The Women Divers Hall of Fame (WDHOF) is an international honor society. Its purpose is to honor the accomplishments of women divers, and their contributions to various fields of underwater diving.
History The WDHOF was founded in 1999 by a group of people and organizations, including the Underwater Society of America. 72 women were inducted in 2000, followed by 26 new members the next year. It was the first organization with the purpose of drawing attention to and supporting women divers.
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.
Scholarships and grants The WDHOF awards many scholarships and training grants to support women of "all ages who are pursuing careers involving diving" 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.
Members As of 2025, there are 263 members. 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 speakerPatricia Beddows 2021 Educator, hydrogeologist, expert in karst landscapes and cavesAmelia Behrens-Furniss 1895-1970 2012 Pioneering American deep sea diverWendy Benchley 2015 Marine conservation leader, governmental policy advocate, and spokesperson on shark conservationBette Bolivar 1962- 2005 US Navy Diving and Salvage Officer; commanding Officer of USS Salvor, and of the Navy Mobile Diving and Salvage UnitMary Bonnin 2001 First woman US Navy Master Diver; US Navy diving instructor; naval diving safety advocateCathy Church 1945- 2000 American marine biologist, SCUBA diver, underwater photographer and educatorEugenie Clark 1922-20152022 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 purposesLaurel B. Clark 1961-20032003Clark 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 OfficerCéline Cousteau 1972-2011Annie Crawley 1968-2010American underwater photographer, filmmaker, speaker, educator, and ocean advocate. In 2007, she founded Dive Into Your Imagination, a multimedia ocean inspiration, entertainment, and education series for youth.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 consultantDottie Frazier1922-20222000American diver and dive shop owner; the first female scuba instructor and the first female dive shop owner.Honor Frost 1917-20102019Pioneer in the field of underwater archaeology, who led Mediterranean archaeological investigations and was noted for her typology of stone anchors and skills in archaeological illustrationSzilvia Gogh 2016 Hungarian diver and stunt performer, the youngest female PADI Course DirectorLotte Hass 1928-20152000 Austrian underwater diver, model and actressHillary Hauser 1944-2000American photojournalist and environmental activist with a focus on the oceans — underwater diving adventure, politics, and conservation Mehgan Heaney-Grier 1977-2000American champion free-diverJill Heinerth 1965-2000Canadian cave diver, underwater explorer, writer, photographer and film-makerDenise Herzing2021Founder and Research Director of the Wild Dolphin ProjectLauren Hutton 1943-2007Conservationist and scuba advocateDarlene Iskra 1952-2008US Navy diving and salvage officer, first woman to command a commissioned US Navy ship, public speaker, and authorKaren Kohanowich2001 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-Arroyo2007Dení Ramírez Macías 1978-2021Mexican marine biologist ocean scientist, and conservationist, and director of Whale Shark México (Tiburon Ballena Mexico)Andrea Marshall2023marine 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 FoundationSimone Melchior-Cousteau 1919-19902017First woman scuba diver and aquanaut; wife and business partner of undersea explorer Jacques-Yves CousteauAudrey Mestre1974-20022002French world record-setting freediverZale Parry 1933-2000American pioneer scuba diver, underwater photographer and actress Penelope Powell 1904-1965 2023 Pioneering cave diver in 1935Lesley Rochat2010South African marine and shark conservationist,Diving with sharks on Top Billing SABC3 (5 July 2013) Retrieved 14 February 2015 campaigner,Swimming with Jaws: Campaigner does a bikini swim with sharks to help ban shark nets (23 August 2013) UK Daily Mirror wildlife filmmaker, underwater photographer,More Judges, Divesite Underwater Photographer Lesley Rochat (16 March 2012) Underwater Photographers environmental writer,Save our priceless oceans (10 October 2013)Cape Times Lesley Rochat author, speakerSpeakers of Note and activist.Activist entangles herself in sea net for campaign (11 May 2012)Cape Argus Lauren Manning She founded the non-profit organisation AfriOceans Conservation AllianceDee Scarr2000American environmentalist, marine naturalist, and scuba diver Claudia Serpieri2002 Italian world-record technical diver and instructorHeidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper 1963-2007American 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 submarineTanya Streeter 1973-2000British-Caymanian-American world champion freediverKathryn Sullivan 1951-2008American, first woman to dive into the Challenger Deep in the Mariana TrenchValerie Taylor 1935-2000Australian diver, underwater photographer and film makerDonna Tobias 1952-20102001United States Navy's first female deep sea diverRuth Turner 1914-20002001Pioneering U.S. marine biologist and malacologist Michele Westmorland 2011American photographer, specializing in underwater photographySusan Williams 1951-20182019American marine biologist Jill Yager2000American zoologist and cave diverCristina Zenato 1971-2011Shark protection consultant; TDI and NSS-CDS technical and full cave instructor; explorer, surveyor and mapper of cave systems; and ocean advocate
References
External links
Women Divers Hall of Fame Introduction V2, WDHOF video