Todd Ne '(Instructor team)' ( Conservation Team Team )
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Instructor
PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer - Scuba Diving since 1992
Sidemount Diver Instructor
Full FaceMask Instructor
Hi! We are all teachers and students in life. We cannot evolve without positive interaction with others. As I grew up, I admired my family very much including my aunts and uncles for various things they did. I had 10 uncles and 8 aunts in my ancestral dairy farm family from Minnesota. Yes, very large and lots of motorcycles and boats. My parents moved us away from Minnesota when I was young however, we visited there what seemed like excessively often as a child.
I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago on the chain of lakes which is part of the great lakes water basin. My family always had a boat. According to the lore of my family, I could swim before I could walk before we moved from Minnesota. In the winters we went skiing. Two of my moms brothers loved SCUBA however, the only memories of those experiences in my parents minds were scary. They would not allow me to SCUBA, which knowing me and my history in the water, I absolutely had to dive! In 1992, I changed that decision and have been diving ever since. At the time, it was my plan to become an instructor but decided to go back to attend university instead.
I achieved my honors degree from Northern Illinois University in two disciplines, marine biochemistry of cell senescence in colonial hydra and pathogenic microbiology. During my time at NIU, I also volunteered at the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago for three years doing coral explant cloning of hard corals and propagation for the Philippines Coral Reef Exhibit as well as snail propagation of endangered snail species. Upon graduation, I embarked on a career in medical diagnostic equipment sales to integrated delivery networks(long story) . In 2015, I decided to go back and get my Rescue Diver here at RRDC which led me to commit to obtaining my PADI Open Water Instructor certification here in 2017. I knew then that one day I wanted to work here to challenge myself to learn more about SCUBA via instructing. Who knows what's next!
Favorite Dive Site:
Deep Elbow Reef
Favorite Fish:
Juvenile trunkfish
Favorite Restaurant:
Conch House
Favorite Movie:
Cloud Atlas
PADI Specialty Instructor Certifications:
Wreck Diver
Deep Diver
Enriched Air/Nitrox Diver
Boat Diver
Peak Performance Buoyancy Diver
Night Diver
Self Reliant Diver
Sidemount Diver
Gas Blender
Diver Propulsion Vehicle
Dive Against Debris
PADI Emergency 02 Provider
DAN Emergency 02 Provider
EFR Primary/Secondary Care
EFR Care for Children
Ocean Reef Full FaceMask (IDM)
Ocean Reef FFM w/Coms
PADI Adaptive