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 started her dive career 25 years ago but has been passionate about the underwater environment since she was a child. This passion led her to a career of working as a biologist. She has experience working in environmental toxicology labs, Fish and Wildlife population studies, animal husbandry with a specialty in octopuses and sharks, and environmental education. Kristen joined the Texas Scuba Adventures Dive Team 10 years ago and fell in love with the programs they offer. She has worked with countless international high school students for a discover scuba/science program and assisted with the training of new and experienced divers. Her belief is that any day spent with someone underwater is a great day. Now, as co-owner, her and Craig have expanded Texas Scuba Adventures to bring it to Galveston and are excited about bringing this experience to the Galveston community and visitors. In addition, Kristen currently holds the Dive Operation seat on the Flower Gardens Sanctuary Advisory Council.

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

 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).  

  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. 

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!

 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.

  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. 

Jake is an active member of the local diving community and has been an avid diver since he was a 12 year old kid in the Texas Hill Country. He earned his instructor, trimix, and full cave ratings while completing his Bachelor's of Marine Biology in 2012 and Master of Marine Resource Management in 2015 at Texas A&M University at Galveston. In 2011, he began his diving career participating in scientific and technical diving missions to the northwestern Gulf of Mexico for state and federal agencies, academic institutions, and research institutions. Now the Dive Safety Officer at Moody Gardens, he has over 50 missions to locations including the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, Yucatan Peninsula, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and French Polynesia. Jake is a NAUI Instructor Trainer, AAUS Scientific Diving Instructor, DAN Instructor, NAUI Technical Diving Instructor, EMT-B, and Dive Medical Technician. He received NOAA's Volunteer of the Year Award in 2019, and NAUI's Distinguished Achievement Award in 2018. Jake's passion is engaging with researchers, biologists, and members of the public through dive instruction and direct support to facilitate safe and productive diving activities. 

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. 

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.

  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.