Alexandra (Alex) Patterson

If you’ve been around Deep Blue Adventures for any length of time, there’s a good chance you’ve met Alex – or spotted her running around a dive show making sure everything comes together behind the scenes!

As the daughter of Deep Blue Adventures’ founder, Cheryl, Alex quite literally grew up in the dive and travel industry. She was certified by her own mother more than 20 years ago and has been exploring the underwater world ever since, eventually working her way up to becoming a Divemaster. From a young age, travel became a part of Alex’s life, giving her the opportunity to experience destinations and cultures around the world – experiences she considers both a tremendous privilege and a source of lifelong inspiration.

Today, Alex serves as Deep Blue Adventures’ Executive Director of Marketing & Operations, where she helps keep the company moving forward both in front of and behind the scenes. She oversees social media and communications, develops newsletters and press releases, creates marketing materials, coordinates events and trade shows, supports the Deep Blue team, and takes on the countless moving pieces that help turn an idea into a successful adventure.

But her path back to Deep Blue wasn’t exactly a straight line.

Alex studied Marine Biology and Conservation Ecology at Bowling Green State University with the original dream of becoming a marine conservationist and helping protect the species and ecosystems she loved. Though Alex has been working behind the scenes for Deep Blue in a variety of capacities since the age of 15, she’s also had a whole world of job experiences as she moved around.

Her journey took her to England, where she spent more than a year volunteering and interning at a sea life sanctuary. There, she helped rehabilitate seal pups and prepare them for their return to the open ocean while also caring for resident sharks, octopus, otters, penguins, and countless fish species.

From England, Alex headed to Florida’s Panhandle, where she worked as a veterinary technician and as an educator at a local science museum. There, she was able to combine her love of science and education by helping expand the museum’s marine biology programming, including developing a lionfish habitat used to teach children about the ecological impacts of invasive species.

Eventually, life brought Alex back home to Ohio, where she put her passion for animals and nonprofits to work. She became an Animal Care Team Supervisor at her local animal shelter before transitioning into the shelter’s Marketing & Events Coordinator, combining her love of animals with her growing experience in communications, fundraising, and event planning. She later became the Exploring Executive for her local Boy Scouts of America Council, helping young people discover careers, develop skills, and find opportunities that matched their passions.

And, eventually, she found her way back to where it all began.

Alex returned to Deep Blue Adventures full-time, bringing together the many different pieces of her career – marketing, communications, operations, conservation, education, nonprofits, travel, and, of course, diving – to help grow the family business she has known and loved for over 2 decades of her life.

At the heart of everything Alex does is a desire to make a difference. She has a particular soft spot for animals and conservation, still volunteers and fosters with the animal shelter where she previously worked, and is always looking for ways to give back to the communities and causes that matter to her.

While Alex still loves getting underwater, some of her favorite parts of travel happen above the surface. She has a deep appreciation for experiencing local cultures, meeting the people who call each destination home, and seeing the world beyond the typical tourist experience. One of the things she loves most about traveling with Deep Blue is the opportunity to connect with local communities and give back – whether that means visiting schools, orphanages, villages, or conservation projects along the way.

For Alex, travel has never been just about checking another destination off a list. It’s about experiencing the world, connecting with people, protecting the places and animals we love, and creating journeys that leave a lasting impact.

And she’s pretty happy that her journey brought her home.