Meet Our Team in North Liberty, IA

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Katy Brevik

Store Director

Katy grew up in Okoboji, IA where she developed a deep love for water activities. From boating and fishing to diving, paddleboarding, and swimming, her passion for water began at a young age. She began scuba diving when she was 15 years old. As a proud University of Iowa alumni, Katy is excited to continue her journey in the North Liberty/Iowa City area where she can share her passion for water with a community she knows and loves.

Email: [email protected]

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Ryan Oestreich

Area Director
Independent Assistant Instructor Trainer

Ryan’s love for diving and boating has kept him around water all his life. Here in the Midwest, Diventures makes it possible to experience everything the water has to offer. Ryan has been an integral part of our team for nearly a decade. As Area Director of our stores in Missouri and Iowa, Ryan enjoys building passionate teams, inspiring new dive professionals, and constantly making lifelong friends through our team and, most of all, our customers!

Phone: 417.883.5151
Email: [email protected]

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Kaitlyn Wright

Aquatics Experience Manager

Kaitlyn has always loved being around water and started swimming competitively when she was 10. In high school and college, Kaitlyn taught swimming lessons and lifeguarded in Iowa City, where she also served as a manager and swimming lesson coordinator. Before Diventures, she ran the Williamsburg Aquatic Center. In her free time, Kaitlyn helps coach her daughter’s club softball team and enjoys baking, trivia, pickleball, and traveling.

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Olivia Smith

Scuba Experience Manager
Independent Assistant Instructor

Olivia grew up by the Mississippi River in Iowa, where her passion for aquatic life began. She earned her open water certification in 2017 and has since advanced to become an Assistant Instructor. With extensive scuba experience and knowledge, Olivia joined the Diventures team to share her enthusiasm for diving and the wonders of marine life with others.

Email: [email protected]

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Anna Schrock

Scuba Experience Lead

Anna became a certified diver in May 2023. After completing numerous quarry dives and an amazing trip to Cozumel, she has advanced to the level of Divemaster. Her dream is to become an instructor so she can help others discover their passion for diving.

Email: [email protected]

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Mac “Chance” Palmer

Customer Experience Specialist

I started scuba diving roughly 4 years ago…my goal is to become an instructor and share my passion of diving with everyone I can…my wish and desire is to further my education and knowledge to better assist and guide future divers.

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Will Errington

Customer Experience Specialist

Will is Open Water certified and has been diving for 3 years. He obtained his certificate while living in Bermuda for four years where he also participated in other aquatic activities such as swimming, lionfishing, lobster diving, and cliff jumping. Having experienced life on a tropical island Will is very similar with all the best activities to participate in when on vacation. He is currently a senior in high school at Mount Vernon and plans to attend the University of Iowa.

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Susane “Susi” Jaeger

Swim Teacher

Susi loves being in the water!! With more than 20 years of teaching and coaching aquatics, she still feels excitement watching new swimmers (of all ages!) accomplish their abilities to become comfortable and confident in the water. She finds great rewards in being a teacher for North Liberty.

Phone: 319.665.2741

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Andrew Belz

Swim Teacher

Andrew was a competitive swimmer for four years before teaching swim lessons at Diventures. He loves teaching and has over three years of experience working with elementary and middle school-aged children.

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Angie Fuller

Assistant Instructor Trainer

Angie’s love for diving started with her dad, a Navy diver in Vietnam, teaching her how to snorkel in their swimming pool. After her first successful pool dive, she was hooked. She is a level 8 diver. Angie and her husband love sharing their passion for diving with others. Her favorite sea creature is the seahorse, and her latest focus has been on digital videography and capturing the action to share with others back on land.

Phone: 319.665.2741
Email: [email protected]

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Anna Nichols

Swim Teacher

Anna has extensive experience in aquatics! She took swimming lessons for many years as a child and later joined a swim team for a couple of years. In addition, Anna has spent three years as a lifeguard and swim instructor. With a strong passion for swimming, she enjoys helping children build their skills and confidence in the water. Anna chose to work with Diventures because she is eager to make a positive impact on kids through aquatic activities.

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David Edwards

Independent Assistant Instructor

David is a North Liberty native and has been diving since 2022. He started his journey doing Try Scuba with Angie Fuller and fell in love with being underwater in just one breath. After getting certified in the darkness of Tipton Quarry, he set the goal of becoming a Master Diver in 2023—and he achieved that goal, thanks to the amazing folks at the Landlocked Scuba club. Many summer weekends were spent diving in local quarries, meeting other divers, and learning about gear, classes, and exciting destinations. David has traveled on two incredible dive trips with Diventures: Cozumel and Costa Rica, where he met several great dive buddies (shoutout to Sarah, Ethan, Chelsea, and Beth). They helped convince him to pursue the Professional route after earning his Master Diver certification, and he soon took the next steps as a Dive Guide and eventually Assistant Instructor (huge thanks to Angie!). With a background as a tutor, teacher, and educator in mathematics, transitioning to teaching Scuba has been an exciting and fun journey. David would love to teach your Try Scuba, Open Water Diver, Perfect Buoyancy, or Scuba Skills Update class, and he’s excited to head out on an Open Water trip this summer to Little Cayman with Diventures.

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Emily Eckman

Swim Teacher
Swim Lead & Open Water Diver

Emily began teaching swim lessons in North Liberty in 2009. After relocating to Colorado, she earned her undergraduate degree and became certified through SSI as an Open Water Diver and Freediver, while also achieving Certified Pool Operator status. From teaching swimming and maintaining pools to her unique experience as a professional mermaid, Emily has built a diverse background in the aquatic world. Her passion for water safety and expertise in diving and swimming make her an incredible asset to the team.

Phone: 319.665.2741

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Eric Upchurch

Independent Assistant Instructor

My children and I were certified in 2016, and now I am a level 5 diver. Diving has allowed me to satisfy many desires including a passion for the ocean and its inhabitants, travel, people, gadgets, and personal development. As a dive professional, nothing excites me more than to share my passion with others. Diving has provided me with friends from all over the world, both above and below the surface.

Phone: 319.331.3738

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Izzy Vance

Swim Teacher

Izzy started teaching at Diventures in 2022. She loves teaching babies and level 1 swim students. Izzy believes getting young children into swim lessons is important for a lifetime of safety in and around the water. She wants everyone to be safe while having fun in the water.

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Jazzy Grau

Swim Teacher

Jazzy grew up swimming and in middle school, she decided to swim competitively. She enjoys surfing, playing guitar and painting.

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Jeff Hynek

Independent Open Water Instructor

I was so confident about my ability and love for diving, that I actually purchased a total dive package before signing up for my first class. I showed up to the pool with every piece of dive equipment I would ever need, even had it all in a travel dive bag. That was in 2007. I never stopped taking classes and advancing my career. I became a dive professional in 2009. Now I dive with two of my kids who are certified also. My first dive in the ocean was with sharks in the Bahamas. I dove in Guam, the only place in the world where you can touch a WW1 and WW2 shipwreck at the same time. The earth is 70% water, might as well get under those waves and see what’s going on!

Phone: 319.665.2741

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Joe Fuller

Independent Instructor Trainer

I am a level 8 diver and have been diving since 2007. I have traveled to many places to dive both in salt water and fresh water. I love to photograph the underwater world and share my experiences with others.

Phone: 319.665.2741
Email: [email protected]

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Josh Johnson

Independent Dive Master Instructor

Josh grew up in the Pacific Northwest and at an early age, he discovered his love and passion for the water. Whether it was whitewater rafting, free diving, or surfing, he has enjoyed exploring the underwater world. He joined the Diventures team in North Liberty in 2019, where he has enjoyed sharing his passion for scuba diving and the water.

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Lauren Wetzel

Swim Teacher

Lauren grew up in Muscatine, Iowa, where she began swimming competitively at the age of 6 with her local YMCA. She later joined a USA club team and continued swimming throughout middle school and high school. In 2020, Lauren expanded her involvement in aquatics by becoming lifeguard certified and has been teaching swimming lessons ever since.

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Lisa Bindert

Assistant Instructor

Lisa’s aquatic background spans over 40 years and includes experience as a lifeguard, swim instructor, swim team coach, water aerobics instructor, and, more recently, as a scuba instructor and Diver First Aid trainer. She has been diving since 2021 and is currently a Level 5 diver. Lisa’s first ocean dive took place in Cozumel, where she quickly developed a deep passion for underwater exploration. Inspired by her love for diving and the ocean, she decided to become an instructor to share that passion with others and help them discover the wonders of the underwater world.

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Maria Grissom

Swim Teacher

Maria’s passion for swimming began in 2016 when she joined her first parent-tot class with her son. She continued to be involved in her children’s swim journeys over the years. In 2023, Maria began teaching at a local YMCA, discovering her love for instructing swimmers of all ages. Shortly thereafter, she became an assistant coach for a swim team, finding particular joy in teaching new and young swimmers competitive strokes. At Diventures, Maria is dedicated to helping kids develop a love for water in a safe and sometimes competitive environment.

Phone: 319.665.2741

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Morgan Saylor

Customer Experience Specialist
Independent Open Water Instructor

Morgan began her diving journey in 2023 in Isla Mujeres, Mexico, where she instantly fell in love with the underwater world and quickly pursued a career in diving. She spent the next year working in Mexico and Honduras, gaining experience and honing her skills.  Now a certified scuba instructor with training in adaptive diving techniques, Morgan is dedicated to breaking barriers and making scuba diving a more inclusive experience for all.

Email: [email protected]

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Paul Hutton

Independent Open Water Instructor

Paul started diving in 2011 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. With a passion for learning new skills, he recently completed the Instructor Training Course and Exam. His favorite dive sites are in the Caribbean, and he’s always looking forward to his next adventure – he hopes to see you there!

Phone: 319.665.2741

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Ryan Floody

Swim Teacher

Ryan has spent 11 years swimming competitively for YMCA, club, and school teams. He enjoys teaching both children and adults of all skill levels how to swim. Ryan hopes to help people swim their best and be as safe around water as possible.

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Travis Porter

Independent Assistant Instructor

Travis began his diving adventure in 2021 completing his Open Water certification in the Bahamas. Since completing his certification he has dove in Bonaire, Cozumel, Curaçao, Maui, and Utila to name a few. Now a level 5 diver, Travis’ passions include introducing new people to the sport and sharing all of his “toys and gadgets” with his fellow divers.

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