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New 2024 PADI AmbassaDivers Announced to Inspire More Superheroes for the Ocean
PADI announces the newest AmbassaDivers™ on the 2024 team, selected for their passion and dedication to protecting our shared blue planet.
“In each of their own unique ways, our new AmbassaDivers stand out and lead by example, inspiring others to step up, pursue their passion and be superheroes for the ocean,” says Julie Andersen, Senior Director of Brand for PADI Worldwide. “They are shining examples of how to protect what you love – and inspire others to do the same.
Initially launched in 2015, PADI’s AmbassaDiver programme aims to amplify the personal stories of exemplary divers who inspire others to love and care for our ocean planet. PADI AmbassaDivers are part of a global team committed to bringing awareness to social and environmental issues facing our planet and encouraging more people to experience, explore, and protect the underwater world.
Earlier this year, the exceptional duo of award-winning Indian actress Sonakshi Sinha and her dive buddy Indian actor and businessman Zaheer Iqbal were announced as some of this year’s newest PADI AmbassaDivers™inductees. Now over twenty other passionate scuba divers join the ranks.
“This year’s esteemed group highlights the diversity and commitment that it will take to safeguard the world’s largest and most important ecosystem. From adaptive divers proving the healing powers of the ocean to young children showing you are never too young to make real change in your communities, they are all true advocates for our blue planet and will help us create one billion PADI Torchbearers™,” continues Andersen.
PADI welcomes the following individuals to the 2024 AmbassaDiver roster:
Mariyam Firusha (Island Vaikaradhoo Maldives)
Born and raised in the Maldives, Mariyam is the first and only female scuba diving instructor from her island so far. After participating in a Discover Scuba Diving experience in 2021, she found her passion (and her husband!) in the ocean. Only six months after her Open Water Diver certification, she became a PADI Instructor and left her job in a call centre to work as a PADI Pro.
India Black (Poole, Dorset)
A content creator, broadcaster, and wildlife and marine conservation advocate, having taken part in marine and turtle conservation efforts worldwide. She’s also a part-time well-being mentor and physical therapist who works with young people with eating disorders and learning differences.
Radhika Sharma (Delhi, India)
A content creator and a full-time traveller who shared her compelling journey of traveling worldwide as a featured Ted-X speaker. She’s a certified scuba diver, paraglider and skier and aims to inspire people to go outdoors and not be afraid to follow their hearts.
Leng Yein (Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia)
A PADI Divemaster and Mermaid Instructor with 17 years of dive experience, Leng wants to inspire people to know that, “it is never too late to be the person you wish to be. Live, Love, and Act, with a purpose.” She’s also a Malaysia Government-Licensed Tour Guide, the face of several charity organisations, and has held the title of Asia’s #1 Female DJ for more than a decade.
Giosue Reale (Siracusa, Italy)
Giosue started scuba diving at 11 years old and is now a watersport instructor. His mission is to spread awareness about the amazing wildlife found around the British coast that is so often overlooked. He’s also passionate about showcasing diverse shark species from around the world and helping change people’s views on these beautiful animals through his underwater videography.
Mariana Saad Vargas (Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brasil)
A 10-year-old student who loves animals and nature, travelling, and outdoor activities, especially scuba diving. She also loves reading, painting, drawing, and art crafting. This Harry Potter fan is a PADI Junior Open Water Diver and wants to inspire young people to discover the underwater world.
Kritika Goel (Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India)
A content creator who turned her passion for travel and photography into a way of life. She wants to let her audience explore vicariously through her lens, and her mission is to inspire people to step outside their comfort zones and experience the beauty of this world.
Sarah Miller (California, United States)
Sarah became a diver in 2012 and followed her dream to become a scuba instructor, starting Azul Unlimited as a dive business in Mexico and then Indonesia. Now Azul Unlimited is an online brand where she shares scuba lessons and van life adventures on YouTube, with a mission of building a supportive and fun community of safe divers and ocean protectors.
Laura Quesada (Madrid, Spain)
Laura has always known she wanted to be a diving instructor and was certified as a Junior Open Water Diver at ten years old. She’s travelled the world as a PADI Instructor and has been sponsored by Cressi since 2019. Her mission is to show the world how to save the ocean and the animals that live in it and to educate her students in caring for the ocean. Her passion is macro life, and her favorite marine animal is the nudibranch.
Kayleigh Slowey (Teignmouth, Devon, UK)
Kayleigh has spent most of her life by the ocean, cultivating a love for marine life and a passion for conservation early on. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Marine and Natural History Photography and a Master’s Degree in Marine Ecology, which have taken her on many adventures across the globe, using digital creation in her ocean conservation work.
Karol Yela (Pasto, Nariño, Colombia)
Karol is a PADI Divemaster, who aims to promote environmental awareness and the importance of sustainable practices in the diving community. As a specialist in sports training, she works to improve people’s lifestyles through sports, helping them build better daily habits that encourage them to find their happiness.
Sara Gojer (Bangalore, India)
As an international DJ, Sara travels the world and spreads her enthusiasm for scuba diving everywhere she goes. She’s a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT) and PADI AWARE Shark Conservation Instructor whose aim is to “protect sharks all over the world and introduce people to scuba diving with these magnificent creatures!”
Katt Andryskova (Geneva, Switzerland)
Katt is a science educator, scuba diving instructor, freediver, and marine photographer living and diving the Great Barrier Reef. From her first breath underwater at age 12 to her 11 years working in Cambodia, Comoros, and Australia as a PADI Instructor, her mission has been to protect the future of our blue planet. She created Ocean Pancake to empower ocean lovers and activists to create positive change through individual choices, which she does through her podcast and YouTube channel.
Jessica Pita (Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa)
Jessica is a student majoring in Psychology and Anthropology and a passionate advocate for disabilities. Through social media, she shares inspiring, humorous, and everyday moments in the life of a blind girl, often highlighting the challenges and lack of inclusivity faced by individuals with disabilities. Defying expectations, Jessica uses her heightened senses of hearing and muscle memory to excel in various sports, like show jumping, scuba diving, and playing multiple musical instruments.
Jillian Taylor (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada)
Jillian is a wildlife scientist and ocean enthusiast currently completing a Master of Science on the Atlantic puffin, a bird that shares her love of the frigid North Atlantic Ocean. She enjoys showcasing the rich biodiversity of the colder parts of our ocean and believes that “conservation starts with the details: it is hard to protect a species unless you know the name of it.”
Tyrell Crosby (Henderson, Nevada, United States)
Tyrell is relatively new to scuba, but he’s already hooked on its magic. His professional career as an NFL Offensive Lineman for the Detroit Lions was cut short by a severe spinal injury. After recovering from surgery, he discovered scuba diving as an alternative to football to provide both a physical challenge and mental clarity and found a new passion.
Aakash Malhotra (Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India)
Also known as “Sky,” Aakash is an adventurer and travel content creator listed in Forbes India’s “Top 100 Content Creators 2023.” He has a passion for extreme sports, including skydiving, scuba diving, and snowboarding, and his mission is “encouraging Indian adventurers through immersive storytelling and professional education, fostering a culture of fearless exploration, and celebrating diverse landscapes to embrace thrilling adventures.”
Luciana Maldonado (Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina)
Luciana first discovered scuba diving eight years ago in Indonesia when she was looking for ways to heal herself, and her life changed completely. She decided to leave her career at a sports TV network and move to Mexico to start her diving career, from Open Water Diver to Instructor. Today, she continues to teach diving and collaborates with marine biologists and conservationists to create educational programmes.
Mariam Al Saif (Kuwait)
Mariam inherited a deep-rooted connection to the sea from her pearl-diving ancestors while growing up on the shores of Kuwait. She found scuba diving in her twenties, and her passion for the ocean and conservation grew. This and her love of solo travel led her to found MER, a community uniting divers through meaningful travels and shared underwater adventures.
Prachi and Harsh (Mumbai, India)
Prachi and Harsh are an adventurous couple of world travellers and explorers. Their mission is “to redefine exploration, infusing it with conscious purpose. Through sharing our adventures, we aim to inspire fellow Indians to discover the ocean for themselves and fall in love with it.” Through their social media account, “Two Tickets to Freedom,” they document their travels, scuba diving experiences, and conservation efforts. They’re also GoPro India Ambassadors and TEDx speakers, spreading their message in a talk titled “Make It Happen, Today.”
Expedition Rove (Houston, Texas, and Yorkshire, England)
Mary Hannah and Andy are a husband and wife duo navigating the globe together in their Land Rover. Over the past five years, they’ve explored more than 45 countries in North, Central, and South America, across Europe to Turkey and Africa. They got Open Water Diver certified in Cape Town in 2023, and it’s quickly become one of their favourite on-the-road activities to do on their travels.
Manami Azuma (Nara, Japan)
Manami fell in love with the ocean after scuba diving in Okinawa and quickly became interested in environmental issues. She started by joining beach cleanups but soon realised the beauty of underwater cleanups as an activity that brings joy and purpose. She decided to open a dive shop, “Dr Blue,” to raise awareness further, raising funds through crowdfunding. Through her activities as a diving instructor, activist, writer, and speaker and her upcycling efforts, she wishes to prove that underwater cleanup is fun and that one step from a hundred people is more effective than a hundred steps from one person.
Yumi Shirai (Kanagawa, Japan)
Yumi first went scuba diving as a high school student in Sydney and as a diver, she learned about the close relationship between garbage, environmental issues, and the ocean. This led her to found a non-profit environmental organisation called “MORE Planning.” The name stands for “Mountain Ocean River Earth.” Their activities include collecting trash illegally dumped in the mountains, cleaning up rivers, land, and shorelines, and even cleaning up underwater.
Viridiana Alvarez Chavez (Aguascalientes, Mexico)
Viridiana is the first woman on the American continent to climb the five highest mountains in the world (Everest, K2, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, and Makalu). She also has the Guinness World Record for the fastest ascent of the world’s three highest mountains using supplemental oxygen. After conquering all the major summits, Viridiana has turned her attention to the ocean, her next project in life.
Hiroshi “KUMA” Sato (Sanriku, Japan)
When the 2011 tsunami hit the coast of his hometown, and Hiroshi saw the devastation it caused to the sea where he worked as a scuba instructor, he decided he had to act. He founded Sanriku Volunteer Divers to collect the marine debris left behind by the tsunami and help clean up the seabed. Today, they’re still doing cleanups but have expanded their activities to include seabed restoration and seaweed farming. Hiroshi was named a 2023 Sea Hero by Scuba Diving magazine for his efforts in marine conservation.
Captain Jason Chambers (Canberra, Australia):
Jason gained fame as a superyacht captain on Below Deck and knows how to decompress from a high-pressure job. “When you’re underwater, it’s the ultimate escape,” he says. As a father, captain, TV actor, professional athlete, and PADI Rescue Diver, Jason covers a lot of ground. Nearest to his heart is Classroom of Hope, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to rebuilding 100 schools damaged in the 2018 Indonesian earthquake with materials made from recycled plastic.
Kundai Murapa (Harare, Zimbabwe)
As a child, Kundai dreamed of becoming a Power Ranger. He channelled his love for superheroes into becoming a professional stunt performer, and his fascination with The Undersea Adventures of Captain Nemo piqued his interest in life underwater. As an adventure athlete, Kundai engages in parkour, calisthenics, rock climbing, and scuba diving. His passion for adventure and human movement inspired his career as a certified fitness expert, TraceFit Method training system creator, and film stuntman.
Learn more about the PADI AmbassaDiver team here. Follow PADI on Facebook, Instagram, and X to keep up to date on their ongoing projects, dive adventures, and conservation efforts throughout the year.
October and November are excellent months to visit Egypt, as they offer pleasant water temperatures and comfortable conditions on land. Divers can explore prime dive sites in the northern Red Sea, including the iconic SS Thistlegorm shipwreck and the breathtaking underwater topography at Shark & Yolanda Reef in Ras Mohammed National Park. Additionally, visitors can take advantage of direct flights from the UK to Marsa Alam, which serves as a gateway to bucket list adventures and thrilling shark dives in the Southern Red Sea.
The Red Sea offers an unforgettable experience both above and below the water. Every year, thousands of visitors are captivated by this area’s unique blend of spectacular marine life, welcoming climate, and stunning scenery.
A World-Renowned Dive Region 5 Hours Away…
An endless variety of marine life draws divers from across the globe to the warm waters of the Red Sea. For UK divers, this world-renowned destination is just a short flight away. With outstanding water clarity and permanent sunshine, the Red Sea offers the chance to explore its magical underwater world year-round.
The sheer abundance of vibrant marine life and corals is what sets the Red Sea apart. Divers and snorkellers can witness an impressive range of invertebrates, including over 200 different types of hard and soft corals, crustaceans, sponges, and hundreds of spectacular fish species.
This incredible variety is further enhanced by the Red Sea’s dramatic underwater landscapes, featuring steep walls, drop-offs, shipwrecks, and deep blue canyons.
Which Red Sea Destination to Choose…
Regaldive provides a choice of ten Egyptian Red Sea resorts, along with a range of liveaboard options for those seeking to explore further. Sharm el Sheikh, Hurghada, and Marsa Alam are the gateways to the Red Sea, each offering a unique and distinct charm.
Hurghada presents a glimpse of authentic Egypt, with an excellent selection of dive sites located just a short boat ride away. The smaller resorts of El Gouna and Safaga are ideal for exploring the northern reefs and wrecks while being within easy reach of Hurghada.
The stunning coastline south of Hurghada has become a haven for tranquil, pristine diving. Direct flights into Marsa Alam throughout the winter have made it easier to access the impressive marine parks of the southern Red Sea.
For those seeking ultimate seclusion, the southernmost resort of Hamata offers unparalleled diving within relatively undisturbed reef systems.
The Choice is Yours…
No matter which destination is selected, a Red Sea holiday promises a blend of fantastic diving, beach relaxation, and cultural exploration. With over seven centuries of history, Egypt offers so much more than just diving.
The Red Sea is an ideal starting point for visiting the iconic Pyramids, taking a day trip to Cairo, star gazing with the Bedouins, or visiting the breathtaking city of Luxor on the banks of the Nile. The stunning scenery of the region features the rich seas contrasting with the stark beauty of the desert.
Whether the holiday is spent mostly above or below the waterline, disappointment is unlikely.
Regaldive also offers a variety of resorts and liveaboards in the Red Sea, providing everything a diver could desire. For a blend of experiences, their mini dive safaris combine liveaboard and resort-based diving, while land-based liveaboard trips allow guests to explore Sharm el Sheikh’s diving highlights while staying in beachside cabins.
Find out more about the diving Regaldive have to offer in the Red Sea here.
At Wakatobi Dive Resort, guests are always thanked for coming to enjoy this special place, as it is their presence that creates the magic making ongoing reef conservation efforts a reality. “The more you know, the more you notice,” says in-house marine biologist Julia Mellers. “And what better place to learn about reef biodiversity and custodianship than in Wakatobi.”
“My main project for the first year is to establish a way of monitoring the health of Wakatobi’s reef ecosystem,” Julia says. “This will allow us to provide hard scientific proof that Wakatobi’s conservation model measurably benefits reef health. Holding a finger to the pulse of the reef will also assist management decisions, such as identifying priority areas for increased protection.”
Modern methods for reef management
The Wakatobi Reef Health Assessment program utilizes a customized set of modern imaging and data analysis techniques that provide a comprehensive indication of the state of a reef ecosystem. “We use the latest ecological theory, technology, and artificial intelligence to develop a novel package to efficiently and robustly measure reef health,” Julia says. “This will enable us to monitor how Wakatobi’s reefs are faring throughout the protected area without significantly diverting resources from protecting the reefs.”
The process begins in the water, capturing the reef’s sights, sounds, and landscape. Above water, Julia is developing and implementing analysis methods and training machine learning models to extract measures of reef health from captured data. When not on the island, she will research new approaches and ideas for coral reef assessment and help spread the word about Wakatobi’s scientific initiative.
“It’s an absolute privilege to work within a system that benefits both the reefs and the local people,” says Julia. “It also gives us a unique opportunity to assess and document reef health and dynamics within an ecosystem that is actually getting healthier. In stark contrast to declines in coral health recorded elsewhere, our scientific data is already beginning to demonstrate Wakatobi’s astonishing biodiversity – which is evident to anyone who ventures underwater at the resort.”
The program focuses on three indicators of reef health: the diversity of the reef community, which measures the variety and abundance of living organisms colonizing the reef surface; structural complexity, describing the degree to which the reefs incorporate elaborate details; and reef soundscapes, recording the noise a reef’s inhabitants make, including the snapping of shrimp and the feeding sounds of fish. By measuring these elements, it is possible to estimate how much life the habitat supports.
“Luckily, we don’t have to work all that out manually,” Julia says. Artificial intelligence plays a vital role. “I train machine learning models to identify signals of reef functioning that would otherwise be undetectable. For example, a model can be trained to recognize the sounds that characterize a healthy reef. This allows us to monitor the reefs at a scale, and with a thoroughness that would otherwise be inconceivable.”
Julia and the dive team have also started an eDNA survey of the reefs. ”This involves taking seawater samples near the reef at different depths and filtering them to trap environmental DNA (eDNA) that organisms shed into the water,” Julia explains. “The samples are now in a lab, where the DNA is labeled using probes and sequenced to identify which species are around. Using this technique, we should be able to detect hundreds of species from just a single litre of seawater. It’s a very cool process!”
A Wakatobi welcome
Julia says the Wakatobi team has been exceptionally supportive and welcoming. “They are able to maintain a totally laid-back atmosphere while coordinating an exceptionally professional operation.” She adds that Wakatobi feels remote in the best ways, with pristine reefs, peace, and quiet, while also being an extremely comfortable and well-connected place to work.
“Working within a system that works for the reefs because it works for the people is an absolute privilege,” she says. “It also gives us a unique opportunity to unpick reef health and dynamics within an ecosystem that is actually getting healthier. In stark contrast to declines recorded elsewhere, our scientific data is already beginning to demonstrate the astonishing biodiversity evident to anyone who ventures underwater at Wakatobi.”
The Wakatobi team has also proven to be an invaluable source of knowledge about the local ecosystem,” Julia says. “Wakatobi makes the perfect scientific laboratory. Being able to go from library to laptop to reef, all in the space of a hundred meters, is the perfect recipe for generating new ideas and trying them out. It is so exciting to work with open-minded innovators keen to try novel approaches and look at things from different angles.”
“Having such a dynamic team has meant that we’ve made progress quickly,” Julia says. “So far, we have a highly accurate machine learning model that classifies the reef community, a method to analyze the sounds that reef critters make, and a fully automatic way of measuring fish abundance. We are also in a position to add to this repertoire, trialing different techniques to quantify the complex 3D structure that corals make. We have added DNA analysis to the arsenal, which enables us to detect biodiversity invisible to the naked eye.”
From frogs to frogfish
Julia acquired her love of nature and biology from her parents, whom she describes as eco-friendly before the concept became trendy. “Camping, compost heaps, and Attenborough documentaries were features of a nature-centric English childhood. I raised pond-dwelling critters, peered down microscopes, and became transfixed by cephalopods.” Biology was an inevitable choice, she says, and the sea came into her life at a young age. “Having long been a sailor, with a family of sailors, I am at home at sea,” she says. “I took my first sip of compressed air at the bottom of a swimming pool in London and have spent as much time as possible eye-to-eye with octopuses since.”
After completing an undergraduate degree in biology at Oxford University, Julia shifted her Master’s focus to marine biology. It was a move she describes as swapping frogs for frogfish. “I went into marine biology because I see marine biological research as a powerful tool to connect people with the planet,” she says. “Of course, nature should be worth more to us preserved than destroyed – but if you can’t put a price on it, no one pays. Wakatobi has created an economic engine that financially incentivizes reef custodianship. This leads to an ideal scientific setting – demonstrably vibrant reefs linked to genuine socio-economic fairness.“
Julia’s Master’s project was done in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Marine Science and investigated mysterious bare rings of sand that surround reef patches within algal meadows. “We think these ‘reef halos’ form because foraging fish will only venture a short way from the shelter of a coral patch if they are under threat from patrolling sharks,” she says. “Since you can spot these halos from satellite images, they could be a neat way of keeping an eye on shark populations from space… and a possible addition to Wakatobi’s monitoring program”!
As the Reef Health Assessment program progresses, Julia will create new learning and participation opportunities for guests to enhance the depth and enjoyment of their Wakatobi experience. Wakatobi Dive Resort will also continue to provide updates and insights on the important work Julia and the rest of the Wakatobi team are doing to understand and protect some of the world’s most pristine and spectacular coral reefs.
Many thanks go to Wakatobi’s guests, whose continued enjoyment of the marine preserve helps keep ongoing reef protection efforts a reality!
Contact the team at office@wakatobi.com or enquire >here.
Follow on Facebook and Instagram.
View Wakatobi videos on the YouTube Channel.
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