Clare is relatively new to diving, having received her open water certification in 2013. After her first dive trip to Bonaire, she fell in love with the ocean and its creatures, and has become obsessed with diving and enhancing her diving skills. She takes at least 4 long dive trips a year, usually on liveaboards, steadily working through her expansive “bucket list” of dive locations. She became an Assistant Instructor in September 2017, so is a very new PADI professional. She plans on working as an AI for at least a year before pursuing full instructor certification. She loves working with new divers, helping them progress from uncertainty underwater to confident divers.
Clare graduated from Tulane University with a degree in Chemical Engineering. After working for a couple of years in the oil industry, she left engineering to pursue her favorite hobby – bodybuilding. She was a national and world amateur champion, and then competed professionally for 3 years, placing as high as 2nd in the Ms. Olympia. Having twins forced her to leave bodybuilding and get a “real job,” and she has been back working in the oil industry for over 20 years.
When Clare is not working or diving, she is usually in the process of planning her next trip or taking advanced training to improve her skills. She still enjoys lifting, and can be found in a gym at least 4 days a week. She loves reading, playing with her hyper-active dog Texas, watching SEC Football, and home renovation projects. Her church affiliation is Methodist. In the past 4 years, she has logged over 400 ocean dives. She doesn’t tolerate cold water (anything below 80 is cold), so she is a big fan of dry suit diving. Her favorite destinations (so far) are Cocos Island, Palau, and Bat Islands. In Cocos, a whale shark circled and played with the divers for an hour in 10’ of water. In Bat Islands, she encountered massive Bull Sharks up close and personal, schools of Eagle Rays, frog fish, seahorses, and had an incredible night dive encounter with feeding Mobula.
Clare wants to eventually use diving to work in ocean and marine life conservation, protecting the marine environment for future generations.
