Women Divers Hall of Fame
International honor society
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Women Divers Hall of Fame (WDHOF) is an international honor society. Its purpose is to honor the accomplishments of women divers,[3][4][5] and their contributions to various fields of underwater diving.[6][1]
AbbreviationWDHOF
LegalstatusNonprofit tax-exempt 501C(3)[1]
PurposeTo honor the accomplishments of women divers
Region served
InternationalWomen Divers Hall of Fame | |
| |
| Abbreviation | WDHOF |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Nonprofit tax-exempt 501C(3)[1] |
| Purpose | To honor the accomplishments of women divers |
Region served | International |
| Fields | Women in underwater diving |
| Members | 263 (2025) |
President | Robin Parish[2] |
Chair | Mary Connelly[2] |
Vice President | Heather Armstrong[2] |
Secretary | Dawn Kernagis[2] |
| Website | https://www.wdhof.org |
History
The WDHOF was founded in 1999 by a group of people and organizations, including the Underwater Society of America.[7][8] 72 women were inducted in 2000, followed by 26 new members the next year.[9] It was the first organization with the purpose of drawing attention to and supporting women divers.[10]
Full membership is restricted to nominees who have been found to meet the WDHOF's criteria, which include being an underwater diver and having contributed to diving in ways recognised as being significant.[11]
Scholarships and grants
The WDHOF awards many scholarships and training grants[12] to support women of "all ages who are pursuing careers involving diving"[13] including the J. Berman Memorial Grant for Sea Turtle Conservation, the Sherry Reed Memorial Undergraduate Marine Conservation Scholarship, the Laurel Clark Sea to Space Physiology Research Grant and the Amelia Behrens-Furniss Memorial Hardhat Dive Training Grant.[14][15][16]
Members
As of 2025, there are 263 members.[17] They include:
| Name | Dates | Induction | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pamela Balash-Webber | 1953-2020 | 2022 | Co-founder of the Virgin Islands Diving Association, PADI course director, and promoter of ocean conservation |
| Carole Baldwin | 2022 | Scientist, author, and educator. An authority on marine biology, especially tropical-marine fishes, conservation and sustainable seafood | |
| Sally Bauer | 2011 | Diving museum founder and historian, aquaculturist, author, and public speaker[18] | |
| Patricia Beddows | 2021 | Educator, hydrogeologist, expert in karst landscapes and caves | |
| Amelia Behrens-Furniss | 1895-1970 | 2012 | Pioneering American deep sea diver |
| Wendy Benchley | 2015 | Marine conservation leader, governmental policy advocate, and spokesperson on shark conservation[19] | |
| Bette Bolivar | 1962- | 2005 | US Navy Diving and Salvage Officer; commanding Officer of USS Salvor, and of the Navy Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit[20] |
| Mary Bonnin | 2001 | First woman US Navy Master Diver; US Navy diving instructor; naval diving safety advocate[21] | |
| Cathy Church | 1945- | 2000 | American marine biologist, SCUBA diver, underwater photographer and educator |
| Eugenie Clark | 1922-2015 | 2022 | An American ichthyologist known for both her research on shark behaviour and her study of fish in the order Tetraodontiformes; a pioneer in the field of scuba diving for research purposes |
| Laurel B. Clark | 1961-2003 | 2003 | Clark did active duty training with the Diving Medicine Department at the United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit; completed Navy undersea medical officer training at the Naval Undersea Medical Institute in Groton, Connecticut, and diving medical officer training at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center; she dove with Navy divers and Naval Special Warfare Unit Two SEALs and performed many medical evacuations from US submarines; designated as a Naval Submarine Medical Officer and Diving Medical Officer |
| Céline Cousteau | 1972- | 2011 | |
| Annie Crawley | 1968- | 2010 | American underwater photographer,[22] filmmaker, speaker, educator, and ocean advocate.[23] In 2007, she founded Dive Into Your Imagination, a multimedia ocean inspiration, entertainment, and education series for youth.[24] |
| Mandy-Rae Cruickshank | 1974- | 2009 | Canadian World champion free-diver and record-holder |
| Sylvia Earle | 1935- | 2000 | Oceanographer and marine biologist (former Chief Scientist at NOAA), author and consultant |
| Dottie Frazier | 1922-2022 | 2000 | American diver and dive shop owner; the first female scuba instructor and the first female dive shop owner.[25] |
| Honor Frost | 1917-2010 | 2019 | Pioneer in the field of underwater archaeology, who led Mediterranean archaeological investigations and was noted for her typology of stone anchors and skills in archaeological illustration |
| Szilvia Gogh | 2016[26] | Hungarian diver and stunt performer, the youngest female PADI Course Director | |
| Lotte Hass | 1928-2015 | 2000 | Austrian underwater diver, model and actress |
| Hillary Hauser | 1944- | 2000 | American photojournalist and environmental activist with a focus on the oceans — underwater diving adventure, politics, and conservation |
| Mehgan Heaney-Grier | 1977- | 2000 | American champion free-diver |
| Jill Heinerth | 1965- | 2000 | Canadian cave diver, underwater explorer, writer, photographer and film-maker |
| Denise Herzing | 2021 | Founder and Research Director of the Wild Dolphin Project[27] | |
| Lauren Hutton | 1943- | 2007 | Conservationist and scuba advocate |
| Darlene Iskra | 1952- | 2008 | US Navy diving and salvage officer, first woman to command a commissioned US Navy ship, public speaker, and author |
| Karen Kohanowich | 2001 | Retired U.S. Naval officer and ocean research and technology program manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) | |
| Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo | 2007 | ||
| Dení Ramírez Macías | 1978- | 2021 | Mexican marine biologist ocean scientist, and conservationist, and director of Whale Shark México (Tiburon Ballena Mexico)[28] |
| Andrea Marshall | 2023 | marine biologist known for wildlife conservation and research on large marine animals like manta rays & whale sharks; co-founder and a principal scientist of the Marine Megafauna Foundation | |
| Simone Melchior-Cousteau[29] | 1919-1990 | 2017 | First woman scuba diver and aquanaut; wife and business partner of undersea explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau |
| Audrey Mestre | 1974-2002 | 2002 | French world record-setting freediver |
| Zale Parry | 1933- | 2000 | American pioneer scuba diver, underwater photographer and actress |
| Penelope Powell | 1904-1965 | 2023 | Pioneering cave diver in 1935[30][31] |
| Lesley Rochat[32] | 2010 | South African marine and shark conservationist,[33] campaigner,[34] wildlife filmmaker, underwater photographer,[35][36] environmental writer,[37] author, speaker[38] and activist.[39] She founded the non-profit organisation AfriOceans Conservation Alliance | |
| Dee Scarr | 2000 | American environmentalist, marine naturalist, and scuba diver | |
| Claudia Serpieri | 2002 | Italian world-record technical diver and instructor | |
| Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper | 1963- | 2007 | American salvage officer. Projects include de-stranding the tanker Exxon Houston off the coast of Barbers Point, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, and developing the plan for the Peruvian Navy salvage of the Peruvian submarine |
| Tanya Streeter | 1973- | 2000 | British-Caymanian-American world champion freediver |
| Kathryn Sullivan | 1951- | 2008 | American, first woman to dive into the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench |
| Valerie Taylor | 1935- | 2000 | Australian diver, underwater photographer and film maker |
| Donna Tobias | 1952-2010 | 2001 | United States Navy's first female deep sea diver |
| Ruth Turner | 1914-2000 | 2001 | Pioneering U.S. marine biologist and malacologist |
| Michele Westmorland | 2011 | American photographer, specializing in underwater photography | |
| Susan Williams | 1951-2018 | 2019 | American marine biologist |
| Jill Yager[40] | 2000 | American zoologist and cave diver | |
| Cristina Zenato[41] | 1971- | 2011 | Shark protection consultant; TDI and NSS-CDS technical and full cave instructor; explorer, surveyor and mapper of cave systems; and ocean advocate |