ABOUT US Meet the Pan Aqua Diving Team

CERTIFICATION: PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, first certified as an instructor in 1977, qualified to teach over a dozen specialties and certified 1000+ divers. Full Cave certified, Advanced Nitrox and Stage Decompression certifications. 

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: One of the original founders of Pan Aqua in 1983. I work at the store 5 days a week, usually in the back office. I love local wreck diving and teach the wreck diving course. 

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: Loved watching Sea Hunt as a young boy and got the chance to take a scuba course at summer camp in 1963. The Explorer Scouts had one of the original certification programs. 

BEST DIVE EVER: A calm summer day on the Atlantic diving the Texas Tower.

FAVORITE WRECK: USS Saratoga in the Bikini Atoll 

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING: Catch me at Buceo 95, Diver Bar or Dive 75 or on a bike ride. 

CERTIFICATION: PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor

# OF DIVES: I've been diving for 45 years and don't have an accurate count but it sure adds up over the years.

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I teach private classes, refreshers and nitrox.

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: In the late 60's in Bermuda at the Sonesta Beach hotel I took a resort course (Double hose regs no BCD's) We dove the wreck " Marie Celeste" a Civil War Blockade runner and that was it. I still remember the big paddle wheel and schools Of barracuda as if it were yesterday.

BEST DIVE EVER: My first dive in Cocos Island with schooling hammerheads, Galapagos sharks, Marble rays, whale sharks and a sail fish.. FAVORITE CRITTER: The Flamboyant Cuttle fish is the most amazing creature. The size of a Go Pro Camera it "walks" on the bottom feeding with it's darting proboscis You can play The radiating colors on its top like a synthesizer using your hand to wax and wane the Intensity of the effect.

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING: With 3 children and 3 grandchildren I still have enough energy to enjoy life! 

CERTIFICATION: PADI Divemaster

# OF DIVES: 150+

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I work in the retail aspect of the shop helping people find the gear that best suits their diving needs. I make sure to let all my peers know about the wonders of scuba and how amazing Pan Aqua really is!

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: I was 14 and attending the New York Harbor School. We went to Bushwick High School’s pool as a part of my Discover Scuba, which ultimately led to my passion for diving. I absolutely loved the new freeness (despite the confined walls) that diving gave you. I knew that it would shape the rest of my life.

BEST DIVE EVER: My best dive is constantly shaping the more I dive. Despite having far less dives than many others, every single dive I’ve been on has been one more memorable than the last. If I had to pick just one though, it would be at Head of Bay right in the water aside JFK airport. As a scuba diver who does most of my dives in the New York Harbor, I’m used to low visibility and few sights to see but this one introduced me to the abundant creatures that live in our harbor’s waters (Seahorses were one of them!!)

FAVORITE CRITTER: I love yellow boxfish. They’re so stupid to look at which makes them so much better. I am also very fond of cats. Too bad they can't scuba dive..

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING: I am probably playing a lot of video games, watching cat videos, or helping out my high school dive instructors at the Harbor School. During the summer I try to help out with the Billion Oyster Project as much as I can (You should totally get involved!!!)

CERTIFICATION: PADI MASTER SCUBA DIVER TRAINER

# OF DIVES: 1500 + and a bazillion hours in swimming pool.

AT PAN AQUA: I teach Openwater, Dry Suit, Equipment, Buoyancy, Nitrox, and run the Divemaster Program. I order all the cool toys and help folks choose what works best them; and I help get stuff fixed when gear goes wrong.

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: 12 years old on Martha's Vineyard Island at Menemsha Beach. When SCUBA instructors came to town that summer I talked my parents into letting me try it...then I never stopped.

BEST DIVE EVER: North Seymour Island in The Galapagos. When we were carried off course by a strong current my buddy Marni and I found ourselves in volcanic amphitheater loaded with turtles, sharks and big schools of fish. I believe it is a spot on earth that only we have seen.

FAVORITE CRITTER: The Great Pacific Octopus. On the northern tip of Vancouver Island their is an out cropping called Dylan's Rock; that is one place you can find them and they moved like liquid through the icy seas...and they were my size.

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING: I volunteer at the Wild Bird Fund, ride my snowboard, and hang with my 3 parrots and 21 fish... and watch way too much baseball.

CERTIFICATION: PADI Master Instructor

# OF DIVES: 1000+

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I teach Open Water primarily, but I also teach several specialties and advanced certifications. 

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: 1993, south Florida. I’ve been hooked ever since.

BEST DIVE EVER: Tiger Beach, Bahamas. On a live-aboard diving with tiger sharks and no land in sight. 

FAVORITE CRITTER: I love when I come across giant sea turtles.

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING:  I'm an attorney and a firearms instructor. In my free time, I like to stay physically active and enjoy all that NYC has to offer. I love living here!

CERTIFICATION: PADI open water scuba instructor.

# OF DIVES: 700+ and many hours in the pool and quarry teaching.

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I teach Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Dry Suit, Deep, Wreck. 

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: Who can ever forget the one foot visibility out in Montauk during my Open Water Check out. 

BEST DIVE EVER: Well that's hard as there as been way too many fun dives, a wreck dive in North Carolina with huge schools of large pelagic fish swimming around me, a surreal cave dive in the Yucatan swimming through the halocline and watching everything go out of focus. 

FAVORITE CRITTER: No particular one favorite here either, depends on the dive but who can't help like the California Sea Lions that just swam around me for an hour as I settled down on the sand and watched them play.. 

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING:  I'm a professional freelance photographer and I like to run, cycle, go hiking and in general be outdoors having fun. 

CERTIFICATION: PADI Master Instructor

# OF DIVES: 500+

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: Instructor in the pool and at Lake Hydra. I teach Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue, EFR, DAN DFA Pro, Dry Suit, AWARE Shark Conservation, and Discover Scuba.

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: in class with Lorraine at the West Side Y. My only regret: not starting Scuba earlier!

BEST DIVE EVER: In Roatan, saw "String of Pearls" on a night dive: mating ostracods, or "seed shrimp." The string of lights made the sea look like the tree from Avatar--jaw-droppingly beautiful.

FAVORITE CRITTER: Coconut Octopus. Beautiful, shy creatures who will hang out with you if you stay still. Buoyancy control is key! Having them be safe enough around you to leave their shells is amazing.

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING: I'm a Property Master in Film/TV. I love to travel and am lucky that my husband dives with me.

CERTIFICATION: PADI Instructor for all certifications and the most popular specialties. Ice, Self-Reliant, Technical diver OC and CCR, Sidemount, and Trimix CCR 100m (330ft). IANTD Full Cave.

# OF DIVES: Never enough.... at number 42 I decided to become a full cave diver. 

AT PAN AQUA DIVING:  I teach most PADI certifications and several specialties.  

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA:  In my Junior year at school I had the chance to take scuba as an elective. I jumped to it with no doubts, but thanks to our SEAL-like instructor it didn't look as cool as I thought at first ;-), but then that first breath changed me forever. Until, many years later, I took my first breath on a rebreather unit (CCR)... with no bubbles the water became the outer space!

BEST DIVE EVER: Cave Vallgornera in Mallorca, Spain. It took months of preparation and permits. The next hurdle was getting into the flood area, which required lowering our gear down a dry well with ropes. The cave itself is a paradise of fragile speleothems, dozens of different beautiful formations that took thousands of years to create.   

FAVORITE CRITTER: Nudibranchs. There are nearly 3,000 species, each with its own beauty and habitat. I am also amazed with some cave speleothems such as pool spars, rimstone dams, or quartz based formations.

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING: Since my tween years I have loved electronics, which I still create as part of my work as a Neuroscience Engineer. Or just for fun if something comes to mind, even scuba toys!

CERTIFICATION: PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, NAUI Instructor Trainer

# OF DIVES: 10,000+ accumulated in all corners of the world. 

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I love teaching the Basic open water course. The excitement of new divers is so infectious it keeps the class exciting. I am a photojournalist and teach the underwater photography class. I also teach several other specialties including underwater naturalist, night diver, deep diver, wreck diver, boat diver, search and recovery, multi-level diver, navigation, diver propulsion vehicle, rescue, and peak performance buoyancy. 

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: I was 10 years old and in the Bahamas with my parents. The young, and oh so good-looking, sailing instructor asked if I wanted to go diving with him on his day off. Did I ever, and another diver was born. 

BEST DIVE EVER:  I have always had a fondness for sharks. It was in the Maldives, at about 60 feet, when this forty-foot charmer came to swim with me. For a half-hour it was just the whale shark and I. Then, with a poke of fin, he said goodbye, sounded, and went to places I could not follow, but I shall remember him always. 

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING: I am President of my own Advertising/PR agency, MultiMedia House, serve as VP Marketing for Beneath the Sea, the largest consumer dive show in the Americas, and service PR for the Woman Divers Hall of Fame, where I am an inaugural member. 

CERTIFICATION: PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor

# OF DIVES: A bunch

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I work in the shop and assist with pool classes.

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA:  2013 at a Discover Scuba experience, one breath and I was hooked.

BEST DIVE EVER: Hole in the wall, a dive site off the southern tip of Eleuthera, Bahamas. You descend through a hole with just feet on either side of you and as you near the bottom you look up and you see nothing but blue out of the side of a 5000’ wall. It is truly awe inspiring.

FAVORITE CRITTER: Manatees, or Loggerhead sea turtles, they’re both just super chill animals.

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING:  You can find me working in the shop or teaching high schoolers how to dive most days. When I’m not working I’m taking training courses to become a better diver and teacher or finding new places to eat.

CERTIFICATION: PADI IDC Staff Instructor & PADI Tec Instructor

# OF DIVES: 350+

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I most often teach Open Water & Advanced Open Water at Dutch Springs.  I also help divers improve their skills by teaching specialty courses.

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: Intensive weekend class with Maria Hults in 2004

BEST DIVE EVER: Devil's Ear in the Devil's Cave System, Northern Florida

FAVORITE CRITTER: Mimic Octopus.  It's really amazing how this creature can morph into looking like another animal to escape predation.

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING: I'm spending time with my wife and two kittens, planning my next diving adventure.  I'm also an avid photographer, and love hiking.

CERTIFICATION: PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor

# OF DIVES: Little less than 100

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: Newly minted scuba instructor teaching SCUBA classes, Refreshers and Discover Scuba.

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: September of 2014, I got jealous of the fact my sister beat me to it, so I signed up myself.

BEST DIVE EVER: Any dive that everyone comes back from.

FAVORITE CRITTER: Sharks

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING: Trying to manage time between family, business, I play few musical instruments, and … right – diving. 

 CERTIFICATION: PADI Assistant Instructor

# Of Dives: 300

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I assist Open Water training at some of our Dutch Springs trips.

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: December, 2000, USVI on a discover scuba course. 

BEST DIVE EVER: Night dive on Ribbon reef in Australia with blue sharks circling us. Also had a great dive in Cozumel with lots of eagle ray activity. 

FAVORITE CRITTER: Sharks, dolphins, and rays. I would love to see a whale shark and a humpback. 

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING:  I am a licensed NRA pistol instructor, amateur baker and cook. I do Krav Maga, and volunteer work. 

CERTIFICATION: PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor

# Of Dives: 300+

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I am an Open Water Scuba Instructor  for Pan Aqua, and we all know the amount of work that entails, let’s just say, “I’m very busy, but loving it.” I have done numerous trips with Pan Aqua – Bahamas, Maldives, Cayman Islands, etc.. 

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: I was in Jamaica where I saw a scuba diving sign, the guy told me, I can teach you a 3 hour class in twenty minutes (if I only knew what I know now), I did it and was hooked. Two weeks later friends said we're going to the Bahamas, so I thought, “wow, I can do this scuba thing again,” wrong, I got there and they asked me if I was certified and I said “no,” they said I can’t do it...I was bummed but vowed this would never happen again. I got certified the following week!

BEST DIVE EVER: Lembeh ----- all of it! 

FAVORITE CRITTER: Nudibranchs, all of them! The smaller the better!  

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING:  Love riding my bicycle.

 CERTIFICATION: PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer

# OF DIVES: 250

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I assist with Open Water pool sessions and run Refresher/Re-Activate courses with certified divers.  You'll also find me working at nearly all our Dutch Spring trips.

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA:  1996 in Saint-Raphaël (French Riviera) after seeing a sign offering inexpensive scuba diving trips.  I didn't speak French and they didn't speak English, but the first breath underwater hooked me!

BEST DIVE EVER: Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, Scotland which was my first Drysuit and Wreck dive and introduced me to several blockships scuttled during WWI and WWII in an attempt to prevent German U-Boats from getting into the holding area for the British Naval Fleet.  So much more good wreck diving there - looking forward to going back!

FAVORITE CRITTER: I love seeing Turtles, whether resting on a rock or swimming under my fins, which actually happened on a night dive in Key Largo.

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING: I am out running, reading, or spending time with my wife and little Japanese Chin, Romy

 CERTIFICATION: PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I am an instructor who teaches classes and conducts refreshers!

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: I was certified on my birthday April 13th 2014 in the Dominican Republic as part of my bucket list after a weekend course in the pool with Pan Aqua. I was supposed to learn to windsurf too but on my first dive I did a 3 foot swim through and was hooked. The next month back at Pan Aqua, I got my Advanced certification and the following month my Rescue certification. Then in 2015 I earned my Divemaster certification, and now I’m part fish.

BEST DIVE EVER: So many to choose from. I would have to say it was a lion fish hunt dive in Dominican Republic. We cleared the shallow reefs and found they were hiding deeper so we planned a dive down to a max of 130 feet to clear them. It was there I found my Moby Dick of lion fish. This one was so elusive, we played a game of cat and mouse as I chased it until I was 2 minutes away from Deco. I got him though!

FAVORITE CRITTER: Any type of Ray. Saw a Manta Ray so large in Costa Rica I could swear it said “I’m Batman.” as it glided over.

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING:  I work for an advertising agency creating broadcast and web videos as well as directing my own video shorts. You can also find me diving at the NY Aquarium on their volunteer dive team.

CERTIFICATION: PADI MASTER SCUBA DIVER TRAINER

# OF DIVES: 1500 + and a bazillion hours in swimming pool.

AT PAN AQUA: I teach Openwater, Dry Suit, Equipment, Buoyancy, Nitrox, and run the Divemaster Program. I order all the cool toys and help folks choose what works best them; and I help get stuff fixed when gear goes wrong.

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: 12 years old on Martha's Vineyard Island at Menemsha Beach. When SCUBA instructors came to town that summer I talked my parents into letting me try it...then I never stopped.

BEST DIVE EVER: North Seymour Island in The Galapagos. When we were carried off course by a strong current my buddy Marni and I found ourselves in volcanic amphitheater loaded with turtles, sharks and big schools of fish. I believe it is a spot on earth that only we have seen.

FAVORITE CRITTER: The Great Pacific Octopus. On the northern tip of Vancouver Island their is an out cropping called Dylan's Rock; that is one place you can find them and they moved like liquid through the icy seas...and they were my size.

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING: I volunteer at the Wild Bird Fund, ride my snowboard, and hang with my 3 parrots and 21 fish... and watch way too much baseball.

CERTIFICATION: PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer; IANTD Ice Diver; TDI Normoxic Trimix

# OF DIVES: 1,000+.  I stopped logging local dives at about #300, after my second circumnavigation of Dutch Springs.  That was ca. 2006.

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I teach confined water courses, and conduct refreshers, PADI Reactivate, and Discover Scuba courses in the pool year round. During the local dive season, I certify Open Water, Advanced Open Water and specialty students. Every other weekend, I enjoy helping novice and experienced divers in the store.

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA:  In the pool at Manhattan Plaza during a Pan Aqua scuba class in October 2000.  There was the initial warning from my brain - “Remember, humans can’t breathe underwater” - followed by the all encompassing “This is so cool!” when I took that first breath. I’ve been part of the Pan Aqua community ever since.

BEST DIVE EVER: Cape Bernacchi, Antarctica.  I’ve done two tours as a research diver in Antarctica. Traveling by snow mobile from our remote field camp, our research team once found a colony of Weddell seals reclining and cavorting on the ice around our dive hole, which had been dynamited into the 12-foot ice cap at the beginning of the field season.  In contrast to the bleak topside landscape dominated by ice, black granite and merciless sky, Antarctic waters are alive with vivid color. Visibility is limited only by the amount of light penetrating the ice ceiling: no algae growth at water temperatures of 28-30 degrees F! I also recommend the Solomon Islands for their biodiversity and mind-bending color of corals and animals.

FAVORITE CRITTER: Humpback whale.  Their long migrations, social dynamics, complex repertoire of feeding techniques, and songs that evolve over years have fascinated me for years.

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING: I am a scientist and oncology researcher by training. I now work as a healthcare investment banker providing strategic advisory, fundraising and M&A services to companies in the life sciences sector.  At some of my clients’ firms, I have filled interim C-Suite roles. I focus on helping early stage companies bring credible, cost efficient solutions to market, shaping the future of healthcare innovation. In my not so ample free time, I enjoy running, good food, and classic movies.

CERTIFICATION: PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer

# OF DIVES: 1,400

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I am most often helping run the Dutch Springs trips. I carry tanks up and down the hill! I have also been spotted helping out in the pool now and then. 

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: Turks and Caicos Islands. Mr friend talked me into trying the "club course". I never was much of a water person. While we were learning our skills off the beach Jo Jo the dolphin interrupted our class and played with us for a while. I instantly thought "this is the coolest sport EVER!

BEST DIVE EVER: Darwin's arch Galápagos Islands. Hundreds of scalloped hammerhead and Galapagos sharks everywhere, turtles, dolphins, and my first whale shark. It's true, you never forget your first. 

FAVORITE CRITTER: Seahorses and sea lions. 

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING:  I am a television editor. I do a lot of food network shows. I am an avid cyclist, and gym rat. I am a big fan of all sports. Football is my favorite. 

CERTIFICATION: PADI Master Instructor

# OF DIVES: 1000+

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I teach the EFR, O2 and Rescue Diver classes. I was Pan Aqua’s first open water to Instructor student.

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: I worked as a lifeguard at Manhattan Plaza Heath Club and would watch Pan Aqua set up for the dive class. I tried snorkeling in the Bahamas and loved it. I went to Beneath the Sea and saw slides from the Cayman Islands and I said I want to do that and I want to go there. I did and more. 

BEST DIVE EVER: I haven’t been there yet. You don’t know what the next dive will bring. 

FAVORITE CRITTER: I enjoy Flamingo Tongues and Indigo Hamlets which you can see throughout most the Caribbean. 

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING:  I work full time as a Bookkeeper on the upper west side.

CERTIFICATION: PADI Divemaster

# OF DIVES: 150+

CERTIFICATION: Divemaster

# OF DIVES: 65

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I assist the instructors with pool and open water dive classes.

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: 2017 In Okinawa, Japan while serving as a Hospital Corpsman with the US Navy.

BEST DIVE EVER: While completing my wreck speciality in Koh Tao, Thailand. Being suspended weightless while swimming through the P-way of a scuttled ship is an experience I will never forget.

FAVORITE CRITTER: Puffer Fish. Those curious cuties always make me smile so big that I get water in my mouth.

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING: When I’m not diving I work as a FDNY firefighter (any excuse to breathe canned air). I love traveling and am usually in the process of planning my next trip, if not already sitting in an airport bound taxi.

CERTIFICATION: PADI Divemaster

# OF DIVES: 300+

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I am a Divemaster who loves assisting with classes and leading dives.  I especially enjoy helping students get over a challenge!

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: Was at Dutch Springs, doing a Discover Scuba Diving class. It went terribly for me! After that, I tried again in the Dominican Republic and fell in love with diving. (This is proof that sometimes you have to try a few times and not give up.) 

BEST DIVE EVER: Was when my husband, my three children and I all dove together for the first time, in Ambergris Caye, Belize.

FAVORITE CRITTER: Sharks! I also enjoy the challenge of finding frogfish and seahorses. 

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING:  I am planning a dive trip, reading about diving, and I also enjoy skiing, cooking, photography and helping with veterans’ causes. I serve on the board of a charter school in Hoboken.

 CERTIFICATION: PADI Divemaster

# Of Dives: 3000+

AT PAN AQUA DIVING: I serve normal Divemaster duties: aiding students, abetting instructors. I help teach the photography class and teach a Photoshop class. 

FIRST BREATH ON SCUBA: It was the mid-1970’s, and there was this girl.... 

BEST DIVE EVER: Best dives are like the weather, they come as God sends them; each dive a treasure hunt on wrecks, in sand, colorful reefs, or head stuck in the muck – explain to a non-diver what it is like seeing ladybugs underwater. For these reasons, I think my best dive is bound to be my next dive. 

WHEN I AM NOT DIVING:  I may be found skiing, sailing, or doing whatever my wife and/or cat is telling me to do. Now and then I take some pictures; now and then I do some writing; now and then someone publishes those pictures and writings. When I am doing none of those things or diving, I serve on staff at Beneath the Sea.