As a nuclear operator Don has the difficult task of locating and safely disposing of nuclear materials. This type of work enables him to make a living and pursue personal interests like diving and traveling. He thought it would be a great opportunity to come to a new diving place. Don doesn’t have a hero as he doesn’t take much stock in who’s who.

Ana currently lives in Washington State, after spending many years in San Francisco and Hawaii (where she ran a scuba charter business). She is now in the banking business and supports IF as its CFO. Her hero is her father who after leaving Cuba at the age of 56, came to the U.S. and re-started his medical practice. She shares that his love for nature and photography is one of the many things he passed on to her.

John came to the Cocos Island expedition to learn about the underwater ecosystem surrounding the island and to help Imaging Foundation develop a comprehensive plan to make their professional images available to the non profit organizations to promote a better public understanding of the beauty and value of the undersea world. John’s hero is Shakespeare, because he forced John to think beyond the obvious and to look at the world in a different way.

Barb came to assist the Imaging Foundation from Kennewick, Washington. The area she lives in has no diving except in the mighty Columbia River. Barb has enjoyed meeting fellow Expedition team members. She interviewed all team players for their testimonies and bio for the website, plus learned how to enhance and categorized part of 10,500 photos for the Imaging Foundation database. This has been more than a dive trip - it has been a learning laboratory that will help hundreds of organizations for years to come.

Bradley is a successful fruit grower in Pasco, Washington.He shares that the reason he came on this expedition was because it seemed an experience different from others he’d had. Particularly the fact that it was a vacation to work with a team on a single goal project caught his attention. It had some advantages like the friendships that were created and the lifelong bonds. His hero is his late father, Walter E. Carlson. He wasn’t a perfect man, but one that Bradley wishes to emulate.

Judy is from New Orleans and is drying out from Hurricane Katrina. She is a Clinical laboratory technologist. She was not dry too long before jumping into the deep blue to quiet her longing desire to dive and polish up her photography skills. Along with the diving, she has spent many hours working on the Imaging Foundation Website's quality control. Imaging Foundation has helped me become a better diver and has pushed my envelope. I am now spearheading and teaching project skills that I never dreamed I could even do myself!

This is the second imaging Foundation expedition for Daniel Behrman. He employed his computer skills to insure that all database collection was properly recorded within the IF website. This tool will enable future generations to benefit from the valuable information on the IF website. He admires Jay and considers him his hero because Jay’s a smart-ass and yells his lungs out and never gets hoarse.

Mark lives in Moraga, California, and is relatively new to diving. He engaged in data base activities and assisting with the computer set up for the Imaging Foundation. Mark is quite experienced in his computer skills since he is a software consultant in California. Not only does he have a love for diving, he has a love for his cats, Leo, Fritz, Elle, and Zeus. Mark has been married for fourteen wonderful years to his lovely wife Lina. Mark has always felt Jacques Cousteau was a hero. (guess who brought the red stocking caps aboard!)

Wanda hails from Atlanta Georgia where she spends her time as a software consultant. She signed up for the IF trip to Cocos because it seemed like a good way to combine her loves of diving and photography with volunteering in a worth while cause. The trip proved to be much more than that by being a learning experience where she learned additional computer and people skills while having a great time. Wanda’s hero is her father who was an avid diver during his commission as a Navy Seal and an all-around good guy.

Kelly is a California native and has been diving for about 16 years. A volunteer diver for the California Parks & Recreation Department in the early 1990’s, Kelly assisted with research on a California Abalone Project in the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California. After several years of recreational diving around the world, Kelly hooked up with the Imaging Foundation to find that he could once again work in an environment that could assist with furthering education about the undersea world and our natural resources. Kelly is a Chef by trade and very much enjoys traveling to new destinations. He shared that being able to travel for diving, while assisting in such a valuable cause, certainly adds to the overall gratification and sense of personal accomplishment.

As an endodontist in private practice, Linda has the financial freedom to pursue the things that she’s really passionate about in life. The Cocos Island expedition was her second with the Imaging Foundation. Coco Island is a place that she and her husband have wanted to visit for many, many years. Linda’s hero is Queen Noor of Jordan as she has done a lot for women.

Through Pat’s past years of employment, he was able to bring to the table project planning skills, including definitions of goals and how to meet them. One of the things he shares he enjoyed on the trip was working together with other divers with different professions from around the USA. He learned to appreciate the objectives and goals of the Imaging Foundation. Pat shared that the best parts of the trip was the awesome diving here at Cocos and working with fellow divers on a common goal supporting the IF.

Virginia resides in Dana Point, CA where she works for a missionary organization. She is a mother of two beautiful children, PJ and Nicole. The adventure of diving with large sea animals was one of the reasons Virginia joined the Cocos Expedition. Virginia found herself excited not only about the expedition diving, but also by assisting in the enhancement of the Imaging Foundation’s database and foundational groundwork. The only thing missing for her on this trip was her husband, Paul, also an avid diver and photographer. Paul was unable to join the group having been called away on business. Oh well, they will just have to come back! Virginia admires many, but has no one hero.

As a software consultant, John installs and customizes financial software for major corporations. He finds satisfaction in providing technological solutions to business problems. He was attracted by the reputation of Cocos as a diving destination and was interested in contributing to preserving the aquatic environment by supporting the Imaging Foundation. His hero is Mike Nelson.

Peggy came from Richland Washington to Cocos Island for her love of diving and the great sense of adventure! This was an opportunity for her to return to her beloved Costa Rica. She shared that being a part of a new and emerging organization is exciting - it felt good to be a team player. Her favorite part of the trip has been the camaraderie and interacting with other team members.

Scott is a software architect who designs software solutions from beginning to end for top 500 companies around the world. This has given him the chance to do extensive travel to over 30 countries; he has lived in Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia among others. He has two degrees from UC Berkeley and has two patents related to software. Coming on this expedition happened by Scott having a conversation with a friend from Florida who mentioned Galapagos as a top diving site. While researching Galapagos he came upon Cocos Island on the Undersea Hunter website where he saw Georgienne and Jay’s expedition. The more he read about it, the more interested he became. Scott wanted to do great diving with schools of hammerhead sharks and liked that Cocos is located in a remote corner of the world and untouched. Scott’s hero is Sponge Bob square pants because he has good sense of fashion.