What made you want to be a diver?
I’ve always been fascinated by and loved the ocean. Family vacations in the Gulf of Mexico when I was very small were the best. As a child, I was mesmerized by the Cousteau specials, and I toyed with the idea of becoming a marine biologist. It’s still one of those untaken paths I sometimes wonder about.
How long have you been diving?
Since 1994, when I was certified through a term-long YMCA program offered for credit through the college. It was taught by a retired Navy diver — it was intense!
What is your level of certification?
Advanced Open Water
How did you hear about Oregon Scuba Club?
We went to the Expo last year (2013) and came across the Oregon Scuba Club booth. We had no idea about its existence or how close it was to us. Sounded like fun so we went to the next meeting.
What is your favorite dive spot cold water?
My cold-water experiences are limited so far, so aside from the semi-convenience of Sund Rock, I’d say Monterey (CA) would have to be my favorite. I’d like to go diving up in BC around Hornby Island.
Warm water?
That’s a difficult question — so many great places! I’ve done more “temperate” than really warm or cold-water diving. I guess I’d go with Cozumel for this question, although that was many years ago. However, after Bill’s tantalizing talk about CoCo View in Roatan, we scheduled a trip there for June. I’m looking forward to saying that Roatan is my favorite warm-water destination!
What is the one piece of dive equipment you could not live without?
Seriously, I could not live without any piece of my life-support system 
I always bring my own gear (I do love my Pearl BC!) along on trips because I know my gear and keep it serviced.
Tell us your favorite dive story (the one that got away):
We had a blast diving Los Islotes outside of La Paz. There’s a sea lion colony there, and although wild, they’ve become somewhat used to divers. They’ll chew on fins, dart around your head and body, and try to grab and pull things away, or come up and just stare at you before flipping over and away (you have to stay calm and alert so that it’s fun and not scary 
). Meanwhile, of course, they’re always chasing and playing with each other all around you. We dove there four times while in La Paz. It was a lot of fun each time.
Non-dive related stuff about you (what you do for a living, how big is your family, pets, who is your hero)?
I teach psychology up at PCC, and my students and I have a great time in our classes. It’s just Butch and me and two cats. It’s difficult to pick “a hero” because there are many people I admire, but I’ll go with David Attenborough. We own just about every nature video he’s ever been involved in. He’s an amazing person, incredible life experiences, and a passion for all species and all things nature. It will be a real loss when he is no longer in this world.