Meet Our Team in Columbia, MO
Ryan Oestreich
Area DirectorIndependent Assistant Instructor Trainer
Ryan’s love for diving and boating has kept him around water all his life. Here in the Midwest, Diventures makes it possible to experience everything the water has to offer. Ryan has been an integral part of our team for nearly a decade. As Area Director of our stores in Missouri and Iowa, Ryan enjoys building passionate teams, inspiring new dive professionals, and constantly making lifelong friends through our team and, most of all, our customers!
Phone: 417.883.5151Email: [email protected]
Connor Hendricks
Scuba Experience ManagerIndependent Assistant Instructor Trainer
Connor started his career in the water where he earned his degree in Marine Biology. His passion for teaching scuba emerged while volunteering at his Aunt and Uncle’s dive shop. Diving since 2012, Connor has dove throughout the Midwest and Caribbean and is an Open Watter Diver Instructor. He enjoys helping new divers discover their own passion for the water.
Phone: 573.442.3483Email: [email protected]
Danny “Doc” Diaz-Arias
Independent Open Water Diver InstructorIndependent Extended Range Trimix Instructor
Danny, or Doc, has grown up in and around the water. Like most kids, Doc loved to swim as a kid but he was also a competitive swimmer through all of high school, and a US Navy Search and Rescue swimmer. He is truly at peace when surrounded by water or more specifically, when blowing bubbles. Doc has been diving for 23 years, and was certified in Columbia at Captain Nemo’s with his mom.
Docs passion for diving has led him to discover Extended Range or XR diving. Doc’s passion for teaching and diving shines through his vast knowledge. Always learning and striving for excellence, he’s dedicated to helping students grow, achieve their diving goals, and see the world in a new light.
Email: [email protected]
Dwain Gardner
Independent Assistant Instructor Trainer
Dwain took his first scuba class when he was 19 at the University of Missouri in Columbia. After the first day of scuba class, he knew what he wanted to do with his life. For four and a half years, Dwain helped teach a course at the University of Missouri, then continued to teach scuba and managed several dive stores before starting Capt. Nemo’s Dive Shop 36 years ago. Now, 42 years after that first scuba class, Dwain enjoys giving newcomers the same inspiring experience he had in his first lesson, teaching beginning students and helping over 2,000 divers become certified.
Phone: 573.442.3483Email: [email protected]
Jerry Hess
Independent Assistant Instructor
Phone: 573.442.3483
Liana Haas
Customer Experience Specialist
Liana received her certification at the University of Missouri in Partnership with Diventures. The class was just the beginning as she is now working towards her Master Diver rating. She aspires to be a dive professional and share her journey to aspire others enjoy those same experiences.
Phone: 573.440.3483
Mary Stanford
Independent Advanced Open Water Diver Instructor
As a child, Mary was always near an ocean and spent much of her time swimming. She has been diving for 36 years and feels like she “can’t live without it.” Mary has been an active instructor for 28 years and loves teaching scuba. She and her husband, Dwain, have owned and operated Capt. Nemo’s Dive Shop in Columbia, Missouri, for 36 years, introduced thousands of people to scuba and conducted close to 100 escorted diving trips to the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean. Her boundless energy comes from a passion for introducing new divers to the beauty of being underwater and “getting them hooked on not just getting certified, but becoming a diver.”
Phone: 573.442.3483Email: [email protected]
Rony Marwan
Independent Open Water Instructor
Rony Marwan is a seasoned Open Water Diver Instructor with a deep passion for the ocean and over 670 dives to his name, including a recent milestone dive Ras Mohamed National Park Red Sea. Inspired by his coastal upbringing and family ties to the Mediterranean and Red Sea, Rony has been diving for over 30 years. At Diventures, he’s committed to delivering safe, high-quality scuba experiences and finds joy in helping new divers overcome their fears. Rony is passionate about designing and leading uniquely customized Red Sea dive trips not offered by the standard travel agencies and developing therapeutic scuba programs for children with special needs.
Email: [email protected]
