Who we are

Craig has spent the majority of his life underwater, whether it has been at work, spearfishing, diving for fun, or teaching diving. Craig started his diving career in 1997 while receiving his B.A. at Stephen F Austin University. He has been a PADI Master Scuba Dive Trainer since 2001 and a NAUI Course Director since 2015. He has over 4800 hours diving at NASA since he started his career with the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in 2002 and has been promoted to Dive Operations Manager. In addition, Craig is an avid spearfisher. He has setup and hosted the Snapper Shootout, Platform Predators, and Spearmaster spearfishing tournaments in Galveston, Freeport, and Seabrook areas from 2006 to 2012. He is the founder of Texas Scuba Adventures, which began 10 years ago as an educational dive program that teaches high school students a discover scuba/science program. He has also certified countless divers since the inception of Texas Scuba Adventures and is looking forward to this chapter in Galveston.

 Kristen’s dive career has been fueled by a lifelong fascination with the underwater world that began in her childhood. This deep-seated passion steered her towards a fulfilling career as a biologist. Her professional background includes work within environmental toxicology labs, Fish and Wildlife population studies, animal husbandry with a specialty in octopuses and sharks, and environmental education. Fifteen years ago, Kristen became a member of the Texas Scuba Adventures Dive Team, she was captivated by the diverse programs they offered. Five years ago, she became a co-owner as her and Craig expanded to Galveston and opened up the retail and charter side of the business. Since then, she has worked with countless international high school students for a discover scuba/science program, assisted with the training of new and experienced divers, and traveled the world with some of her favorite dive buddies. In addition, Kristen currently holds one of the Dive Operations seats on the Flower Gardens Sanctuary Advisory Council and is a NOAA diver for the SEFSC. 

Tess first fell in love with diving in 2011 after exploring the depths of the Cayman Islands for the first time. Since then, she has dived in a plethora of locations around the world. One of her favorite experiences was Great White Shark cage diving off the Cape of South Africa. With a decade of diving under her belt, she pursued and completed both her Master Scuba Diver and Divemaster training in the summer of 2021 and her NAUI instructor training in 2022. Tess is not only an avid diver, but she is actively pursuing and finishing her Bachelor's degree in Marine Biology at Texas A&M Galveston while working for us. She hopes to enjoy a life of sciences combined with her love and passion for diving.

Jacque started her dive career at Humboldt State University in California. Her passion for diving and the study of marine biology grew from the numerous training dives in the kelp forests around Catalina Island and along the Mendocino coast. After completing Humboldt's Scientific Diving Program, she took on a PhD in Marine Biology at Texas A&M University Galveston (TAMUG). She became a NSS-CDS Cave Diver to complete her research and a NAUI Instructor to help support TAMUG's Dive Program. Jacque has since supported Texas Parks and Wildlife's Artificial Reef Reef Program and become a volunteer diver for the NOAA Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Dive Team. Jacque began working with Texas Scuba Adventures in 2017 with their international high school Space Center Houston dive program, and now teaches various NAUI offerings through the shop

  Brandon has grown up on the water all of his life, from being on boats to fishing and now scuba diving. From first getting certified in 2020, he found the shop to help him with his DM and he has made my way to becoming an instructor. He is also tech certified in many brands of scuba equipment, and he currently works as a Scuba Maintenance Technician at NASA. Since joining the Team, it has opened up so many amazing opportunities that he will be forever thankful for! He's excited to share his love for the water with anyone who comes through the door! 

  Jacob started his diving career in 2010 while at the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office after joining the Sheriff’s Office Dive Team. Since then he has qualified as a Public Safety Diver, completed the Underwater Criminal Investigator (UCI) program and numerous other DHS PSD courses. He has logged a plethora of dives in recovering criminal evidence underwater and has even testified in court on Public Safety Diving. Jacob is a PADI Dive Master and has also obtained his NAUI SCUBA Instructor rating. Jacob has also worked his way up to become the Dive Team Lead for the Sheriff’s Office and is responsible for the training and improvement of the Public Safety Divers for the Sheriff’s Office. Although Jacob is used to diving in low to no visibility conditions, he does prefer to dive in water with visibility and has several dives in the Caribbean. 

 Darby decided to become a SCUBA diver as a child after watching her favorite cartoon villain walk underwater. She first dipped her toe into the world of SCUBA in 2014 and had the great pleasure of joining the Texas Scuba Adventures team and becoming a NAUI Divemaster in 2023. Moving from the cold waters of Washington State to the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico has allowed her to enjoy amazing biodiversity in different ecosystems, but the cold waters of the Puget Sound will always be her favorite.  

Zach began his diving career on a whim in 2019 with Texas A&M University @ Galveston(TAMUG). He fell in love with the underwater world, and began working as a diver and educator for the Downtown Aquarium Houston shortly after.  During his tenure at the aquarium, he earned several certifications including his divemaster with TAMUG. He worked for TAMUG as a divemaster starting in the spring of 2021.  After leaving the aquarium, he came to work for us in the spring of 2022. He completed his NAUI Instructor course through TSA In the summer of 2022 and has been a proud member of our team since!

  Ashlyn began her dive career in 2018 with the University of Florida dive program where she earned through her NAUI Divemaster. She moved to Galveston in 2022 to start her PhD in Oceanography at TAMUG and immediately contacted the Texas Scuba Adventures about getting involved in the dive community. She completed her NAUI instructor training with us in the Spring of 2023. Her weeks are busy with her research on Bahamian Blue holes, but she saves her weekends for dives with Texas Scuba Adventures. While she misses diving the caverns and springs of North Florida, her favorite dives are the day charters out to the oil platforms. Her entire dive career has been spent in dive education and she has loved every moment of it. Ashlyn is passionate about sharing the underwater experience with anyone willing to give it a try. 

 Monica started her diving career in college back in 2012. She is a certified IANTD full cave tech diver, a NAUI instructor, and a nationally certified urban/ wilderness emergency medical technician (EMT-B). She received her Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering from Stanford University in 2018 with a focus in Space Environment effects on spacecraft and humans. She is passionate about space exploration and diving and has been leveraging her technical experiences in both worlds to advance technology and research for human space exploration. She was a recipient of the 2016 NAUI Leadership Grant from the Women Divers Hall of Fame during which she worked as a dive-master in the cold water of the Monterey Bay area. Monica began working with Texas Scuba Adventures in 2021. She is currently a human performance engineer supporting NASA in enhancing astronaut performance (another great interaction between space and diving).  

Nick is a former US Navy Diving Officer who began his diving career learning how to
search for underwater mines. His education began in 2014 at the Naval Diving and
Salvage Training Center in Panama City, FL with an extensive curriculum in scuba,
surface supplied diving, rebreathers, and dive medicine before he moved on to
Explosive Ordnance Disposal School for certification as a bomb technician. After
training alongside international partners from a handful of Pacific countries, he became equally at home swimming with explosives through murky Australian bay waters as he was watching sea turtles amble by in the crystal clear waters of Hawaii. After an exceptionally dive-tastic tour of duty in the tropical paradise of Guam, Nick decided to continue diving professionally when he left the Navy. He traveled alone to Costa Rica
with a mask and pair of fins and became a Divemaster to learn the art of leading
recreational dives. Only then did he discover his love for sharing the experience of
diving and the techniques and lessons he had to offer. After a short time there, he
accepted a job as a spacewalk instructor at NASA and found his way to Texas to help
train astronauts in the 6.2-million-gallon Neutral Buoyancy Lab located in Clear Lake
City. Nick is now a NAUI Instructor who loves escaping the Texas heat by diving in any
pool, lake, or ocean spot available. 

  Donavon has always been passionate about the ocean and has driven him to pursue careers in marine biology and scuba diving. His diving began in high school but took off once he became a Texas A&M Galveston (TAMUG) student swiftly becoming a Student Locker Technician for the A&M Dive Program. Through the TAMUG Dive Program, Donavon earned his AAUS Scientific Diving qualifications and became an SDI Divemaster for the school. Wanting to expand his horizons, Donavon enrolled and trained in a NAUI Instructor class, here at Texas Scuba Adventures, led by Craig Shannon and Kristen Maples and has since become a part of our team in 2021. 

Kert's love of the water and diving started at the age of 16. Went in the Navy right after graduation. After his service he attended commercial dive school at College of Oceaneering, earning a Bachelor’s of Science in Marine Technology. Retired after 15 years of commercial diving. He then earned his Captains license and worked crew boats. Since then he has earned his Divemaster certification and continues to dive recreational with his family.  

Lauren is a space enthusiast and an underwater explorer.

Lauren first fell in love with the ocean at a young age after watching Free Willy. She began diving in 2009 in the early days of Texas Scuba Adventures’ Dive/Science program where she got introduced to both the wonders of the sea and space.

Lauren has a BS in Space Studies- Aerospace Science from American Public University and a Master of Systems Engineering from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. She currently works as a contractor at NASA Johnson Space Center supporting human space flight as an EVA Flight Controller. Her team focuses on the planning, training, and execution of ExtraVehicular Activities (EVA aka Spacewalks). Prior to being an EVA Flight Controller, she was a diver at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory for 7 years, where her team aided in the safety of astronauts during underwater EVA training.

In her spare time Lauren likes to work with new divers during their training and explore new dive sites around the world.

Aaron has spent most of his life on water, whether it has been at work, surfing, fishing, diving or practicing underwater photography. He started his dive career in 2019 with Texas Scuba Adventures when he relocated from Michigan to Galveston. Aaron is a NAUI Divemaster, AAUS Scientific Diver, NAUI Instructor and NAUI Technical Diver, and leads dives to sites in the Gulf including the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. He also participates in the Space Center Houston dive program designed and hosted by Texas Scuba Adventures that teaches high school students a discover scuba and science program. Aaron received his M.S. in Accounting from Michigan State University and was a CPA before pursuing a Marine Biology degree at Texas A&M University Galveston. He has since joined the Galveston Bay Foundation as a research associate for studies related to bottlenose dolphins. Aaron also has experience in programs including the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research, as well as work in the sustainable business and environmental activism sectors in the Great Lakes region. 

 Hallie fell in love with the ocean at a young age, mostly thanks to her parents, Buffi and Bruce, who never seemed to run out of incredible dive stories to share. In 2016, she received her Open Water certification, and decided she wanted to be just like her instructor someday.

In 2022, she graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in Marine Biology. Around this time, she started working at Texas Scuba Adventures. She became a NAUI Divemaster in 2022, then a NAUI Instructor in 2023!

Aside from scuba diving, she loves being outside, birdwatching, drawing, and playing video games. She hopes to be an aquarium biologist in the future. 

Kana began swimming in the ocean before she could walk. However, she did not start diving until 2020 when she was looking for things to do during COVID. After diving in TX lakes, she took her first blue water dive trip to the Gulf with Texas Scuba Adventures in the summer of 2020; she was hooked. She received her PADI Divemaster certification in January 2021 and has been participating in the Space Center Houston program for Texas Scuba Adventures since the spring of 2021. She has since dove in locations around the Caribbean, Mexico, Fiji, Bali, Texas, and Florida. She looks forward to adding new dive destinations around the world. Kana especially loves helping others who have that “new diver feel” become more comfortable in the water. She has overcome her own fears as a newer diver and now cites one of her favorite dives as the Cathedral shark dive site in Fiji.   

  Noah started his dive career in 2014 through the Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) Dive Program but has spent a large portion of his life underwater. Spending summers at the beach and competing as a swimmer since the age of four acclimated him to and fostered his love for the underwater environment. In 2018, after graduating as a certified NAUI Divemaster with a B.S. in Marine Biology and a Minor in Diving Technology and Methods, Noah became one of the first two NAUI instructors ever certified by TAMUG. He currently works as a program assistant with the TAMUG Dive Program and as a researcher with the TAMUG Phytoplankton Dynamics Laboratory, but will be beginning a Master’s Program in Marine Biology in fall of 2021. Noah is a new member of the Texas Scuba Adventures Team and is excited to be teaching his same love of the water to the people of Galveston that are excited to learn.  

Debbie is just a woman who fell in love with the ocean and diving. She started diving at age 62 in 2013, achieved Divemaster at age 65, and then became an Assistant instructor at age 70. She loves to travel to new dive destinations as often as possible. And she also enjoys teaching new divers to share her love of the sport. If you don’t find Debbie in the pool, lake or traveling to dive, you might see her behind the glass at the aquarium. She has been a volunteer diver at Moody Gardens since 2023. 

 Anna started her dive career in 2012 at Texas A&M Galveston. Her love for the ocean and marine life started at a young age reading her father's collection of Jacque Cousteau books. Since then, she has traveled the world to explore new dive sites and to take part in various training opportunities. Anna loves traveling to Europe, Cuba and Egypt for dive and free dive trips. She has also connected to the more magical side of the ocean and has been diving as a professional mermaid. Anna is currently training to become a paramedic and dive medic. She has been a part of the Texas Scuba Adventures team since 2017 and teaches a wide variety of scuba certification courses, including Mermaiding 1 and 2.

 Ioana has always loved the ocean and her first “diving”experience was doing snuba in Maui on a family trip when she was 16. In college she majored in math and marine biology (she literally learned to count fish!), making getting scuba certified required for her field quarter. The scientific diver program at UCLA took Ioana to NAUI Master Diver certification. Then adult life took over and Ioana ended up in cybersecurity consulting.  Over the years Ioana has continued to dive all over the world and is one of those strange people who enjoys cold water diving. One of her favorite volunteer opportunities was being part of the California Reef Check citizen science survey program. Upon moving to the Houston area, she was happy to find Texas Scuba Adventures to complete her professional diving education. Last year she became a NAUI Divemaster and is registered to start NAUI Instructor training later this month. Diving is a big component of Ioana’s retirement strategy and she looks forward to seeing many of you in the water somewhere in the world! 

Chelsea’s first degree was in American Sign Language at Lamar University and she was an ASL teacher for four years before deciding to go back to school for a second degree in marine biology at Texas A&M Galveston. She’s always had a passion for animals and all-things water, so going back to school and beginning her dive journey in 2021 was a long awaited dream come true. Her first ocean dive experience was in Santa Catalina, Panama where she came face to face with a Bull Shark, was stalked by a Blacktip Reef Shark, got stung in the face by a Jellyfish, and heard the calls of Humpback Whales! Chelsea’s future plans are to work in an aquarium in animal husbandry/training. She also aspires to couple her fluency in ASL with scuba diving to educate and entertain all those interested in the silent, underwater world. 

 Buffi received her NAUI Open Water certification in 1993. After several years of amazing dive trips, she decided to start a family with her husband, Bruce. There were only a couple of trips in those years, with the most joyful being the one where the two kids joined mom and dad as certified divers. What a dream come true! With an empty nest and some time on her hands, Buffi decided to rekindle her love of diving and now has her Nitrox and Advanced certifications and an eye on a Rescue certification in the near future. Buffi is thrilled to be part of the Texas Scuba Adventures team, with the cherry on top being that she gets to work with her daughter, Hallie, sometimes! 

Carly has been passionate about our planet since she was little, you could always find her playing in the dirt, swimming in any body of water, or wake surfing. She graduated from Ohio State in 2019 with a B.S. in environmental science and worked in the field for a few years before truly realizing that she belonged in the water. In 2022, Carly started her dive career in a Texas Scuba Adventures open water course and instantly fell in love. In 2023, Carly began diving with Texas Scuba Adventures through their educational dive'science program and has since begun working in the shop as well. Carly will finish her B.S. in marine biology at Texas A&M Galveston this spring and begin her M.S. in marine biology in the fall. During this time, she plans to continue advancing her dive certifications through Texas Scuba Adventures and hopes to combine her passions for science and sport through scientific diving.