The Women Divers Hall of Fame welcomes 10 New Members in 2011.

Dedicated to recognizing and honoring the contributions of women divers, the Women Divers Hall of Fame (WDHOF) is an international, non-profit, professional honor society whose member contributions span a wide variety of fields including: The Arts, Science, Medicine, Exploration & Technology, Marine Archeology, Business, Media, Training & Education, Safety, Commercial & Military Diving, Free Diving, and Underwater Sports.

The Hall is proud to announce the selection of ten new Members who will constitute the Class of 2011:

• Sally E. Bauer, MD: physician, historian, speaker, writer, marine researcher.
• Gina Bier: police detective, police diver, NAUI instructor trainer.
• Christine Rooney Bird, MD: physician, television series producer, Founder, Ocean Research Group, Inc.
• Céline Cousteau: film producer, international adventurer, environment preservationist.
• Anna DeLoach: computer expert, researcher, publisher, videographer, magazine editor.
• Karen Straus: diving pioneer, instructor, journalist, photographer/videographer.
• Maureen Langevin: diving instructor, tech diver, boat captain, videographer, expedition leader.
• Michele Westmorland: visual artist, nature photographer/instructor, expedition leader.
• Deborah Whitcraft: maritime historian, writer and speaker; President and Curator of the New Jersey Maritime Museum.
• Cristina Zenato: ocean conservationist, diving instructor, cave explorer.
  (See biographies of these women below and on the wdhof website.)

These extraordinary women will be officially inducted into WDHOF on March 26, 2011 at the Beneath the Sea (BTS) Awards Banquet at the Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel in Secaucus, New Jersey.

WDHOF, a 501(c)(3) corporation, was founded in 2000. WDHOF’s mission is to recognize the contributions of outstanding women divers and to offer financial and mentorship assistance to women and men interested in pursuing diving careers. As such, WDHOF offers 13 scholarships and training grants a year. For more information about or to contribute please see WDHOF scholarship program.

The following summary provides a glimpse into the exciting and diverse backgrounds of the newest class of WDHOF members:

Sally E. Bauer, M.D.

Sally is co-founder of the Florida Keys History of Diving Museum, featuring a collection of authentic, historic diving gear. A founding member of the Historical Diving Society, she has lectured and published on diving history, marine biology and aquariology. Diving since the late 1960’s led her to certification in Underwater Medicine as an adjunct to her work as an ER physician in Ohio. She conducted a 30-year project researching marine angelfish reproduction and social behavior, and is currently establishing the Joe Bauer Research Library to provide a resource for diving history scholars.

Gina Bier.

Gina took her first SCUBA course in 1986 from Dan Orr. In 1994 as a she began working in the Wright State University (WSU) SCUBA program which she now directs. She has personally certified well over 1800 NAUI Divers in various levels. Diving became an integral part of Detective Bier’s 20 year career in law enforcement. A female pioneer in this field, she led underwater evidence recovery investigations, hosted the International ‘Homicide by Drowning’ Course, taught Public Safety Diving to police and fire-rescue personnel in Ohio and was named 2010 Police Officer of the Year in Kettering, Ohio.

Christine Rooney Bird, M.D.

Christine works at Greater Lawrence Family Health Center in Lawrence, MA, as a family medicine physician, site medical director and faculty member. She is also an active diver, Founder and member of the Board of Directors of Oceanic Research Group, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of the world’s oceans and marine life through education. Co-creator and Executive Producer of the Emmy Award-winning public television series Jonathan Bird’s Blue World, Dr. Rooney Bird is committed to enhancing knowledge and helping to bring better education to our children and their families.

Céline Cousteau.

Founder of the non-profit CauseCentric Productions and Executive Director of Ocean Inspiration, a unique event created to recognize, reward, and celebrate ocean advocacy of all forms, Céline seeks to educated and inspire through filmmaking. Focusing on the human story behind environmental issues, Céline lends support to many organizations like Sea Web, Clean up the World, and Amazon Promise.

First joining her father, Jean-Michel during a PBS production The Gray Whale Obstacle Course, Céline has been working on documentaries around the world ever since. As field producer, diver and logistics coordinator for the 2-part show Return to the Amazon, she led a team into multiple, hard to access areas, including glaciers in the Andes and rarely seen protected areas in Brazil.

Anna DeLoach.

Anna left her computer industry career in 1994 to join her husband, Ned DeLoach, and Paul Humann, in their publishing company, New World Publications as a researcher and videographer. She has co-authored articles for Scuba Diving Magazine, Fathoms, Skin Diver, Asian Diver, Ocean Realm and ScubaDiver AustralAsia. Her videos documenting marine life behavior have been used by NBC Nightly News, Fox News and National Geographic’s Wild Chronicles. Anna is a spokeswoman for the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) for whom she developed two DVDs: Sensational Seas, Rare Sights from the Sea and Reef Fish Identification: A Beginning Course. She currently serves as Marine Life Editor for Scuba Diving Magazine.

Karen Straus.

In the 1960’s Karen graduated from the Los Angeles County Underwater Instructor Program, becoming an instructor, writer, and underwater photographer with her work appearing in Oceans, Skin Diver, and Sport Diver. Karen organized PADI’s Fluid Visions, one of the first underwater film festivals. Her expertise was utilized in documentaries by Al Giddings, Jim Lipscomb’s Discovery Channel programs and books by Douglas Faulkner. She sits on the board of the San Diego Underwater Film Exposition and works with the San Diego Audubon Society. Karen is free-lance in the media, travelling the world to capture digital stills and HD video.

Maureen Langevin.

Maureen is a PADI instructor, technical diver, US Coast Guard licensed Captain, and videographer. She is the Founder and Co-Owner of Dive Voyager Expeditions, LLC. Her teaching and film-making focus on exploration, understanding, safety, enjoyment and preservation of our underwater world with productions like Diving with Sharks, Cocos Islands, Diving with Sharks in the Northeast, Diving NJ Artificial Reefs and Our Precious Oceans. Maureen has captured the history of Northeast diving in her documentaries Pioneers of Northeast Wreck Diving and Women of Northeast Wreck Diving. Her work has been featured in television, radio, magazines, newspapers and dive expositions.

Michele Westmorland.

Michele has been a true pioneer as a visual artist, nature photographer, expedition leader and photo instructor with conservation as her underlying message. Michele’s work shows the beauty, mystery, function and vulnerability of our world both topside and underwater. Michele has contributed to magazines such as Sport Diver, Scuba Diving, Ocean Geographic and Australasia Scuba Diver. As a member of the North American Nature Photography Association, her work has been featured in preeminent magazines like Outside Magazine, National Geographic Traveler, and National Geographic Adventure. Her status in the International League of Conservation Photographers is one of Michele’s proudest achievements.

Deborah Whitcraft.

First certified in 1971, Deb became a diving instructor in 1974. She established two shops,Triton Divers and Inner Space Divers, and operated charter boats “Deborah C.” and “Black Whale”. Through her maritime history columns for newspapers and boating magazines, as well as countless public presentations, Deb has stressed the importance of preserving this unique part of our nation’s heritage. In 1982, Deb partnered with Mel Fisher to lobby in Washington, D.C. against legislation H.R. 132, created to ban the recovery of artifacts by divers from historic shipwreck sites. She lives her dream as President and Curator of the non-profit “Museum of New Jersey Maritime History”, housing an extraordinary collection and offering year-round presentations to visitors from all over the world.

Cristina Zenato.

Cristina started diving in 1994, made the Bahamas home and diving her life. She lives her passion, ocean conservation. With sharks and caves part of her daily work, she uses them to address issues of ocean management, water conservation and garbage disposal. As a full cave instructor, Cristina, volunteers her time to map and explore cave systems, providing vital information to extend their protection and conservation. She helps in the creation of marine parks with an emphasis on protecting sharks in the Bahamas and around the world. Cristina believes there is great power in education and teaches local school children to dive as part of sharing her vision.

For more information about the Women Divers Hall of Fame, log on to www.wdhof.org.