Director of Marine Operations and Dive Safety Officer, Moody Gardens, Galveston, Texas
Jake Emmert is a native Texan from the Austin hill country who began his journey into diving at the age of 12. He began his scientific diving career in 2011, and since has completed more than 60 expeditions in the Gulf, Yucatan, Honduras, and French Polynesia in partnership with academic, state, and federal institutions. These partnerships have included Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Rice University, Texas A&M University, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Artificial Reef Program, United States Geological Survey, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute to directly support science and resource management efforts into submerged underground cave systems in the Yucatan Peninsula, the marine sanctuary system, utilization of artificial reefs, and most recently, coral restoration efforts down to 100 meters utilizing technical diving, hyperbaric chambers, and large contracted vessels.
Jake has a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and a Masters of Marine Resource Management from Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG). He is an alumni of the TAMUG Dive Program, an American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) Scientific Diving Instructor, NAUI Instructor Trainer, DAN Instructor Trainer, mixed gas closed circuit rebreather diver, NREMT Emergency Medical Technician Basic, and NBDHMT Diving Medical Technician.
Jake is the current Secretary of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences’ Board of Directors, has served as Secretary, Director at Large, and President of the Association of Dive Program Administrators (ADPA), member of the AAUS OSHA Working Group, has Chaired the Sanctuary Advisory Council to the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary as a Conservation seat for three terms, and has received awards of distinction from AAUS, NOAA, and NAUI. Jake frequently speaks for groups including NOAA, Association of Zoos and Aquariums, AAUS, ADPA, and also has experience speaking to elected officials on capitol hill on the value of Marine sanctuaries. Jake is a previous co-host of the 2021 AAUS Symposium, has spent 9 years as the Dive Safety Officer for Moody Gardens, and now serves as its Director of Marine Operations helping to lead diving operations, undersea medicine, and special projects. Jake also serves as the Civilian Technical Diving Coordinator for Deepwater Horizon’s Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities for coral restoration and propagation down to 100 meters in the Gulf.