Women Divers Hall of Fame

Last updated
Women Divers Hall of Fame
AbbreviationWDHOF
Legal statusNonprofit tax-exempt 501C(3) [1]
PurposeTo honor the accomplishments of women divers
Region served
International
FieldsWomen in underwater diving
Membership (2023)
254
President
Robin Parish [2]
Chair
Susan Bangasser [2]
Vice President
Patti Kirk Gross [2]
Secretary
Patty Seery [2]
Website https://www.wdhof.org

The Women Divers Hall of Fame (WDHOF) is an international honor society. Its purpose is to honor the accomplishments of women divers, [3] [4] [5] and their contributions to various fields of underwater diving. [6] [1] Full membership is restricted to nominees who have been found to meet the WDHOF's criteria, which include being an underwater diver and having contributed to diving in ways recognised as being significant. [7]

Contents

History

The WDHOF was founded in 1999 by a group of people and organizations, including the Underwater Society of America. [8] [9] 72 women were inducted in 2000, followed by 26 new members the next year. [10]

Scholarships and grants

The WDHOF awards many scholarships and training grants [11] to support women of "all ages who are pursuing careers involving diving" [12] including the J. Berman Memorial Grant for Sea Turtle Conservation, the Sherry Reed Memorial Undergraduate Marine Conservation Scholarship, the Laurel Clark Sea to Space Physiology Research Grant and the Amelia Behrens-Furniss Memorial Hardhat Dive Training Grant. [13] [14] [15]

Members

As of 2023, there are 254 members. [16] They include:

NameDatesInductionDetails
Pamela Balash-Webber 1953-20202022Co-founder of the Virgin Islands Diving Association, PADI course director, and promoter of ocean conservation
Carole Baldwin 2022Scientist, author, and educator. An authority on marine biology, especially tropical-marine fishes, conservation and sustainable seafood
Sally Bauer 2011Diving museum founder and historian, aquaculturist, author, and public speaker [17]
Amelia Behrens-Furniss 1895-19702012Pioneering American deep sea diver
Wendy Benchley 2015Marine conservation leader, governmental policy advocate, and spokesperson on shark conservation [18]
Bette Bolivar 1962-2005US Navy Diving and Salvage Officer; commanding Officer of USS Salvor, and of the Navy Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit [19]
Mary Bonnin 2001First woman US Navy Master Diver; US Navy diving instructor; naval diving safety advocate [20]
Cathy Church 1945-2000American marine biologist, SCUBA diver, underwater photographer and educator
Eugenie Clark 1922-20152022An American ichthyologist known for both her research on shark behaviour and her study of fish in the order Tetraodontiformes; a pioneer in the field of scuba diving for research purposes
Laurel B. Clark 1961-20032003Clark did active duty training with the Diving Medicine Department at the United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit; completed Navy undersea medical officer training at the Naval Undersea Medical Institute in Groton, Connecticut, and diving medical officer training at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center; she dove with Navy divers and Naval Special Warfare Unit Two SEALs and performed many medical evacuations from US submarines; designated as a Naval Submarine Medical Officer and Diving Medical Officer
Céline Cousteau 1972-2011
Annie Crawley 1968-2010American underwater photographer, [21] filmmaker, speaker, educator, and ocean advocate. [22] In 2007, she founded Dive Into Your Imagination, a multimedia ocean inspiration, entertainment, and education series for youth. [23]
Mandy-Rae Cruickshank 1974-2009Canadian World champion free-diver and record-holder
Sylvia Earle 1935-2000Oceanographer and marine biologist (former Chief Scientist at NOAA), author and consultant
Dottie Frazier 1922-20222000American diver and dive shop owner; the first female scuba instructor and the first female dive shop owner. [24]
Honor Frost 1917-20102019Pioneer in the field of underwater archaeology, who led Mediterranean archaeological investigations and was noted for her typology of stone anchors and skills in archaeological illustration
Szilvia Gogh 2016 [25] Hungarian diver and stunt performer, the youngest female PADI Course Director
Lotte Hass 1928-20152000Austrian underwater diver, model and actress
Hillary Hauser 1944-2000American photojournalist and environmental activist with a focus on the oceansunderwater diving adventure, politics, and conservation
Mehgan Heaney-Grier 1977-2000American champion free-diver
Jill Heinerth 1965-2000Canadian cave diver, underwater explorer, writer, photographer and film-maker
Denise Herzing 2021Founder and Research Director of the Wild Dolphin Project [26]
Lauren Hutton 1943-2007Conservationist and scuba advocate
Darlene Iskra 1952-2008US Navy diving and salvage officer, first woman to command a commissioned US Navy ship, public speaker, and author
Karen Kohanowich 2001Retired U.S. Naval officer and ocean research and technology program manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER)
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo 2007
Dení Ramírez Macías 1978-2021Mexican marine biologist ocean scientist, and conservationist, and director of Whale Shark México (Tiburon Ballena Mexico) [27]
Andrea Marshall 2023 marine biologist known for wildlife conservation and research on large marine animals like manta rays & whale sharks; co-founder and a principal scientist of the Marine Megafauna Foundation
Simone Melchior-Cousteau [28] 1919-19902017First woman scuba diver and aquanaut; wife and business partner of undersea explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Audrey Mestre 1974-20022002French world record-setting freediver
Zale Parry 1933-2000American pioneer scuba diver, underwater photographer and actress
Penelope Powell 1904-19652023Pioneering cave diver in 1935 [29] [30]
Lesley Rochat [31] 2010South African marine and shark conservationist, [32] campaigner, [33] wildlife filmmaker, underwater photographer, [34] [35] environmental writer, [36] author, speaker [37] and activist. [38] She founded the non-profit organisation AfriOceans Conservation Alliance
Dee Scarr 2000American environmentalist, marine naturalist, and scuba diver
Claudia Serpieri 2002Italian world-record technical diver and instructor
Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper 1963-2007American salvage officer. Projects include de-stranding the tanker Exxon Houston off the coast of Barbers Point, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, and developing the plan for the Peruvian Navy salvage of the Peruvian submarine
Tanya Streeter 1973-2000British-Caymanian-American world champion freediver
Kathryn Sullivan 1951-2008American, first woman to dive into the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench
Valerie Taylor 1935-2000Australian diver, underwater photographer and film maker
Donna Tobias 1952-20102001 United States Navy's first female deep sea diver
Ruth Turner 1914-20002001Pioneering U.S. marine biologist and malacologist
Michele Westmorland 2011American photographer, specializing in underwater photography
Susan Williams 1951-20182019American marine biologist
Cristina Zenato [39] 1971-2011Shark protection consultant; TDI and NSS-CDS technical and full cave instructor; explorer, surveyor and mapper of cave systems; and ocean advocate


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