Meet Our Team
Cheryl Patterson
CEO & FounderCheryl was born and raised in London, England, and has been an avid traveler since visiting Venice at the age of 8. During her school years, she traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Mediterranean and her early passion for travel romanced her into earning a degree in Travel & Tourism with distinctions at age 18. Cheryl’s career has taken her from travel agencies and tour operators in the UK to American Airlines in the US.
It was while in Tucson, Arizona, that she first gave scuba a try, and in a breath, her second passion was born. She went on to earn her instructor certificate in order to share her love for diving with others. Cheryl recognized a large gap in these industries when it came to providing full customer service and an honest and quality product to scuba enthusiasts.
Between travel and diving, it seemed only natural to combine her two passions into one, and thus, Deep Blue Adventures, Cheryl’s highly successful dive travel company, was created. Cheryl’s deep love for the sport fuels her goal to provide the scuba community properly and completely, and at the same time show that above and below and everywhere in between, there is an untold story to share with the planet.
Email: Cheryl@deepblueadventures.com
Skype: CherylatDeepBlue
Phone Ext: 101
Kari Brown
Travel Specialist / Office ManagerAbout the time Deep Blue Adventures was being created, Kari was taking her first plunges into the cool waters of southern Michigan, a giant stride not only into diving but a first step towards Deep Blue Adventures. While we met Kari shortly thereafter, we were impressed when she finished her PADI Instructor’s certificate a few years later, and attended Michigan State University and Eastern Michigan University, majoring in Psychology and Biology.
As our business grew, we needed to fill a very demanding role with someone up to the task, someone highly motivated, diligent, and able to rise up to any challenge and we are so happy that she joined our team in 2018.
Kari’s role began managing our back office and also providing monumental support not just to the boss but for the whole crew at large. She’s been engaged in nearly every facet of our business, from new program development and deployments, customer invoicing, and social media through to updating our website content and trade show specials. Through it all, her main role has been to keep us running smoothly, a very large undertaking yet one she is stellar at.
Kari’s transition to travel specialist for Deep Blue grows as she builds her global travel resume. At this point, she’s had numerous dives domestically in Michigan’s Great Lakes and icy rivers, Ohio’s quarries, the Carolina’s shipwrecks and the Florida Keys, and abroad in the Bahamas, Dominica, Roatan, Curacao, Statia, Saba, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Croix, and Cozumel.
Email: Kari@deepblueadventures.com
Phone Ext. 111
Justine Venrick
Travel SpecialistJustine grew up in the beautiful mountainous state of Colorado. Once she was first introduced to the ocean however, that’s when her true passion started to blossom.
At the age of 10 years old, she took her first scuba class and fell in love, crazed to see more. As she grew older, she developed a strong passion for seeing the world, experiencing different cultures, and take on any adventurous experience she could find. Trying to expand her knowledge in all the ways she could, she began traveling at a young age and submerged herself in environments that lead to incredible learning opportunities.
Justine has spent time volunteering at her local aquarium for over 5 years. She also tends to travel to as many destinations as she can and has pursued a degree in marine ecology and shark conservation at Colorado State University. She is dedicated and eager to continue visiting all the incredible places the world has to offer. At last, she found her way to Deep Blue Adventures, sharing her love and knowledge for traveling with her clients. Justine is a travel specialist who will always strive to take care of her clients and show them the world!
Email: Justine@deepblueadventures.com
Phone Ext. 222
Alexandra “Alex” Patterson
Marketing ExecutiveAlexandra “Alex” Patterson is our team’s Marketing Executive who oversees our social media, handles press releases, creates newsletters, is in charge of marketing materials, and beyond!
If you’re familiar with Deep Blue Adventures, you’ve likely met Alex or have seen her running around the dive shows. As Cheryl and John’s daughter, Alex has grown up in the dive industry and been a proud diver herself for more than 20 years after being certified by her own mother. In time, Alex has worked her way up to becoming a Dive Master. Having a mother with a passion for travel has given her the opportunity to see the world since a young age – a truly humbling experience.
Alex studied Marine Biology and Conservation Ecology at Bowling Green State University with the intention of going off and saving species of the underwater world! 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. She has spent over a year interning/volunteering with a Sea Life Sanctuary in England where she was able to rehabilitate seal pups and send them back to the open ocean, along with caring for the resident sharks, octopus, otters, penguins, and fish species of the aquarium. Once her time in the UK was up, Alex moved to the panhandle of Florida and took on the role of vet tech at a veterinary clinic and an educator at a local science museum where she was able to build their marine biology focus, including a habitat for Lionfish where they could educate children about the detrimental impacts of the species. Life once again brought her home to Ohio, where she found love and re-grew her roots. As a woman with a passion for nonprofits, Alex became the animal care team supervisor with her local animal shelter and soon transitioned into being their Marketing and Events Coordinator. In time, Alex became the Exploring Executive for her local Boy Scouts of America Council to help youth find career fields that they were passionate about. Ironically, Alex had one final career change – coming on the Deep Blue team as a full time Marketing Exec to work alongside her family.
Alex has a passion for helping others – of all species, big and small. She still fosters for the animal shelter she worked for and finds ways to feed her need to make a difference. Alex and her fiancé, Lafe, often find ways to incorporate more animals to their ever-growing furry family. Seeing the world has been important to Alex and the love of travel is one she hopes to instill in others. While Alex still dives, she thoroughly enjoys the culture aspect of travel and loves taking part in the opportunities Cheryl creates on each trip to visit local orphanages, schools, or villages, to give back.
Email: Alex@deepblueadventures.com
Phone Ext. 888
Cindy Knutson
Travel SpecialistHaving raised 2 boys to near adulthood, Cindy seized the opportunity to earn her SCUBA certification when she re connected with and married a classmate from Jr. High school. Scott, an avid diver and underwater videographer helped coach Cindy though a nearly vertical dive profile.
Certified in the frigid and murky waters off the California coast, followed almost immediately by a 10 day live aboard experience (arranged by Terri Huber) to Palau! Spoiled rotten from then on, Cindy & Scott have acted as group leaders throughout the Caribbean and Southern Pacific for over a decade.
After years of arranging travel through Deep Blue Adventures, Cindy became one of our very own travel specialists and we are excited to have her onboard. She is incredibly detail orientated and loves enlightening her friends and clients to the wonders that live below and above our earth’s oceans. Having been a member of her local snow ski club for the same amount of time and serving on its board in the capacity of Director of Winter Activities, Cindy brings a wealth of knowledge to the Deep Blue team. Above or below Cindy certainly goes above and beyond to ensure the best possible experience for her clients.
Email: Cindy@deepblueadventures.com
Phone Ext: 103