Odyssey Expeditions' instructors and staff are a highly motivated group of young adults dedicated to the education and positive experience of the participants. Many have been with Odyssey for years, including some who started as Odyssey students. They are selected with great care, evaluating their individual areas of expertise and ability to share and work with young adults. Sailing masters hold Coast Guard licenses, SCUBA instructors are experienced in teaching all levels of PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) courses, and biologists have teaching and professional experience. We maintain a 4 to 1 student to staff ratio. All staff are trained in emergency first-aid and all programs have EMT or WFR trained emergency medical responders. Our staffs are the kind of people who work well both one-on-one and in group situations. Each has a genuine interest in the lives of young adults, strong communication abilities, and entertaining approaches. All strive for appreciation of the differences and opinions of each group member. Our core staff work year round with Odyssey developing education programs, others are college professors, live-aboard dive boat captains, biologists, photographers, students, and adventurers.
We feel the greatest single contribution to making our trips successful is our leaders. We take great care in selecting the people you'll be spending your summer with; quite simply, they are the best.
Program DirectorsJason Buchheim- Founding Program Director, USCG Licensed Sailing Captain, Master SCUBA Diver Trainer, Marine Biologist, B.S. Zoology - Oregon State '92, Wilderness Medical First Responder
Jason studies coral reef fish ecology with publications in the Journal Of Experimental Marine Ecology. Jasons interests include photography, skiing, sailing, hiking, and coral reef conservation. Jason assisted in coral reef ecology research under Dr. Mark Hixon of Oregon State University and conducted his thesis research on the ecology of the coral reef fish, Acanthemblemaria spinosa - the spiny head blenny, in Roatan, Honduras. Jason has been leading educational adventures since 1992.
Jason is also an award winning panoramic science photographer whose work has been published with National Geographic, the Journal 'Science', Wired, Sport Diver and more. His work is currently on Exhibit at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. He is the creator of the 3D-Stereo Panorama Viewing Technology and Website www.3dpan.org
Jon Buchheim- Program Director, USCG Licensed Sailing Captain, Sailing Master, Master SCUBA Diver Trainer, Wilderness Medical First Responder, B.S. Mechanical Engineering Texas Tech University '92
Jon joined Odyssey Expeditions in 1996 and has led forty-five awesome voyages. His interests include underwater photography, and enjoys hiking volcanoes.
Staff
Kim Capelli
From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and graduated from the University of Scranton in 2011 with a B.S. in Biology. I learned to dive in a quarry in Pennsylvania when I was 17 and it has changed my life ever since. I have always had a love for the ocean, and now get the opportunity to share my passion with others being an instructor. I have had the privilege of traveling to destinations such as Mexico, Roatan and Thailand and have met great people along the way all because of diving. I am very excited to be part of the Odyssey Expedition team this year and look forward to teaching others about the wonders of the ocean!
Ben Rakov
An Environmental Studies major with a concentration in Biology/Ecology and a passion for marine science. I have been a diver for over 11 years and have logged around 700 dives. I have dived in the Florida Keys, Bahamas, Belize, Bonaire, Galapagos, New South Wales Australia, and Kho Tao Thailand. I love teaching people of all ages how to dive and about the marine environment. I like to think of myself as having a good sense of humor, which is ironic given that this description of myself could quite possibly be the dullest thing ever written. I promise I am somewhat more interesting than my writing suggests.
Lucy Griffiths
From the United Kingdom and graduated with a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in 2000. After spending eight years working in management level roles within the chemical industry across both Europe and Asia, I decided to take a break and pursue diving. Now qualified as a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, I am based in Malaysia and have travelled and dived all around South-East Asia. I'm thoroughly looking forward to exploring the British Virgin Islands with Odyssey this Summer!
Julie Damin
From France, born in Savoie (french Alps). I am a skiing and snowboarding instructor in winter and a diving instructor in summer. I started diving in Corsica in summer 1993 and since then my passion for it has never left me. I am really interested in marine biology and underwater photography. I am a diving instructor since december 2002 and became PADI Staff Instructor in july 2010. I love my job: being able to teach people how to dive and to share my passion with them! When people get out of the water after a dive with a big smile on their faces: that' s what makes my day!"
Alan McNulty
MFrom Memphis, TN. I'm really looking forward to being apart of the Odyssey Expedition staff for a second year. I had so much fun the first year and I'm back for for. I enjoy the outdoor activities like sailing, hiking, skiing, and of course SCUBA diving, so the job is a natural fit. I also enjoy teaching and watching new beginners get excited about our ocean environment. This job has also provided me a great opportunity to learn just as much as the campers and has really help to grow my own love for the ocean and for conservation.
Jason Childers
From Maine where he formed his interests and intimate connection with nature. After graduating high school he moved to the Florida Keys where he practiced as a commercial boat captain for several years before attending College of the Atlantic (COA) in Bar Harbor, Maine. He graduated from COA in 2006 with a Bachelors of Arts in Human Ecology with foci in evolution, marine ecology, and life-history analysis. Following this, he held several positions as a field biologist before returning to higher education at Cornell University. At Cornell, Jason studied the philosophy and application of experiential learning and in 2011 obtained a Masters degree in Education. Jason has worked with Odyssey Expeditions since 2008 and enjoys his chosen profession more every year.
William Montgomery
From Birmingham, Alabama and graduated from Auburn University with a B.S. in Marine Biology. He has had amazing opportunities to travel all over the world, conducting marine science research with professors to places such as the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, and the Red Sea in Jordan. Most recently he worked as a Marine Science Instructor at Marinelab in Key Largo,FL and before that as a science instructor at Newfound Harbor Marine Institute in the Florida Keys. William is a PADI SCUBA Instructor and also holds a U.S. Coast Guard Captains License. He loves to dive and is passionate about teaching others everything he knows about the world's oceans. Also, William got his start with Odyssey in 2007 as a student, traveling through St. Lucia and Martinique.