Meet the Team

Capt. Jerry is known around Siesta key as the pretty face of scuba. Jerry did his first dive in 1979 with his uncle Gene taking him on a pool dive for his 6th birthday, and that set in motion a love for diving.  Jerry got certified in 1986 as a padi junior open water diver. After serving in both the U.S. Army and then the U.S. Coast Guard  Jerry worked as a professional dive instructor since 2007 in the Caribbean, and all over Florida. He has certified hundreds of divers through the years. Capt.  Jerry takes  great pride in training and running dive trips though the keys. He can always be found helping divers, and boaters alike enjoy the waters of the Siesta Key.

Emma aka “The Boss Lady” played collegiate rugby in the frozen wastelands of Canada where she studied the chemical biology of the Canadian Snowman, ok actually infectious disease, but same difference, right?

On a break from her brainiac life, Emma came to Keys Huka Dive via the Fort Lauderdale yacht community. Emma is not only a PADI Dive Instructor, but a Certified Yacht Crewman. After an endless number of hours spent polishing the same surface, the Below Deck life lost its glimmer for Emma.

Emma left the East Coast of Florida, earning her Open Water, Advanced, Rescue and Dive Instructor certifications with Keys Huka Dive in a few short months. She then wasted no time rising to Huka Dive and Beach Manager. Emma is a force of nature, her attention to detail and preparedness, never fails to provide high quality customer service which is catered to the needs of each adventurer. Yes, she can out-swim you, and the other crew members!

Emma’s Quote:
It’s way to cold

He hails from the cold state of Illinois. Michael started his working career in his early 20’s as a mortgage broker.

He was a super successful broker acquiring all the things that are supposed to make us happy like a beautiful wife, a BMW, and an McMansion of a house. However Michael just wasn’t happy with the so called successful life of a desk bound guy.

So one day as he was pursuing the internet he seen an ad for a job as a professional scuba diver. Upon reading the ad the idea of a fun and exciting career grabbed Micheal’s interest like a pit-bull in a school yard. Michael then began daydreaming of days spent on the water and under the water and what living a fun and rewarding career might bring. So he had some obstacles to get through in order to become the Aqua Man that he envisioned.

So the first one was how to get the wife onboard with the whole life style change.

Well he was fortunate that his wife works in the health care industry particularly in dermatology. So pretty easy sale for are professional salesman like Michael.

What better place than Florida to advance a career in dermatology.

So then he moved to Florida got himself established and made a phone call to the good guys over at Keys Huka Dive.

Michael started his dive training with absolutely no experience at all. After the first couple of days it became apparent to Captain Jerry that Michael wasn’t a window licker, and was making great strides in going through the dive master program with ease.

Janell’s a TRUE FLORIDA GIRL!  An all around sports enthusiast and a nature lover that has always had a passion for the great outdoors. She grew up dedicating her time to softball then later in high school, volleyball, and still loves to play both for fun. However, the sea has always called her name. With numerous hours on the water, she has reeled in a variety of monster fish, gigantic lobsters and buckets full of scallops.

   Now that her children are older, she’s decided to add another notch to her belt and pursued a career in diving. While taking care of her family, she completed the Divemaster program in 5 short months, but didn’t stop there. Janell went on to obtain her Master Captains license as well.

   If you’re ready for an exciting adventure, let Janell show you what’s UNDER THE SEA!

Wes is an actual Florida native, they do exist! Wes worked several part time jobs while growing up in Florida including fisherman extraordinary, secret agent, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and photographing goats in trees.

Wes then decided he wanted to do more than just fish. He then applied himself to the study of the migration of prehistoric sharks from the Boneyard in Venice to the Mariana Trench. While Wes was in high demand as both a high stakes gambling influencer and a highly skilled sushi chef, his love of the sea ultimately won his heart.

At this point it was all over for Wes he responded to a social media spam from Captain Jerry and his destiny was forever changed. Wes mastered both the academics and practical skills, quickly earning his Padi Dive Master. Wes is a valuable member of the Keys Huka Dive Team.

Wes’s Quote:
“Just Dive Already!”

Kasey is a dive master with a bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology from Texas A&M University. He worked and dove the Texas Aquarium until he heard the hypnotic song of once specific Venice Siren. Kasey immediately left the water and vowed not to return.

After graduation, Kasey blindly followed a Tender date to Florida. Very surprisingly, that did not work out. Lucky for us, once Kasey saw the Venice visibility, he was hooked. For real, it is actually better than Corpus Christi!

Kasey is a graduate of the Keys Huka Dive Divemaster Program and is the poster child for “Venice Strong”. He survived Hurricane Ian in a 1969 Airstream boondocking at the Venice Jetties.

Kasey’s Quote:
“Those mountains aren’t blue!”