s Environmental Affairs Board,. This became the most popular student board on campus for several years and remains a large student board today. Barron is an Eagle Scout and has a Master SCUBA Diver Certification and 8 underwater specialty certifications. He is an openwater ocean swimmer, having competed in the 2018 Enviro-Sports San Diego Sharkfest Swim, a 300-competitor openwater race across San Diego Harbor. Barron is a trained public speaker. He served on the Saratoga High School student Speech and Debate team for 4 years, ranking among California’s top 14 Impromptu Speakers during his junior year.
​
Background in Environmental Work and Education
Barron worked for a short time as a field and laboratry technician for the US Department of Energy / Battelle Northwest at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory, studying Chinook Salmon on the Snake River in Washington and Idaho, and later testing cleanup technologies for the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska at the DOE's Battelle Marine Sciences laboratory. He later worked as an environmental consultant in Southern California.
​
He then became an educator. He received a California Single-Subject Teaching Credential in the Biological Sciences from National University. Barron worked as a Marine Biology, Biology, General Science and Algebra teacher from 2002-2009. While a marine biology teacher, he was selected as a recipient of the 2007 National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration / NOAA Teacher-At-Sea Award. He was also the recipient of two grants. A 2005 grant of computers from Seiler and Company Certified Public Accountants of Redwood City allowed the creation of a Science Department Computer Lab. This was featured in a local newspaper article.
While a marine biology teacher, he was selected as a recipient of the prestigious 2007 Fund For Teachers Grant, which brought Barron to the Solomon Islands. Working there under the Roviana and Vonavona Lagoons Marine Resource Management Program, he taught a field course in Coral Reef Ecology to a group of select college-age indigenous students from a region of neighboring seashore villages. Barron was interviewed in a KLCS Los Angeles evening news television program about the grant. (https://youtu.be/Y-64YBilGyw) He produced a documentary about his work there, which has garnered over 1300 views. https://youtu.be/5A7pMuIb1-Q?si=QAoo__grKwFX38i0
Barron’s classrooms were featured in the news on several occasions, three of them in televised newscasts. In a Univision Channel 67 newscast which has garnered over 8,600 YouTube views, one newscaster likened Barron to the legendary teacher Jaime Escalante, (https://youtu.be/aF1VX5dAJuw) whose work was highlighted as the subject of the 1988 Oscar-nominated Hollywood film “Stand and Deliver” (https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0094027/) starring Edward James Olmos and Lou Diamond Phillips.
​
Background in Music
​
Barron performed in June 2018 as a vocal soloist and choral performer in the Opening Musical Performance to former President Bill Clinton’s Book Tour talk at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, focused on the release of his novel “The President is Missing.”
​
Barron studied voice for opera for 9 years. Barron studied classical piano for 13 years starting at age 5. Barron writes music, and his compositions are available on the web at iTunes, Amazon Music, and other online venues. His compositions include new-age type music that can be used as film scores. He also writes love songs and light rock. Barron’s compositions, which he performs in collaboration with other artists, make up the soundtrack of the Johnny Ocean episodes.
​
Present Occupation
Separate and unrelated to Johnny Ocean and Me Webisode Productions LLC, Barron presently owns and operates his own insurance and financial services agency, which his principal occupation.
​
​
​