Odyssey Expeditions' instructors and staff are a highly motivated group of young adults dedicated to the education and positive experience of the participants. Many have been with Odyssey for years, including some who started as Odyssey students. They are selected with great care, evaluating their individual areas of expertise and ability to share and work with young adults. Sailing masters hold Coast Guard licenses, SCUBA instructors are experienced in teaching all levels of PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) courses, and biologists have teaching and professional experience. We maintain a 4 to 1 student to staff ratio. All staff are trained in emergency first-aid and all programs have EMT or WFR trained emergency medical responders. Our staffs are the kind of people who work well both one-on-one and in group situations. Each has a genuine interest in the lives of young adults, strong communication abilities, and entertaining approaches. All strive for appreciation of the differences and opinions of each group member. Our core staff work year round with Odyssey developing education programs, others are college professors, live-aboard dive boat captains, biologists, photographers, students, and adventurers.
We feel the greatest single contribution to making our trips successful is our leaders. We take great care in selecting the people you'll be spending your summer with; quite simply, they are the best.
Program DirectorsJason Buchheim- Founding Program Director, Captain, Sailing Master, Master SCUBA Diver Trainer, Marine Biologist, Wilderness Medical First Responder
Jason studied marine biology at Oregon State University for his undergraduate and at University of Charleston for graduate work where he specialized in coral reef fish ecology. Jasons interests include photography, skiing, sailing, hiking, and coral reef conservation. Jason assisted in coral reef ecology research under Dr. Mark Hixon of Oregon State University and conducted his thesis research on the ecology of the coral reef fish, Acanthemblemaria spinosa - the spiny head blenny, in Roatan, Honduras. Jason has been leading educational adventures since 1992.
Jon Buchheim- Program Director, USCG licensed Captain, Sailing Master, Master SCUBA Diver Trainer, Wilderness Medical First Responder, Mechanical Engineer
Jon is a graduate of Texas Tech University where he received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Jon definitely enjoys utilitarian vehicles, and ultimate dream car is actually a VW Thing or an old Land Rover. Jon joined Odyssey Expeditions in 1996 and has led twenty awesome voyages. His interests include computers, photography, and enjoys hiking volcanoes, but tends to get a big red face.
Staff
Jason Childers- Captain
Jason grew up in the woods of Maine where he first established a love for nature. After high school, he moved to the Florida Keys and began his career in marine adventures--working as a commercial captain on parasailing, snorkeling, sailing, and eco-touring vessels. Following several years of employment in the Keys, Jason went to College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor Maine where he developed his knowledge and love for biology. In 2006, he graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Human Ecology and his foci were in evolution, animal behavior, marine biology, and life-history analysis. Over the next year, Jason conducted field research in Santiago Chile working with endemic rodents in the Andes, the Everglades National Park studying an endangered species of bird (Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow), and as a boat carpenter for Morris Yachts in Trenton, Maine. Currently, Jason is working on his Masters of Science in Education at Cornell University. His goals are to develop curriculum design and methodology for teaching in non-traditional education settings much like Odyssey Expeditions. In the future, Jason hopes to make teaching ecology on ocean based classrooms a life-long career. Needless to say, he is excited about working with Odyssey Expeditions this summer!
Andrea Sisti- Master SCUBA Diver Trainer
I am from Delray Beach, Florida and have been lucky enough to spend the past eight summers sailing throughout the Caribbean teaching SCUBA diving. I learned to dive in Hawaii when I was fourteen years old and have been fascinated with it ever since. This will be my fourth summer working for Odyssey Expeditions. When not on the water, I teach social studies to seventh and eighth graders. I enjoy spending time on boats, reading good books, traveling to places that I've never been and lazy weekends at the beach. As a general rule, I avoid going anywhere that you can't wear flip flops.
Jackie Buhl- Marine Biologist and SCUBA Instructor
A native Californian, I went to University of California, Santa Barbara where I graduated in 2003 with a degree in Zoology and a focus on marine biology. I had a fantastic job working for NOAA’s Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary in the Research program before I decided it was time to travel. I have spent most of the last couple years abroad, doing everything from volunteering with children in the Peruvian Amazon to teaching marine conservation in Kenya, traveling around South America and Africa, volunteering with orphaned monkeys and studying wild monkeys at a primate conservation center in Kenya, and having all sorts of adventures in between. When not in the ocean you will probably find me looking for monkeys in the jungles of Africa. I was a student with Odyssey almost nine years ago and this will be my second summer as a staff member in the Windwards!
William Montgomery- Marine Biologist and SCUBA Instructor
I am from Birmingham, Alabama and graduated from Auburn University with a B.S. in Marine Biology in 2009. I have had amazing opportunities to travel all over the world conducting research with professors to places such as the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, and Jordan. Most recently I worked as a Marine Science Instructor at the Newfound Harbor Marine Institute in the Florida Keys. I love to dive and I'm passionate about teaching others all I know about the world's oceans. Also, I was a student with Odyssey in 2007, traveling through St. Lucia and Martinique.
Matt Wilson-Barnard- Marine Biologist and SCUBA Instructor
Graduated from Deakin University Australia with a degree in Environmental Sciences specializing in Marine and Freshwater Science. Returned to North Carolina in 2008 to start working as a divemaster and mate leading dives on the numerous wrecks off the coast of Wrightsville Beach. After finishing a summer diving in North Carolina I moved to the Florida Keys to teach Marine Science and finish my Scuba Instructors course. When not working I spend my days surfing or spearfishing with friends. In constant search of warm weather and good diving it was only natural to end up in the British Virgin Islands.