SNI Chapter Leadership

Bill Maples, Chapter President, completed Open Water certification in 2018 and is currently pursuing Advanced Open Water. He is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and a 21 year veteran of the Marine Corps. He is a Production Test Pilot for Gulfstream Aerospace and enjoys running, cycling and SCUBA diving with his daughter Maddie.

   Jessica Wertz serves the Savannah Chapter in both science and dive safety roles and helped launch the Savannah Chapter in 2020. She has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Southern University. Jessica grew up near the beach and has always loved the ocean. She began diving in college and became a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor in 2019. She was certified as an SSI Open Water Scuba Instructor in 2021.

Juli Jacobs, Chapter President, became certified with her daughter in summer of 2021.  When her daughter fell in love with diving they got as much experience as possible in a short time.  From diving springs to Jupiter, the Keys, Cozumel, and even the Cenotes within 6 months, she loves new diving adventures, especially the reefs!  Experiencing what Scubanauts does made her fall in love with the science just as much as the diving and she was anxious to bring Scubanauts to Citrus County.

Amy Black, Science Coordinator, began volunteering when her daughter, Bibiana, joined SCUBAnauts in 2021. Amy has a Master’s degree in Education and worked in the school system in various roles for 14 years before transitioning to the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. She developed a love for diving in the early 2000’s when she got her open water certification. Although she is unable to dive now, she enjoys sharing her daughter’s love for the sport.

Marc Blander, Dive Safety Officer, is a PADI Instructor who began diving in California in 1994. He started volunteering with the Tampa Chapter in 2018. When not diving with the SCUBAnauts, he can often be found as a Divemaster at the Florida Aquarium. Marc has a Master’s in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and works as a Financial Analyst.

Lauren Twele, Science Coordinator,  is a graduate of The University of Tampa where she studied Marine Science and Biology.  Having always been passionate about conservation education and inspiring youth about protecting our ocean habitats, she has worked at several organizations as an informal science instructor including The Florida Aquarium, Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, and Seacamp Association, Inc.  Currently, Lauren works on several eco-tourism boats around the Tampa Bay area where she combines her favorite things- working outside on the water and educating the public about marine wildlife!  Lauren was certified as a diver in 2014, and now currently is pursuing her Divemaster certification.  Lauren is one of the Scientists for the Tampa SNI Chapter, and is excited to be involved in more Scubanauts trips in the future!

Victoria Scriven, Science Coordinator, has served as the Tampa Chapter Scientist since 2020, hoping to inspire a love of Oceanography and science diving. She has a bachelor’s degree in Oceanography from Texas A&M University and is currently working on her Masters at the University of South Florida. Victoria conducts deep-sea research using MBARI’s ROVs to understand and quantify the predator-prey relationships of deep-sea ctenophores. Growing up in the desert of West Texas, Victoria had to find creative ways to get in the water and once she became SCUBA Certified in 2010 she hasn’t left the water since. She is able to use science diving in her academic research and hopes to continue mentoring and working with young students with a passion for the ocean. When she is not in the water or in the lab Victoria can be found kayaking, painting, camping, volunteering, and spelunking. She is happy to mentor and guide Nauts who are navigating their way through the college application process and looking for careers in marine science.

Katrina Brooks, Chapter President, became Open Water certified as a birthday present to her husband in 2014. Her oldest daughter, Audrey, and husband joined SCUBAnauts in 2020, shortly after Audrey became Advanced Open Water certified. Katrina joined SCUBAnauts in 2021 with her youngest daughter, Fiona, to support the chapter as Membership Coordinator. Prior to SCUBAnauts, Katrina was highly involved in her daughters’ school PTA, holding various positions, from Vice President and School Liaison to Treasurer. Katrina was active in her husband’s Army unit as Secretary of the FRG during his deployments. When she’s not at work as a Property and Casualty Insurance Agent, or supporting SCUBAnauts, Katrina can be found in the gym or in the kitchen discovering new dishes. 

Michael Brooks, Dive Safety Officer, is a PADI Divemaster and Dive Medical Responder who has been diving since 1996. He joined SNI with his daughter, Audrey, and started volunteering with the Tarpon Springs Chapter in 2020. Brooks served for 8 years in the U.S. Army as a Tactical Radio Operator, served in the U.S. Navy for 4 years as a Submarine Communications Electronics Maintenance Technician, has a Bachelor’s Degree in Technical Management, and works as a Public Safety Communications Specialist.

Reese Hanifin-Hernandez, Science Coordinator, started volunteering with Scubanauts in 2019. She teaches Biology, Forensics, and Zoology Honors at Alonso High School in Tampa, Florida. She began diving in Arizona in 1994 but took a long break, as there are not a lot of oceans in Arizona! She became passionate about the sport again in 2012 after moving to Florida and participating in a Whale Shark research project off the coast of Mexico. Her next goal is Divemaster and Instructor, when she’s off from school in the summers. SCUBAnauts combines Reese’s love of diving, research, conservation, and teaching. Reese has a Masters of Environmental Planning from Arizona State University and worked as an Environmental Planner for large scale engineering projects before changing careers to teaching in 2012. 

Christa Baranowski, Science Coordinator, started volunteering with SCUBAnauts in 2024. After getting open water certified for her bachelor’s degree in 2018, she knew that diving would be a life-long passion outside of her career. Christa is working on her Divemaster training and hopes to achieve Instructor in the next few years, alongside becoming an official AAUS scientific diver with SCUBAnauts! Christa is attending the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science for her Master’s Degree in Biological Oceanography (Ocean Life!), and is currently studying phytoplankton community changes in Tampa Bay. She joined SCUBAnauts after being a Science Mentor for USF’s Oceanography Camp for Girls, where she absolutely loved working with the next generation of ocean stewards, and wanted to expand her experiences with education and outreach. When Christa isn’t studying, researching, or working at the local dive shop, she can be found trying to relax at the beach or one of Florida’s State Parks!

Buck Moffett, Chapter President, completed his Open Water Certification in February of 2022, and has been involved in Scubanauts with his son, Graham, and his daughter, Sarah, ever since!  Buck holds a B.S. in Biology from Oakland University in Rochester, MI and has a 30+ year career in Human Resources. He currently works for Amazon in Employee Relations. When not working, you can usually find Buck with his family on the water, in the water, near the water, or thinking about the water.  Although both Buck and his wife Rachael are native Michiganders, they reside in Cape Coral, FL with seven of their children still at home.

Laura Morris, Dive Safety Officer has been an active parent within SNI since 2014. She began Scuba diving while in college and has renewed her passion with an active role in SNI that has provided her the opportunity to share it with her son, Zack. Currently, she is providing support within SNI as the Sarasota Chapter Dive Officer and also as a grant writer. She is a graduate of the University of Central Florida with a B.S. in biology and holds an M.S. in restoration ecology from the University of Florida. She has worked as an ecologist throughout Florida for over 20 years and has a broad background in freshwater wetlands and wildlife. Currently she is a reclamation supervisor with Mosaic.

Dr. Sara Williams, Science Coordinator,  joined SNI in 2021 and is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Mote Marine Laboratory in the Coral Health and Disease Program. She completed her PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology at Northeastern University and her research uses network science and modeling combined with field work and physiological experiments to understand problems facing coral reefs. Dr. Williams learned to SCUBA dive in high school and has since completed certifications up to PADI Dive Master and AAUS Scientific Diver. When not underwater or in the lab, Dr. Williams spends her time spoiling her puppy, Poppy, and exploring the many state parks and beaches in Florida. 

Cameron Harrell, Chapter President, has a Professional Commercial and Recreational dive career that spans three decades with multiple continents and oceans. His twin daughters, Abigail and Camille, were open water certified at 10 years old in April 2022 and the family officially joined Scubanauts in January 2023. His wife Myla has been certified since January 2000 and his family tries to enjoy every diving opportunity that comes along. Cameron’s educational journey includes Graduate coursework in Business and Organizational Management, a B.S in Technical Management and an A.S. in Marine Technology. He trained professionally and was certified as a Commercial Saturation Diver and Hyperbaric Medical Technician, graduating from Oceaneering/National University Polytechnic. After graduation, he enjoyed a global career working on subsea engineering projects, salvage operations, ran hyperbaric chamber operations for both dives and medical treatment, performed environmental offshore oil and gas pipeline inspections, provided the occasional sea turtle capture and relocation away from offshore oil platforms (one of his most enjoyable activities) and served as a Chief Dive Safety Officer over Saturation Dive and Flight Operations (his most stressful position). Cameron in the professional recreation dive world has been a certified PADI Divemaster for over 3 decades, is a PSS Assistant Dive Instructor and a DAN Instructor. He also served 4 years in the U.S. Marine Corps as an EOD/Hazardous Materials and Logistics Specialist. His goal with Scubanauts is to support the core mission with our youth and also have them spiritually and intellectually inspired with the underwater world.

Stacy Ramsey, Chapter Membership Coordinator,  is a lover of oceanography and marine biology, her background is actually in film and TV production, where she was able to focus on Underwater Cinematography as an Assistant Cameraman in Los Angeles. She received her Open Water  certification back in 1990 through PADI while living in California and moved to Florida in 1998 to work in warmer waters! She met her husband and never returned to CA. Fast Forward to 2020 and her love of all things ocean is now shared with her husband and two teen SCUBAnaut boys. “I wish I would have found a program like SCUBAnauts when I was growing up. The knowledge, leadership and connections are invaluable for all professions in life. The ability to learn, conduct and submit scientific research, participate in meaningful conservation, build bridges and friendships all while diving and doing what I love is an incredible opportunity. How could I not, want to be involved!!!  It’s my pleasure to be here and I look forward to contributing and being part of this wonderful program. I hope you’ll join us!”

Sarah Vinson, Science Coordinator, serves the Orlando Chapter in both science and dive safety roles. She has a bachelor’s degree in Biology with a focus in Marine Science from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Sarah grew up in Pinellas county Florida and has always wanted to work in or around the water. She began diving since 2015 so she could join SCUBAnauts as a naut. She actively participated in SSI as a naut until 2019, when she became an adult leader. She was certified as an SSI Open Water Scuba Instructor in 2019 and a DAN Instructor in 2018. Sarah attributes a lot of her current success to being in SNI and wants to continue giving that opportunity to future nauts.