Support Us in building an adaptive dive program for the SF bay area!
Narwhal Divers Adaptive Team Fundraiser
Update 1/11/24: We are back from Cozumel and eager to get to work in the Bay Area and beyond. We are still seeking donations to build our local program. Read more below.
Support Niko Kowell, and Narwhal Divers, in building a team of Adaptive Buddies to bring an Adaptive Dive Program to the SF Bay Area. What is Adaptive Diving? It means making diving accessible to people who have disabilities, from autism to quadriplegia. Niko is a trained Diveheart Instructor and Buddy, looking to bring Diveheart programming to the SF Bay Area.
Niko has assembled a team of 4 big-hearted and deeply engaged folks committed to making scuba diving accessible for all. This fundraising campaign will cover training costs for all 5 folks (4 students & 1 instructor), and a Diveheart trip to Cozumel so they can gain hands-on experience working with adaptive divers. Any additional funds will go into buying equipment and materials needed to build out programming. The estimated cost per person is $2500, hence the $15,000 goal with a $25,000 stretch goal. Why should you support our team? Being underwater can be immensely healing and equalizing. From relieving trauma and PTSD to chronic pain, diving is a great therapy, both emotionally and physically. We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to experience the underwater world. Check out Diveheart’s documentary Adapting to Dive, and their YouTube to learn more.
Niko’s group is also committed to giving back to their community and helping build future programs. In collaboration with Narwhal Divers and local organizations, each participant will commit to 18 (3-4 hours each) pool sessions within 2 years & ideally 1 trip within 2 years (be it with Narwhals Divers or another adaptive organization).
Don’t have funds to donate? We can make use of airline miles, scuba gear, and more.
Have connections for us? Reach out to us! narwhaldivers@gmail.com
Meet the Team
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SSI/NAUI Scuba Instructor & Diveheart Adaptive Instructor
Niko Kowell (he/him/his) is a proud Trans and Queer person and lifelong activist, starting with founding his high school’s GSA back in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2022, he left his non-profit job of 14 years, where he was an Associate Director of Health Equity. In those years he was responsible for managing multiple Trans and LGBTQ programs and grants, as well as organizing events, running a drop-in center, facilitating workshops, support groups, and more. After taking some time off, he decided to pursue his passion of diving full-time. He’s been diving for over 20 years, getting certified at 18, his PADI Divemaster at 27, and now he is a NAUI/SSI Instructor. He has also volunteered at the Aquarium of the Bay as a diver since 2012, which never fails to be an adventure! From catching Sharks to feeding Giant Sea Bass, the Aquarium is one of his favorite places. Narwhal Divers is his manifestation of the two things he loves the most: diving and serving the community. He wants to make the world of diving a safer place for all, especially Trans folks. Niko hopes you’ll love diving as much as he does, and is always happy to chat with folks about diving.
For more about Narwhal Divers and Niko Kowell and his vision:
Unicorns of the Sea | Behind the Business with Narwhal Divers
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Advanced Adaptive Dive Buddy Candidate
Danny Khor (they/them/theirs) is a queer trans first-and-a-half-generation immigrant who grew up in Penang, Malaysia and Tampa, Florida. They started diving in 2019 to study cold-water marine ecology in Alaska, and they are a current dive volunteer at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco. Danny is a marine scientist, and holds deep appreciation and respect for the ways in which we rely on the ocean and land for cultural, ecological, spiritual, and physical wellness.
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Advanced Adaptive Dive Buddy Candidate
Darien Satterfield (she/her/hers) is a 5th year Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Davis, studying the relationships between fish anatomy and behavior. She is a scientific diver through AAUS since 2015, and has logged more than 500 dives for research. Darien learned to dive and did her master's thesis in Southern California and since her doctoral dissertation work is in Bonaire. She has a love for both kelp forests and coral reefs. Darien is passionate about body inclusivity in diving and science, and her favorite motto is "Diving is for Every Body.”
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Advanced Adaptive Dive Buddy Candidate
Devin Miller (she/her/hers) learned how to dive in 2014 in Monterey CA and has been pretty obsessed ever since. In 2019 she became an instructor and has greatly enjoyed being a part of people's journey in discovering the ocean and through that discovering themselves! Saying that diving changed her life is a cliche but absolutely true and she can't wait to be able to assist even more people in having access to this experience. Some of her favorite sea animals are nudibranchs, soft corals, giant barrel sponges, all sharks cephalopods and also a healthy love of all seaweed.
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Advanced Adaptive Dive Buddy Candidate
Meghan Holst (she/her/hers) is a third-year PhD student at UC Davis in the Graduate Group of Ecology. Meghan has completed a MSc in behavior and physiology of octopuses with an emphasis on how these correlate with welfare. Now she is pursuing a PhD in ecology studying the broadnose sevengill shark in San Francisco Bay. Meghan is equally passionate about conservation science as she is social justice and science communication work. In 2021, Meghan co-founded the 501(c)3 non-profit, Minorities In Aquarium & Zoo Science (MIAZS), and now maintains an executive directorship pursuing the mission to advance aquarium and zoo science by diversifying the professionals and their perspectives within it. Additionally, Meghan co-hosts a science podcast, Sharkpedia, where the primary authors of elasmobranch research are interviewed to communicate their science and strategies to the general public. Meghan intends to continue conducting science, communicating science in fun and interactive ways, and actively working to make the science fields more diverse and inclusive.