Dale Kleier

Title: Owner & Instructor

Dive Experience: I was certified on a family trip to Mexico. My brother was a diver and asked me to join him…there has been no looking back!!! Since then I have completed over 1000 dives, visited dive sites all over the globe and became a Pro. Which has lead me to were I am now….A dive shop owner and a founder of a Non Profit. To say I love diving is an understatement. My true joy is seeing students learn about the underwater world.

Diving Credentials: PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, Diveheart Instructor, EFR/First Aid Trainer

How Scuba Diving has affected your life: Diving has given me a place of total relaxation. Sharing it with students has become my biggest pleasure. I was not much for traveling beyond the Pacific Northwest before diving. It has opened my eyes to the world around me not just for the diving. But for the experience of learning more about the places and people in this world.

Favorite Place to Dive: I love cold water diving! I dive in the Puget Sound regularly but love the Sunshine coast in British Columbia. For warm water diving a fell in love with the people and the diving in the Philippines.

Personal Passions & Activities: Diving, Underwater Photography and teaching others. I am also very passionate about Scuba Access For Everyone….our non profit that takes people with disabilities diving. See our website for more details. www.SAFEscuba.org

Elizabeth McCune

Title: Instructor

Dive Experience: I was certified in 2013 and have 300+ dives. I got certified because I was taking a vacation to Australia and wanted to see the Great Barrier Reef. I was certified right here in the Pacific Northwest, though over the next several years I dove warmer waters in Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean. When COVID-19 put a stop to travel, I began diving locally again and taking continuing education courses to further my skills, including training as an adaptive dive buddy with Scuba Access For Everyone. I never planned to teach scuba, but during my divemaster training I got to work with open water students. Seeing the light in their eyes, the look on their faces when experiencing the underwater world for the first time, and the confidence they gained in themselves in the process…that was it for me, I knew I needed to continue playing a role in teaching others to dive. I’m also a volunteer diver at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, where my favorite thing is the joy on the faces of little kids when they see divers in the tanks.

Diving Credentials: PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, Diveheart Advanced Adaptive Buddy, EFR/First Aid Instructor

How Scuba Diving has affected your life: Diving has given me peace, confidence, and purpose. There is nowhere in the world where I feel calmer and more at ease than I do at 30+ ft below the surface. When I slowly sink down whatever stress and worries I might be holding float up and away along with my bubbles. The skills I’ve developed have increased my confidence in my physical and problem-solving abilities. I’m never more a super hero (in my own mind) than when I do a giant stride entry. Diving, especially working with adaptive divers and teaching scuba, has also given me a real sense of purpose. Over time I’ve come to see how diving can enrich our lives, our confidence in ourselves, our relationships with others, and our connection to our world.

Favorite Place to Dive: My favorite place to dive is the site I’ve not been to yet! I love diving new sites. My dive style is low and slow, and I especially love any site that gives me the opportunity to look for little critters like nudibranchs.

Personal Passions & Activities: My two cats, backpacking in the summer months in the PNW, taking my two cats backpacking, knitting, amateur-level ukelele playing, and reading. I’m also an industrial/organizational psychologist, working with organizations, doing research and teaching aimed at shaping work to be a meaningful part of people’s lives.

Kenny Farley

Title: Divemaster

Dive Experience: I completed my Open Water Certification in April of 2016 and since then I have logged hundreds of dives, primarily in the Pacific Northwest (cold water). I continued to develop as a diver by taking specialty classes which culminated into completing my Divemaster Certification in July of 2021. I plan on continuing this journey of development as I pursue my Instructor Certification.

Diving Credentials: PADI Divemaster, Diveheart Advanced Dive Buddy

How Scuba Diving has affected your life: Underwater is calming and relaxing for me. It is a place where I can let all of my stress and overthinking dissipate with each breath. I have the privilege of meeting so many amazing people from different walks of life; both here in the U.S. and internationally.

Favorite Place to Dive: Cold water diving is my jam for sure. There are so many cool dive sites in Puget Sound. I am a huge fan of diving in Cozumel, Mexico; drift diving is so much fun and there is so much life to see underwater there.

Personal Passions & Activities: My passion is connecting people to each other and to amazing experiences. I love diving, biking, traveling, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

Crystal Van Dyken

Title: Divemaster

Dive Experience: I did my first ever discover scuba dive in 2012 in Kauai, HI. I loved being underwater but didn’t get certified until a couple years later. In 2015 I did my open water class in Puget Sound. I continued diving and taking classes and finished my divemaster certification in 2018. I have been able to go diving in many warm and cold water places including a liveaboard in Belize and getting to dive in my home state of Alaska.

Diving Credentials: PADI Divemaster, Diveheart Dive Buddy

How Scuba Diving has affected your life: I have always loved being in the water since I was a kid, and being able to be in the water and see all kinds of underwater life has been amazing. Diving has brought me to places that I never would have gone to otherwise (such as Belize and Honduras). I have also met many friends through scuba diving all over the world!

Favorite Place to Dive: While I love cold water diving, my favorite place to dive is Hawaii. I love the unique variety of animals and lava rock formations. One of my favorite dives was in Ni’ihau, Hawaii where we had monk seals and sandbar sharks hanging out with us the entire dive!

Personal Passions & Activities: I love spending time with my husband and two corgis. I also enjoy knitting, crochet, and spinning and dyeing yarn (and even brought knitting underwater once.)

Mark Denney

Title: Divemaster

Dive Experience: My first open water scuba experience was a Southern Oregon river in 1995. While there was not much to see, the ability to explore the underwater world fascinated me. From there I have worked to develop my skills in cold, warm, salt & freshwaters!

Diving Credentials: PADI Divemaster, Diveheart Advanced Dive Buddy, Reef Check Kelp Forest Monitoring Volunteer Citizen Scientist

How Scuba Diving has affected your life: Diving has introduced me to many other like minded adventurers which have encouraged me to travel to some extraordinary locations which I never would have experienced if it were not for the sport. It has also resulted in me getting sea-sick more times than I want to count. The price I pay for the love of the ocean.. 😉

Favorite Place to Dive: Variety is the spice of life! My favorite place is the next new dive site I get to explore. I am partial to sharks, rays and cephalopods. Fortunately for me they are found around the globe and I have a passport!

Personal Passions & Activities: In life, work and underwater, I am passionate about continuous learning & improvement. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and helping others! When I am not in the water, you can find me in the gym trying to stay fit or in the garden trying to grow something.

Dennis Meier

Title: Dive Master

Dive Experience: I started my dive journey in September 2019. Most of my dive experience is in the Pacific Northwest, but I have enjoyed diving in the tropics as well. 

Diving Credentials: PADI Dive Master, Diveheart Advanced Dive Buddy

How Scuba Diving has affected your life: Diving has had a huge impact on my life. I enjoy the structure and discipline required to dive. When I was no longer able to chase my dream of being a pilot, diving was there to fill the void. Diving has taken me to beautiful and exciting places, has introduced me to some of the most genuine and selfless people I have ever met, and has given me and my wife a hobby to enjoy together. Aside from the places I’ve been to, and the people I’ve met, diving has helped me a great deal with managing my mental and physical health.

Favorite Place to Dive: For me it’s almost impossible to choose where my favorite place to dive is, each site has so much to offer in so many ways. Some may think I’m crazy, but I really enjoy cold water diving, a couple of my favorite places are; Sund Rock, Sekiu, and Keystone Jetty. I do enjoy diving in warm water, and my favorite place thus far is Cozumel.

Personal Passions & Activities: As a new father I enjoy spending time with my daughter and watching her grow and change each day. I like to try new places with my wife and spend time at our favorite place, the Oregon Coast. I enjoy working on vehicles and am currently looking for a project car to restore.

Debbie Kleier

Title: Office & Marketing Manager

Dive Experience: I have been diving for over six years. Time sure flies when you are having fun. This sport has taken me all over the world where I have experienced some amazing things both in the water and on land. But I think it is the people that truly stand out for me! I have met so many wonderful and passionate souls who I will never forget.

Diving Credentials: PADI Master Scuba Diver, Diveheart Advanced Dive Buddy

How Scuba Diving has affected your life: Diving hasn’t always been fun and easy for me. I had a fear of the water, didn’t want to get my face wet. I am proud to say that with much patients and a lot of practice I have concurred my fear of the water. Dale worked with me little by little until one day I noticed I am not holding hands with him! That was huge. I joke that I was great training for him. Overall Scuba has giving me a confidence I had never tapped into.

Role at Scuba Adventures For Everyone, LLC: My background has been in administration and graphic design. My role at S.A.F.E. is everything office related. I also take care of our social media, our web site and our marketing. Working with people is my favorite thing with a close seconded being planning travel and trips.

Favorite Place to Dive: Cold Water Diving; Vancouver Island BC; Warm Water Diving; Philippines.

Personal Passions & Activities: Spending time with Family & Friends, Travel, Sewing, Drawing, and Painting.