Meet the Dive Immersion Program Team
Staff A-Z
James has lived in many places in his life. He was born in Norway and after turning 16, got a job on a herring boat and learned to dive in the fjords. From there he moved to Moscow then on to Cape Town, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and eventually living on every continent. Once he made it to North America, he landed in San Dimas, CA where he and his best friends Bill and Ted embarked on an excellent adventure, traveling through time in a phone booth. Upon returning from the past, James moved to Atlanta and began working for the Dive Immersion Program at the Georgia Aquarium. He was hired on April 1, 2010 and to this day, James is still unaware that he was only offered the job as an April Fools joke. James recently got married and he, his new wife and their son live in Gwinnett County. In his spare time, James enjoys going on picnics, taking long walks on the beach, and dusting his rarely seen collection of 18th century Portuguese bud vases.
Chip “Hammerhead” Burger:
Chip
“Hammerhead” Burger, or HamBurger for short, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and
considers himself a Pacific Islander, although the US Census Bureau disagrees.
He developed a love for the ocean at an early age and is one of the few people
that can breathe through his tear ducts - he often uses the air in his mask as
spare air. Chip joined the DIP Program on July 4, 2012 after several years as a
volunteer diver in the GAI Dive Program. He is affectionately known as Chipster
the Dipster, except by Jeff Reid, who still thinks Chip is a volunteer. When he
is not diving, Chip enjoys spending time thinking about
diving (and margaritas).
Drew, another intellectual on the crew is best known for being the most serious member of the DIP team. This may be because when he smiles, the beam of light coming from his pearly whites has the power to light up a 300ft deep cave dive. Or it could be because he wrote his undergraduate thesis on the mating habits of yellow jackets and claims to constantly hear fantom buzzing. An adventurer and rugged outdoorsman, Drew literally "fell" in love at the water, when his future wife Karen cut him off on her Harley, causing Drew to flip over a cliff and land a perfect belly flop on top of a giant manta ray. He trademarked the phrase "Paper- its sooo 20th century." Last year Drew was named El Rey of the world's largest tomato fight in Bunol, Spain, but when asked, calls his crowning achievement his world record sized Buzz Lightyear figurine made entirely of beef jerky and yams. His most memorable dive was when he cut a tangle of fishing line, freeing an octopus whom he later named "Scruffy." 
Chris has been diving for over fifteen years. While studying business in Orlando, he began his career at the Walt Disney World resort working with the Dive Quest program. Throughout his tenure on the Disney Dive Team, he came to realize that his heart resided in the one thing he has been doing most of his life. His passion and love for the ocean and all its inhabitants have led him to the world’s largest aquarium. Continuing to learn and grow Chris looks forward to where the current of life will lead him next.
Laura is unique among her peers in the Dive Immersion Program. Not only is she the tallest member of the staff, she also brings an infectious calm and sense of tranquility over everyone and everything she encounters. During one of her early dives, every fish that came within 10 feet of her mysteriously stopped swimming and went into some kind of trance. Laura was actually born with webbed toes and feet the size of ScubaPro Twin Jet fins. This made her a natural diver. The instructor who first certified her suggested she have her feet surgically reduced just so he could sell her some fins. She did have the surgery and now enjoys going to normal shoe stores to buy her shoes. When she's not out buying regular size shoes, she can usually be seen zipping around her neighborhood in her Leopard-skin painted golf cart.Sophie Gaze:
Aloha, me hearties! I was born from a mermaid’s purse in the North Sea off the coast of southeast England. Following an old treasure map, my father moved our family to the coast of south Florida in the early 90’s. While growing up in the sunshine state and traveling throughout the Caribbean, I gained a love for snorkeling and free diving. I got my Open Water certification in 2006, and traveled to the Galapagos Islands to take a closer look at the deep blue sea. In the summer of 2007 , I set sail in the seas of the British Virgin Islands and achieved my Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver certifications. In 2008, I castoff from my Florida lifestyle and ventured to the University of Hawaii at Manoa on Oahu. I studied journalism with marine science focus and became an Open Water Scuba Instructor. I worked with the local dive scallywags and had sandy toes for four years, but in the summer of 2011, I followed the breeze inland and travelled to Atlanta where I interned in the Dive Operations department at the Georgia Aquarium. After one more year at school and graduating from university, I finally dry-docked in Atlanta to secure a position at the Aquarium in the Dive Immersion Program as a senior divemaster. Who knows where my compass will point next or how long I can survive being high and dry, but for now diving with whale sharks and manta rays sounds like a pirate’s life for me!
Jonathan Langham:
Jonathan has been obsessed with diving since the 7th
grade. When he first told his parents he
wanted to get certified, they brushed it off and said it was just a phase. I
guess he’s still going through that phase. He got certified his Senior year of
high school and achieved his Advanced Certification that following summer.
After finishing Paramedic School, he moved up to Atlanta to start a career in
EMS. Jonathan held numerous positions with Rural/Metro Ambulance, Grady EMS and
was also a flight paramedic with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. In July 2011
Jonathan began an exciting new career with the Georgia Aquarium as a diver (His
dream job.) He started as maintenance diver for the dolphin exhibit and then
moved over to the Dive Immersion Program (DIP) after becoming a Divemaster.
Presently, Jonathan is an instructor with the National Association of
Underwater Instructors and the Handicapped Scuba Association. His goals in the
near future are to start technical diving and learning/teaching rebreathers.
Anne's interest in diving was sparked during a snorkeling trip in the late 90s when she spotted divers in the water below her. In the years that followed, she became an accomplished Divemaster and earned several safety and water rescue certifications including the Georgia Public Safety Diver. She has gone through intense training as a volunteer with the Cherokee County Dive Recovery and Swift Water rescue teams. She has been with the Dive Immersion Program since it's inception in June, 2008. Anne grew up in North Massapequa, Long Island, NY. She moved to Kennesaw, GA when she was 30 and raised two children, Max and Nadine. Both are married and have given Anne three grandchildren, Isla, Madison, and Alana. When she is out of the water, Anne competes in team and solo events on her mountain bike around the Southeast with friends and family. Anne's professional and spirited attributes add safety and enjoyment to the customer experience.
Liz Mercure has been diving at the Georgia Aquarium since 2008, first as a volunteer diver and now as a Dive Master in the Dive Immersion Program. Liz has been diving for 30 years. She is certified as a Handicap Scuba buddy and gets much satisfaction from helping the disabled enjoy the underwater paradise of Ocean Voyager. She is also trained in surface supplied diving. Liz is an Atlanta native and graduated from Georgia State in 1982 with a BS in Communications. She went to work at CNN immediately after college and stayed there for 25 years. Liz produced thousands of live newscasts. She was in charge of CNN's breaking news coverage including both Gulf Wars and 9/11. She now loves wearing shorts to work. Although her passion is scuba diving, Liz is also an avid golfer, an aspiring yogi and loves to cook.Susan “Tasseled Wobbegong” Oglesby:
I was born in a car on the way to a German hospital, and life has been a joy ride ever since.
Grew up, went to college, got married, raised a daughter, taught literacy to adults, opened a graphic design studio.
Became a diver. Life became more interesting.
Ditched first life, become Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and Aquatic Therapist, was Venue Manager for Atlanta Paralympics. Became PADI and Handicapped Scuba Association Instructor, met Bart, left together to work on yacht in Australia, NZ & Tasmania for 1 ½ year. Went to Curacao for 18 months to run dive operation. Returned as Director of BlazeSports Georgia and developed state-wide athletic programs/teams for people with disabilities to compete nationally/internationally. Married Bart.
Joined GAI staff 2008 to develop DIP into dynamic, successful program with outreach component. As Course Director, certified DIP staff making GAI the largest congregate of H.S.A. Instructors and Dive Masters in the world. The Wounded Warrior, Warriors In Transition Battalion and the Shepherd TR programs are scheduled regularly.
Scott Peters considers himself "The worlds greatest diving athlete". He is an avid runner and has competed in some of the most prestigious and grueling races in the world including the Tour de France and the Paris to Dakar rally, both of which he actually completed on foot. Later this year, he plans to attempt crossing the English Channel wearing inflatable shoes. As soon as he was old enough, Scott enlisted in the Navy where he began an intensive training course on handling underwater explosives. Due to an unfortunate accident in which he mistakenly blew up an Atlantis submarine off the coast of Grand Bahama Island, he was discharged from the Navy. An investigation determined the cause of the accident to be a fogged mask. He subsequently came to work as a Divemaster in the Dive Immersion Program at the Aquarium and has become one of the more valuable, if not hard of hearing members of the team.Wanda “Whale Shark” Rodriguez:
Wanda is a PADI Dive Instructor and one of the original dive volunteers at the Georgia Aquarium. She also volunteers at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga at least once a month. Whenever Wanda goes diving outside the aquarium, she likes to leave some pottery at the site with her contact information so any divers that visit that site after her and find the article can let her know they found it. This was her way of finding dates before she met her current boyfriend, George. Wanda always has a smile on her face, a song in her heart, and long scratches on her hands and arms from a pet squirrel that she is raising. Despite the abuse she takes from it, she loves her squirrel and is currently designing a tiny wetsuit and scuba gear so she can teach it how to dive.
Susan grew up outside of Boston in Concord, Massachusetts. She was first certified to dive at age 15 when her family took a trip to Key Largo for the purpose of learning to dive. Between her freshman and senior years in high school, she was a downhill ski instructor. After she left high school, Susan earned a Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from the University of Michigan. Following a long break from diving, she got re-certified 10 years ago. She went on to get Trimix certified and is the first and only woman to have dived Attakulla Lodge in Lake Jocassee, SC at a depth of 300 ft. Prior to joining the Dive Immersion Program at the Aquarium, she managed a dive store, She is the proud parent of a 23 year old daughter, Ashley and has 5 dogs and 5 cats.
Connie is a born diver, literally. Connie's mother gave birth to her in the wheelhouse of the wreck of the Zane Gray off the coast of Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. Connie grew up in Georgia and South Carolina and has a degree in....everything. She is a doctor, lawyer, astrophysicist, marine biologist, and she can quote pre-war Czechoslovakian literature. She is the go-to person in the department whenever any kind of problem arises. In 2004, she ran for congress but was narrowly defeated when news of an illicit affair with one of her former professors was revealed. Connie invented the color mauve. Just before joining DIP, Connie competed in and won the World Championship of Rock-Paper-Scissors in Sioux Falls, SD. Her dive log has entries from every body of water on earth from the Arctic to the Antarctic. She considers her most memorable dive as one she took with the Dalai Lama in a mountain lake in Tibet.
Monique is Dive Immersion's resident world traveler, next to Myra. She is a Delta flight attendant and has visited just about every corner of the world. Monique is a master linguist with the ability to speak every language in the world, including several animal dialects. She is often asked to be an interpreter when DIP has guests that don't speak English. Husbandry calls on her skills to talk to the Whale Sharks, asking them how they feel and if they would like anything such as more food, cleaner water, or if any of the other fish are harassing them. Earlier this year, when Yushan was regularly nudging and making contact with the swimmers, she said that Yushan told her "They taste like chicken". When she's not flying or diving at the Aquarium, Monique likes attending hair band concerts and crowd surfing.
Devin Waddell has one of the most extensive lists of diving credentials in the Dive Immersion Program. He was born in June 1910 in Saint-André-de-Cubzac, France. His constant exposure to salt water and the sea has kept him looking younger than his 101 years. During the 1930s, Duk worked in the information service of the French navy and was sent on missions to Shanghai, Japan, and the Soviet Union. During the 1940s, Duk made improvements to the aqua-lung design, which gave birth to the open-circuit scuba technology used today. In 1950, he founded the French Oceanographic Campaigns and leased a ship called Calypso, which he outfitted as a floating laboratory for field research. It was a proud moment for him when John Denver immortalized his ship in song. Throughout his career, Duk made hundreds of films and is credited with the invention of many diving and scientific instruments. One of Duk's favorite pastimes is chatting with the patrons at the French American Brasserie while he serenades them with his accordion on Friday nights.
Former Staff
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