Leadership Team
We are a group of Dive Professionals, Certified HSA and SDI Scubility Buddies, Parents and family of Adaptive Divers and Adaptive Divers that have come together to share in the experiences and adventures of the underwater world through SCUBA diving. We are dedicated to bringing Adaptive Scuba to those with a disability through a trusting and caring atmosphere. We as a collective group of Dive Professionals and Certified Buddies and volunteers have thousands of hours of experience diving with people with disabilities.
President
We welcome to our leadership team, our new President and Instructor, David Zigman.
Dave has been diving for over 20 years. He has been assisting people with disabilities since he got in the water to help get the gear on a participant and observing scuba sessions. From that point on he was hooked. He became a certified adaptive dive buddy and then an instructor.
To contact Dave, please send an email to David.zigman@imaginediving.org
Vice President
Michael Rudd, Director and Assistant Instructor. Michael served in the U.S. Navy (Interior Communications First Class). He recently realized a childhood dream when he became a certified Scuba Diver. He had dreamed of SCUBA diving since he was 12. With the opportunities provided by both Imagine Diving and his special needs son Mike, he was certified as an open water diver in 2014. Michael continues by volunteering with Imagine Diving assisting persons with disabilities and their families.
To contact Mike, please send an email to Michael.Rudd@imaginediving.org
Secretary
Paul Hemedinger, Director and Divemaster. An experienced diver of over 11 years, Paul is a certified dive buddy for assisting persons with disabilities in the water as well as a PADI Divemaster. Paul has assisted with several local programs and has hundreds of hours working with divers with disabilities.
To contact Paul, please send an email to paul.hemedinger@maginediving.org
Founder and Treasurer
John Sansone, Treasurer. John has been diving for 40 years. He is a Certified Buddy with a long resume of experience from wreck diving, river diving, drift diving, salvage diving, hardhat diving, cave diving, ice diving and some open water. John also has a son with Autism who is an SDI Scubility Diver.
To contact John, please send an email tojohn.sansone@imaginediving.org
Founder and Director
Robert Hemedinger, Founder, past President and Director. Bob has been diving since 2003. He started assisting people with disabilities in the water when a family member with a disability expressed a desire to experience SCUBA.
To contact Robert, please send an email to bob.hemedinger@imaginediving.org
Director
John Riedas, past Vice President and Instructor. John has been a SCUBA diver for over 14 years. He has experienced several diving sites in the Persian Gulf and Mexico. He earned his PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor rating while living abroad in Mexico. John volunteered his services in the early months of Imagine Diving’s second season of pool sessions where he quickly established himself with the participant divers and leadership team.
To contact John, please send an email to john.riedas@imaginediving.org