MEET THE CREW

August of 1995...Harbour Island, Bahamas...16 years old...that's when I took my first breath from a regulator and this journey began. Family vacations to various dive destinations nurtured that early interest and I eagerly pursued a path to being a dive instructor upon graduating college (forever grateful to my parents for supporting my wild ideas about what I wanted to do with my life).

My scuba instructor journey took me to the British Virgin Islands for a couple of years in my early 20s and then Grand Cayman for three years - and I wouldn't trade either of those experiences for anything. However, in 2005, about a year after Hurricane Ivan struck the Cayman Islands, I decided it was time to return home and begin the next chapter.

The next few years were spent working in a local shop, learning about retail sales, and figuring out this "cold/freshwater scuba diving thing". After all, I had spent my entire dive career to this point in the Caribbean, so quarries and limited visibility conditions were a mystery to me. This was a good stepping stone but apparently wasn't satisfying enough or a big enough challenge, so in 2011 Submerged was born. It's been a lot of hard work since Day 1, but it's also been the most rewarding endeavor I've ever undertaken. I've had some of the best experiences of my life with the people I have met, the students I have taught, and the places I have gone with Submerged.

I'm thrilled to have the BEST dive community at Submerged - a group of people who love diving, love helping new divers get comfortable and gain more experience, and just like getting together and having a good time.

I'm also so fortunate and grateful to have the BEST scuba instructors working along side me. These guys are truly dedicated to making sure that Submerged students really shine and are proud of the skills they develop during their training. They also spend time honing their own dive skills and taking courses to stay sharp...and to remember what it's like to be a student.

I don't know what the next chapter in my diving career will be...all I know is that I still love going to work at Submerged each day, so I can't ask for much more!   

Iris joined the team in October 2022. She used to operate her own scuba instruction business in Japan, but when she and her husband moved to the DC area she wanted to stay involved in scuba diving. As luck would have it, she lives within walking distance of the shop, she's an SSI instructor, and she's friendly and extremely helpful...so basically a perfect fit!

Iris loves introducing new divers to scuba diving and is really good at outfitting new divers with personal gear. She's also really good at running the day-to-day operations and keeping Submerged organized which is a super big help to Tanya. She's quickly become a very valuable member of the Submerged family.

Joe started diving with Submerged around 2014, but his underwater adventures began long before that. Though he enjoys technical dives, wreck penetration, and cave diving, he's also quite happy slinging a single sidemount bottle and poking around on a coral reef.

Joe primarily teaches the UTD classes at Submerged. If you're looking to perfect your trim, or dial in that back kick, take an Essentials class with Joe. He'll also happily teach you how to dive with backmount doubles or sidemount.

He's meticulous, thorough, and patient during training, but ready to kick back and have a laugh afterwards. 

Mike is Tanya's dad and is often in the shop working on regulators and taking care of the fish tanks. When he's not in the shop, he loves to be out on the water sailing his trimaran. He started diving while in the military, then picked it up again when the rest of the family got certified in the 90s. 

 Josh began diving in 2007 but not for the leisurely reasons that Tanya did - he was joining the Anne Arundel Fire Department Dive Team. He's a Special Operations lieutenant for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department.

In April of 2019 he was selected to attend instructor training for Dive Rescue International, a premier Public Safety Diver training organization. During that arduous 3 week long instructor course he realized that he'd like more opportunities to teach than the occasional public safety diver course for the county, so in August of 2019 he crossed over to SSI and he's been having fun in the recreational diving realm ever since.

Josh may be a somewhat newer recreational scuba instructor, but he’s not new to teaching or leading people in general and his diving experiences have been almost exclusively in difficult, no visibility conditions. He's methodical, calm, and encouraging. He's also just a lot of fun to be around. 

Joe has been a regular at Submerged almost since the beginning! He began his scuba adventure with us in 2014 and his dedication to the activity is hard to beat. Joe has progressed in a purposeful manner over the past several years, practicing and developing his skills in between each course he has taken. During that time, he has also helped less experienced divers practice and get more comfortable and confident, and has been invaluable to growing the Submerged community into the fun group that it is today. In 2019, Tanya asked Joe if he would like to become a divemaster for Submerged, and she was absolutely delighted when he agreed to undertake the training. If you are interested in having a friendly, patient, and responsible guide, Joe is the perfect divemaster for the job!

Jack joined the team in December 2017 at just 8 weeks old and he's been winning over hearts ever since. He holds the title of CEO (Chief Entertainment Officer) because he will greet you at the door and he's sure to bring you a ball or other toy to throw for him. Some people admit to just coming by for no reason other than to visit Jack.

Jack is half English Lab and half American Lab. He's a big boy now (90lbs) but he's 100% love and super friendly, so don't be intimidated. He loves EVERYBODY. He grew up in the dive shop, so he is very accustomed to people.

Come by and get some puppy kisses from him. He's sure to brighten your day!