MEET THE TEAM

Instructors from around the globe who can deliver the Human Diver programmes.

If you are considering an investment in training around diving as a sport, pastime or profession – you should be considering human factors as part of that investment. 

The Human Diver has a team of qualified professional instructors, all experienced divers, who can deliver our courses. They have undertaken hours of human factors training, in person, online and through group work to become accredited. More are due to train as instructors this year and beyond. 

Our mission is to be able to offer this kind of holistic training globally to anyone who wants to further their knowledge and minimise risks around diving – whatever their level of technical diving ability or experience. 

Heading the team is Gareth Lock.

THE FOUNDER

Gareth Lock, MSc, MCIEHF

Gareth founded The Human Diver in January 2016 when he recognised that there was a gap in knowledge within the diving community when it came to human factors and non-technical skills.  He decided to do something about it and has made waves ever since.

Base:

South West of England, United Kingdom.

Background:

Spent 25 years in the Royal Air Force as a flight instructor, navigator on C-130 Hercules, systems engineer and a requirements manager. Left the RAF in 2015 and started work in high-risk industries teaching Human Factors and Crew Resource Management (CRM).

Diving Experience:

GUE Tech 2 certified and TDI JJ-CCR Mod 1 with around 800 dives. Looking forward to getting cave certified too.

Human Factors Commitment:

Using his own course/s developed and based on his lived diving experience, has to date taught more than 350 divers face-to-face, presented at nearly 20 conferences around the world and published his first book  'Under Pressure: Diving Deeper with Human Factors' in 2019 which has sold 1000s of copies globally already.

And Finally:

He loves his underwater photography and has been published in numerous magazines. If you want to find out how to work with Gareth directly or how to book him as a speaker click here

INSTRUCTORS CURRENTLY ABLE TO TEACH FACE to FACE

GUY SHOCKEY
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Helene Pellerin
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Jenny Lord
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Mike Mason
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Andrzej Gornicki
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Pedro Paulo Cunha
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John Strobridge
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OUR INSTRUCTORS

GUY SHOCKEY
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Helene Pellerin
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Bart den Ouden
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Jenny Lord
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Darryl Owen
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Beatrice Rivoira
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Mike Mason
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Chris Tibble
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Guy Shockey, MA, BA

Guy is one of the first graduates from the Human Diver’s HF instructors’ academy. A man who loves extreme sports, he is also committed to improving outcomes by understanding how human factors impact on those sports including diving.  Guy recognized the value of Human Factors training in the diving world immediately because of his past careers, and has been an advocate of The Human Diver from the beginning.

Base:

Vancouver Island, Canada

Background:

He’s an ex-military officer and former professional guide with a graduate degree in political science. He is an entrepreneur including building up a successful manufacturing business with wholesale and retail components. He is also a nationally accredited Skydiving coach and instructor.

Diving Experience:

He first learned to dive in 1982 in the mountain lakes of Alberta, Canada and has been involved with Global Underwater Explorers for the past 12 years. He is currently a full time Instructor Evaluator for GUE and travels the globe and teaching technical diving (OC and CCR) for GUE. He is also very active working with GUE’s instructor candidates and incorporates Human Factors training in all his classes.

Human Factors Commitment:

Guy was one of the first cohort of trainers, completing his training in 2019. He now runs courses in human factors in Canada and the US. He was one of the first instructors to require his technical diving students to take the Human Factors online micro-class as preparation for technical and instructor dive training. 

And Finally:

He loves to share his passion for exploration in the mountains or under the sea.

EMAIL GUY

Helene Pellerin, MD, FRCPC

Helene is passionate about understanding human performance and how it can be improved to decrease error and increase safety in diving. Her goal is to promote the development of a ‘Just Culture’ by sharing this knowledge to divers of all levels.

Base:

Quebec City, Canada.

Background:

She is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at Universite Laval in Quebec City, and an instructor at the simulation centre of the Faculty of Medicine of Universite Laval, where she teaches Crisis Resources Management and Teamwork.

Diving Experience:

Helene is a GUE TEC 1 diver, a PADI Divemaster and an Emergency First Response (EFR) instructor with more than 300 dives in the past five years. She is mostly a cold-water diver although she enjoys warm water very much as well. She enjoys ocean dives and wreck dives.

Human Factors Commitment:

Helene was part of the first cohort of graduates from the Human Diver’s HF instructors’ academy. Becoming an instructor in human factors was a natural step for her given her background in Crisis Resources Management & Teamwork in healthcare. The Human Diver programme was a fantastic opportunity to move her interest in human factors from her professional life to diving.

And Finally:

Helene loves teaching and she is always keen on sharing her interests on the application of non-technical skills and human factors in diving and beyond!

EMAIL HELENE

Jenny Lord

Jenny has always had a love of the outdoors and extreme sports. When she first heard about The Human Diver and considering human factors in diving, she embraced it. She knew it was critical to creating a positive culture in diving. Her interest in team development started with outdoor education, using it as a tool to help people learn more about communication, planning and teamwork.

Base:

Egypt

Background:

Prior to diving, she worked in outdoor education for ten years teaching rock climbing, white water kayaking, canoeing, sailing, skiing, caving and cycling, amongst other sports.

Diving Experience:

Jenny is a full-time technical diving instructor. Since 2009 she has lived in Dahab, Egypt teaching SCUBA diving. She is a technical instructor trainer for TDI, advanced Trimix instructor, advanced mixed gas CCR diver and helitrox CCR instructor.

Human Factors Commitment:

Now accredited as an instructor in human factors with The Human Diver, Jenny has delivered numerous courses in Egypt and in the UK as well as integrating human factors into the technical and recreational courses she delivers. She is also a prolific writer for the blog, and soon to have a wider reach too.

And Finally:

Jenny has supported a number of deep dives as part of H2O divers’ dive team and works as a safety diver in the stunt industry.

EMAIL JENNY

Mike Mason

 

Base:

New South Wales, Australia

Background:

Mike spent 20 years in the Royal Air Force, most of it flying on frontline squadrons. He now works as a flying instructor in the Royal Australian Air Force teaching young pilots to fly fighters. As well as being an accomplished instructor, he is an experienced flying supervisor and holder of a commercial pilot’s licence. 

Diving Experience:

He has been an active diver since 2015 and has around 300 dives in his logbook from as far north as Iceland and as far south as New Zealand. He works part-time as a Dive Master and is also an active CCR diver. Wrecks interest him the most but he gets just as much satisfaction taking groups to see Grey Nurse Sharks at his local dive sites.

Human Factors Commitment:

Due to his career in military aviation, Mike has lived and breathed Human Factors for his entire professional life. As he became involved with diving expeditions and supervision, he realised how much the diving world could learn from aviation. He is a great believer in Human Factors and how an awareness of them can make time spent underwater safer and more rewarding. 

And Finally:

Diving is often a family past-time and Mike’s family is no exception. His partner and step-daughter have also taken a keen interest in the sport and they regularly dive together. 

EMAIL MIKE

Andrzej Gornicki

 

Base:

Poland - Croatia

Background:

Andrzej is a Polish dive industry consultant with a Master’s Degree in Social and Safety Psychology. His main interests in these fields are related to human performance in extreme environments, and high-performance team building. Team management, leadership and learning from daily operations in dynamic environments. Andrzej holds a post-graduate diploma in Underwater Archaeology and has gained dive safety officer experience in scientific projects.

Diving Experience:

Andrzej started diving in 2003 and soon realized that, from that moment, it became an important part of his life. He worked as a CCR & OC instructor and dive centre manager in countries like Poland, Norway, Egypt and Croatia. He participated in archaeological underwater projects, underwater maintenance/recovery works, and deep-water technical diving projects.

Human Factors Commitment:

Andrzej discovered Human Factors in Diving in 2018 after participating in Essentials of Human Factors in Diving. He quickly understood that knowledge and idea of Human Factors of Diving covers a lot of what he was missing in dive training. It filled the empty void of Non-Technical skills in diving. Having a psychology background he understood the importance of bringing Human Factors and Non-Technical skills to his team and diving community. Andrzej wrote several articles based on knowledge he gained from Essentials, Face to Face class, 10-Week webinar, and his own research. He also translated several blogs to Polish. Andrzej presented Human Factor concepts in several dive centres and conferences in Poland including Baltictech 2022. In 202,1 he was one of the speakers at Human Factors in Diving Conference.

And Finally:

In 2022, he translated and published "Pod CiĹ›nieniem” - Polish edition of Gareth’s Look book - „Under Pressure”. In 2023, Andrzej became Human Factors In Diving Instructor. He can deliver training in Polish and English. He also continues to promote Human Factors in Diving in Poland.

EMAIL ANDRZEJ

Pedro Paulo 'PP' Cunha

 

Base

São Paulo, Brazil / Zurich, Switzerland 

Background

Pedro graduated in Naval Engineering and holds two MBAs in Business Management and Banking. He worked for 25 years as an IT executive in the financial industry as a CIO/CTO and since 2017 has moved to the consulting business, helping banks and other companies develop technologies, processes, and teams to run mission-critical IT operations. 

Diving Experience 

Pedro started diving in 1983 and became an instructor in 1986. He is an a GUE Tech 1, IANTD CCR diver, and an SDI/TDI and NAUI technical diving instructor. He has a passion for complex, technical environments such as deep wrecks and caves but also dives a lot in clam, warm waters. He is also a published underwater photographer and author. 

Human Factors Commitment:

PP started learning about human factors and non-technical skills in diving just before the pandemic, becoming fascinated with the subject and the impact it could have in the industry. In the following years he dived into the literature and went through all the classes offered by The Human Diver, becoming an instructor in 2023. Since then, he has delivered seminars and classes in Brazil and is translating all the THD materials to Portuguese. He has also included human factors in all his recreational and technical diving classes.

And Finally:

Understanding the human factors impact on the performance of teams and how to apply this knowledge in high-risk industries has become a passion for Pedro, who is also loves teaching and sharing knowledge and experiences. His goal is to help teams and the diving industry to evolve by actively implementing human factors practices in their day-to-day operations and then transfer this approach to other industries in his professional area, such as Information Technology. He can deliver training in Portuguese and English.

EMAIL 'PP'

John Strobridge

Base

Reston, VA

Background

Hailing from Florida, John served in the Marine Corps as a Force Reconnaissance Marine and completed numerous overseas deployments. John holds a B.A. from Georgetown University and M.A. from King’s College London. Beyond diving, John is an avid rock and ice climber, skydiver, and golfer. In addition to being an instructor for The Human Diver, John works as a program manager.

Diving Experience 

John first learned to dive growing up in Florida and elected to pursue advanced courses beginning in 2018. He is currently a GUE Tech 1 and Cave 1 diver, and Cave CCR certified with IANTD. John enjoys cave diving in North Florida and wreck diving in the Pacific Northwest.

Human Factors Commitment:

John discovered Human Factors in Diving in 2021 when the Level 0: Essentials course was mandated as part of a technical dive course. Though he was generally familiar with human factors from his military career, The Human Diver opened his eyes to the interdependent nature of these skills and their application across many industries. John went on to complete The Human Diver’s other courses and received his instructor accreditation in January 2024. Since becoming an instructor, John has taught courses in the U.S. and Canada.

And Finally:

Having always been part of a team both professionally and in sports, John is interested in human performance and high-functioning teams, particularly in high-risk industries.  



EMAIL JOHN