Jim first became scuba certified in 1986 in the high-altitude, low-visibility lakes and reservoirs in Wyoming.   In 2002, Jim moved to Hawaii to pursue a degree in Marine Science from the University of Hawaii at Hilo.  While there, he became an AAUS 100’ scientific diver and earned several other diving certifications as well.   In 2014 Jim left the field of psychology to pursue a diving career full time.   He worked at a local dive shop in the greater Seattle area before starting his own independent scuba instruction business.   In 2016, he was hired by NAUI as their Training Manager.   There, he was responsible for the implementation and scaling of the NAUI First Aid – Powered by DAN program, contributed to various textbooks and supported Instructors.   In 2019, he moved to North Carolina to work at Divers Alert Network as the Assistant Director of Training.  In 2020, Jim was promoted to Director of Training for DAN.  There he implemented the V3.0 of the various DAN First Aid courses.   In April of 2023, in a desire to return to Wyoming to be closer to his kids and grandkids, he came onboard with Scuba Educators International as the Vice President for Curriculum Development.   In September of 2023, Jim took over as President/CEO of Scuba Educators International.   Jim has logged almost 5,000 training, recreational, scientific, and certification dives.  When not diving, Jim is an avid downhill skier, softball player, rides motorcycles, and spends time with his wife, Danelle, his four daughters, and two granddaughters.