Our speaker this month will be Joanna Mikutowicz. Joanna is the owner of one of the Caribbean's largest technical diving companies, Divetech. Divetech is a full service dive operator in Grand Cayman providing AM & PM boat dives, shore diving, sea pool for training, scuba gear rental and free pick up shuttle service. 20 instructors on staff takie you on boat dives, how to learn diving, and kids diving programs or to advance dive skills into new adventures.
Originally certified as an Open Water diver in Grand Cayman in 1997, she followed her passion for diving to the Florida Keys earning her NAUI Instructor rating in 2004 at Halls Diving Center and Career Institute. This was also her first experience on a rebreather, getting certified on the Drager. In 2005 she moved to the island of Oahu and earned her PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor rating and then went on to become a PADI Course Director in 2008. She worked as the Director of Training and Dive Operations at Ocean Concepts until the beginning of 2012. In 2012 she finally moved back to where it all began, Grand Cayman.
Joanna picked up a few more certifications after moving to Divetech, like SSI Freediving Level 1 Instructor as well as certifications on the Poseidon MKVII and the KISS Spirit Lte. After working for Divetech for 3 years, she took ownership of the company towards the end of 2015 and has carried on the company’s success as well as re-branding the company with her own touch of pink. Divetech supports large technical events each year like Innerspace and 12 Mile Bank. Divetech also lends assistance to local organisations to assist with the lionfish culling on island and holds events to raise money for charities in the Cayman Islands as well as partnering up with organisations like Save Cayman to teach local kids how to dive and teach them about protecting the marine environment. Joanna has been featured in several articles in Diver Magazine, was chosen to be highlighted on Women’s Dive Day by Fly and Sea Dive Adventures, and listed as a top 5 influential female divers in the Dive Industry by PADI.
Each month, AVDD hosts general meetings on the second Monday at 7pm. Meetings typically run about an hour and include announcements of upcoming events, a presentation on an interesting dive-related topic, and a fun raffle. Check back here for more information on this month’s speaker!
The meeting will be in-person at the Palmdale Cultural Center, 38350 Sierra Highway, Palmdale, CA. It will also be hosted over Zoom. Members will receive an email with the instructions to join the Zoom meeting when the date gets closer. For non-members who wish to join the meeting, please email your inquiry to avdesertdive@gmail.com.
We look forward to seeing you there!