Lee graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison Wisconsin in Jan 1972 with a BS Degree in Meteorology and concurrently received a commission as Ensign in the US Navy. Military tours of duty extended over a seven and half year period serving on two US Navy capital ship assignments (USS Saratoga CV-60 & USS Guam LPH-9, both aircraft carriers). His ship tours supported the Vietnam conflict and also included several deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. He is also a Shellback! As a ship driver, Lee also served in the capacity of Combat Information Center (CIC) Watch Officer, Officer of the Deck (OOD), and as ship’s Meteorological Officer. In addition to his at sea time, Lee also served shore side tours at two naval weather central activities (Fleet Weather Centrals' Rota, Spain &Norfolk VA now known as Fleet Meteorological and Oceanographic Command Centers). He served in the capacity of Forecast Duty Officer (FDO) and Command Duty Officer (CDO) respectively. After leaving active service, Lee continued his military service in the Naval Reserves before retiring a year after being re-called to active service in support of the SW Asia conflict (Desert Shield/Storm), where as Ship Routing Officer (SRO), he routed and forecasted for ships involved in the sealift to and from the Persian Gulf from ports in the US east coast and Europe.

As a civilian, Oceanroutes, Inc., the largest private consulting marine weather routing firm in the world, employed Lee. He advised and routed commercial ships on a global scale. Lee later entered federal government service with the National Oceanic &Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Satellite Service, in Anchorage Alaska as a satellite meteorologist, then returned back with the Navy’s Naval Western Meteorology &Oceanography Center, Pearl Harbor, Hi, in the capacity of Senior Civilian Ship Router. He forecasted and routed ships under US Navy and Department of Defense (DOD) contract shipping for both the north and south Pacific and Indian Oceans. Lee then transferred back with NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) serving his assignment in Seattle, WA, as a marine forecaster, dealing with regional and local Pacific Northwest marine weather warnings and forecasts. Lee finally landed with his present employer of 16 years, NOAA's Ocean Prediction Center (OPC) formerly the Marine Prediction Center (MPC), keepers of north Atlantic &Pacific HF weather fax broadcasts, and the Boulder voice WWV, Offshore NAVTEX, and GMDSS Safety net (C) High Seas text broadcasts.

As an educator and instructor, Lee has developed formal marine weather courses such as the Standard Training, Certification and Watch Standing (STCW 95 and further Upgrades) for Seafarers. The courses include the Basic Meteorology for the Officer in Charge (OIC) of a Navigation Watch, tailored for the AB to Mate program, and the Chief Master Mate (CMM) Upgrade Advanced Meteorology. These are taught for continuing education and training professional maritime schools in compliance with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements. As a U.S. Coast Guard certified instructor, Lee teaches the meteorology courses at a number of professional maritime schools, such as the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS), in Linthicum Heights, MD and her sister affiliate Pacific Northwest Maritime Institute (PMI), Seattle, WA.

Lee also is a marine meteorology instructor with Navigator Publishing’s (Professional Mariner, Ocean Navigator and Ocean Voyager magazines) School of Seamanship (ONSOS), weekend seminar program. Additionally, he teaches two-day marine weather workshops with the North Pacific Fishing Vessel Owners Association (NPFVOA), Washington State Sea Grant, both in Seattle, WA, as well as recreational yachting organizations such as Puget Sound Cruising Club, Seattle Women's Sailing Association (SWSA), in Seattle, the Stamford Yacht Club, Stamford Connecticut, and the Eastport Yacht Club, Annapolis, MD, the Corinthian Yacht Club and Maritime Museum in San Francisco, Ca, and the Seven Seas Cruising Association in Melbourne and Vero Beach Fla, and Annapolis, Md. He regularly conducts seminars at trade shows such as the Annapolis Boat Show, the Seattle Boat Show, and the International Boat Show, Newport RI, and Pacific Marine Expo, Oakland Ca. He also does presentations for Diversified Communications at the Pacific Marine Expo, Seattle, WA, and the International Work Boat Show, New Orleans, LA. Lee is also a regular presenter at most of the Safety at Sea seminars held in conjunction with major sailboat races such as the Marion, MA, Newport, RI, and Annapolis, MD to Bermuda race and the Trans- Pacific and Vic Maui races to Hawaii on the west coast. He is also an integral part of the online seminars conducted by Christensen/Roberts Solutions and Weather4Sailors also held in conjunction with the same major sailboat races.

Lee regularly participates for the Sea Education Association (SEA), Woods Hole, and MA Sea Semester program 5 day training cruises conducted at sea on their a 135 ft Brigantine (Robert C Seamens), home ported on the west coast. Lee teaches and trains crew and SEA students alike on marine weather.

During Lee’s career span with several agency of the US government and the private sector, he provided detailed marine weather and oceanographic warnings, analyses, and forecasts on a global, as well as synoptic and smaller micro-scale, covering all oceans and seasons. Lee has developed a keen awareness of the issues that confront mariners, their vessels of all types, from commercial to recreational. His at sea time on two aircraft carriers, a Pacific Ocean crossing on a container ship weather, and a several sail boat races, and scientific cruises, has enhanced the knowledge of the air and ocean systems that impact both safety and tactical decision making. Lee is committed in ensuring that mariners make independent educated decisions based on safety and tactical considerations using readily available public weather and oceanographic forecast information.