Hi! I'm Tanya, the Secretary & Director on the Board for Scuba Access For Everyone, a Diveheart Advanced Buddy Diver, PADI Master Diver, Real Estate Coach, Realtor at Keller Williams Realty Portland Premiere, a Disabled Army Veteran, wife, mom of two wonderful kids, a dog mom and a lover of tacos! 😁

I began my scuba journey reluctantly, digging my heels in most of the way. I had a rough start, to say the least, and was not a big fan of cold water diving. In 2019, the day we returned from Hawaii, Dale & Debbie had an Open House for what we thought was just the pool. We were surprised that they were starting a non-profit and this was the introduction. Our first introduction to it was a video that Diveheart shared of Chris, a quadriplegic. In his story, he told of the freedom he found diving and how he wasn't Chris the disabled guy, but Chris a scuba diver. He was only able to dive because of the strangers trained to help. I was crying my eyes out by the end of the video and told my husband, Scott, that he needed to do that. He looked at me and said, "Me no, you are the disabled vet, you have to do it." 

After my training to become a Diveheart Advanced Buddy Diver, which was tough, my life changed. I went from around 25 dives in 4 years to over 80 in the last 2 years. I've been on two adaptive trips, added a couple of handfuls of dive certifications, made many new friends, and love being underwater talking to all the little fish. 

I am passionate about helping those with any disability find their freedom underwater. I now love scuba diving, especially in the tropics, and will happily talk everyone into becoming an adaptive diver or an advanced scuba diver. Heck even if you are not into diving, you can still help out!