Meet The Owners!
Ashley and Dave
Ashley grew up in Stephenville, Texas. She was raised with horses, cows, pigs, FFA, and 4H but was always a lover of the water. She got her open water certification when she was in college as an elective course, and the instructor allowed her mom to come and get certified with her. Ashley worked in geriatric healthcare from 2003-2022 before taking the giant stride into the dive industry with CRD.
Dave was born in Hobbs, New Mexico, but made it to Belton, Texas, in the mid-70s. He got his instructor certification in 1984 at the age of 18 and instantly knew diving was his passion. He has worked in commercial, professional, and recreational diving ever since and has well over 15,000 logged dives under his belt. He also earned his 100T Captains License in 2013. He's owned 3 dive shops prior to CRD in Central Texas, but I-35 (the interstate expansion) took his shop out in 2013, and he began to focus more on diving charters and real estate.
In 2021, after 5 weeks in the French Polynesian Islands (diving almost daily), they realized building a life on the water and diving was their calling. In March of 2022, they decided to start looking to open a dive shop. Memorial Day weekend, Dave got an e-mail about CRD being for sale; sitting at home in Texas, everything made sense. They came down the first weekend in June and instantly knew this was right. Their journey with Conch Republic officially started July 1st.
We are so excited to share our love and passion for the ocean with those who want to see what's under the sea!!!
Thankful, Grateful, Blessed
Conch Republic Divers Staff
Captain, PADI & SSI Instructor
Jasen Murray
Jasen, who is highly skilled in every aspect of diving, has been diving since he was in his teens. He has over 20 years in the dive business in the upper Keys – Jasen has been with Conch Republic Divers since 2008 . Besides being a licensed boat captain, Jasen is a PADI Master Instructor. When it comes to equipment repair, there is none better. His professional attitude and diving skills make him a good pick for getting certified or as a guide who know the reefs like the back of his hand.
Captain & PADI Instructor
Greig Martin
Captain Greig retired from real life in 2016 to pursue his dreams of living and working in the Keys. He's a Master PADI Instructor with over 23 years experience and holds a 100 Ton Master Captains license. He has enjoyed working here at CRD since 2017. He enjoys meeting our divers from all over the world, as well as visiting with the many divers who return to dive with us year after year.
General Manager, Captain, SSI & PADI Instructor
Kyle Faunce
Kyle, a former professional football player, whose love has always been for the seas! Kyle has been diving for since 2010 and a Master Scuba Diver Trainer for since 2019. He teaches both PADI and SSI scuba courses and is a [self-proclaimed] legendary spearfisherman here in the Florida Keys. Kyle lives for deep, wreck dives and sharks... lots of sharks!
Captain, PADI & SSI Instructor
Mark Birk
Capt Mark, a retired Marine officer who rose up through the ranks, brings his enthusiasm and dedication to the dive industry. Mark, a licensed boat captain PADI Master SCUBA Diver Trainer, is known for his excellent customer service and safety when scuba diving the Florida Keys. Mark has been with CRD since 2016.
Conservation Care Coordinator; SDI & NAUI Instructor
Jake Sprague
Jake graduated from Coastal Carolina University in 2017 with a degree in Marine Science. He made his way to the Keys in 2022 to begin his professional dive career. He came to Conch Republic Divers originally as a Divemaster with a passion for cleaning up our oceans in every way! After getting his Instructor rating, he has helped bring a whole another level to CRD's conservation efforts!! Thanks to Jake we will be running trips with Operation: Goal Clean, Coral Restoration Foundation, and he also assisting with Supervising iCare trips as well! Jake is also a NAUI & SDI instructor! He loves teaching and spreading his love for the ocean to new divers!
PADI IDC Staff Instructor
Bob Koenigsberg
Bob has been diving since 1999 and and went pro in 2008. He is currently a PADI IDC Staff Instructor. He started exploring wrecks diving in the deep, dark and cold northeast. Bob finally traded in his drysuit for lycra and moved to the Caribbean in 2017, eventually landing in the Florida Keys. He has been with Conch Republic Divers since 2020 and loves wreck diving. He has multiple certifications in tech, wreck, advanced nitrox and decompression theory. Bob loves introducing new diver's to the underwater experience and has a passion for people but not cold water.
MSDT
Donna Fisher
Donna has over 30 years of diving experience, the last 10 of which have been spent as a PADI-certified scuba instructor. Retired from a 25-year career as an Auntie Anne's franchise owner in Delaware, she wakes up every morning grateful that she traded the snow and pretzel twisting for warm sun and lobster hunting. She loves sharing her passion for the ocean with new divers, inviting them to join her in the reefs she calls her "front yard." She has been with Conch Republic Divers as an instructor and guide since 2016.
Captain, PADI Instructor
Cheddy Garcia
Cheddy became a diving instructor in 1999 when he was living in Cuba. The you came to the Keys in 2007 and started working in Key West. After COVID he moved up to the Upper Keys. He came to CRD in November 2023 and loves to dive the wrecks. He is a certified technical diver, as well as a USCG Captain. He also speaks fluent Spanish, Italian, and French.
Captain, PADI & SSI Instructor
Matt McFarlan
Captain Matt is a Marine Corp Veteran and Police Veteran, as well as being a SSI & PADI Instructor specializing in Peak Performance Buoyancy, Self Reliant, Navigation, Rescue, Full Face, Deep, Wreck, and Spearfishing. He is also a licensed USCG 500T Master Captain. When I asked him for a bio he sent this for you to know about him as well (hehe) : he's a rock star, good on the eyes, has an amazing personality, loves life, and loves his friends even more.
Divemaster, Guide, Mate
Lee Hagan
A true native Floridian, Lee loves everything water. As a former Army Combat Medic, he utilizes his skills to protect those in and out of the water. He teaches refresher courses for inactive divers or those who wish to gain more confidence with their scuba skills, as well as discover scuba courses for those interested in an introduction to scuba diving. Lee is an air fill technician, psi visual inspector, guide, dive leader, mate, scubability dive buddy for disabled divers, and AAUS authorized scientific diver. He is passionate about working with iCARE on coral restoration/maintenance and you may even see him around town playing live music at some of our favorite local venues. Trained and certified in-house at Conch Republic Divers as a Divemaster, Lee has exceptional working knowledge of our operations and dive sites, making him one of the safest professionals to dive with in the Florida Keys.
Divemaster, Guide, Mate
Elliott Schenker
Elliott has been diving since 2011 and has always been fascinated by the marine world. He graduated from New College of Florida in 2021 with a degree in Marine Biology and got his Divemaster certification with Conch Republic Divers soon afterwards. He loves underwater photography and videography (especially targeting the small stuff), and would be happy to take pictures and videos of your diving adventures! He's also passionate about coral reef conservation and restoration, assisting as a supervisor on iCare trips.
Front desk, DM in training
Kendall Ozier
Kendall graduated from Berry College in 2022 with a bachelor’s in Biology, concentrating her studies in Wildlife, Ecology, and Conservation. She originally came to the Keys in 2023 to work with the local wildlife, and decided to complete her PADI Open Water certification in-house at Conch Republic Divers. She joined the crew in 2024, and is so excited to play a part in helping others discover and grow their passion for scuba diving! If she’s not working in the shop, she’s probably out in the water admiring the wildlife, or sharing her love for the ocean by helping out with reef restoration and debris clean-up dives!
PADI OWSI
Bailey Harding
Bailey always had a love and passion for the ocean. She graduated from Coastal Carolina University in 2020 with a Bachelor's Degree in Marine Science with a focus in physics. Once she graduated, Bailey began her scuba career and has been diving ever since. She became an instructor in May of 2022 to share this passion for diving with future divers. She started working for the Department of Environmental Protection full time and wanted to continue being a part of the industry. That is when she came to work for Conch Republic Divers on the weekends. She loves diving wrecks and sharky-reefs and even loves hunting lion fish!
SDI Instructor
Christian Owens
Christian grew up diving, fishing and surfing the waters of Florida. He is a native to Tavernier and the Florida keys and has worked on and off for Conch republic divers since 2012. He is a active technical diver both on open circuit and closed circuit rebreathers, certified equipment repair technician, a PSI Visual inspector and has been a PADI/ TDI professional since 2013.
Instructor, Guide, Mate
Sara Abbott
Sara grew up in the water, learning to free dive at an early age in one of the local lakes in South Carolina. In 2011, she moved to the Florida Keys and saw a coral reef for the first time in her life. After that, it was all over. She got certified, got a job at a local dive shop, and became an instructor in 2013. Her love of the water is unmatched, spending most of her free time diving, paddle boarding, or kiteboarding. Underwater, she enjoys shooting lionfish, lobstering, and dabbling in underwater photography.