Meet our Staff

SDI/TDI/ERDI/PFI/FRTI Instructor Trainer

Florida Dive Company (FDC) was founded in 2017 by Jim Newell.  Jim's love for scuba diving quickly turned from a recreational hobby to a passion for providing education and training for other dive enthusiasts 🤿. Jim knew that he wanted to take a different approach to scuba diving and that is how FDC was born.  His goal was to reduce class sizes and bring a much higher quality of training to his students.

Jim takes pride in his instructional methodology and adherence to course standards, all while providing a safer, fun, and memorable learning experience that will last a lifetime.

Jim and his wife Christine have three daughters who also share the love for all things sun and ocean. They have 2 rescue dogs; Cole (Great Dane) and Gizmo (Toy Yorkie), who are best friends and take up way too much room on the couch.

SDI Open Water Scuba Instructor

Mikol is a family man with a passion for almost anything related to water. With their three kids, he and his wife enjoy outdoor activities like diving, scalloping, fishing 🐟 , hiking, and hunting.

Mikol was raised on the water in Florida and he served 15 years of traveling the world with the U.S. Army (hooah!). P.S. Don’t forget to thank him for his service!

The Florida waters called him back for vacation adventures in the sunshine.

Looking for a new career, Mikol turned his love for the water into the professional world of scuba diving. As an Instructor, Mikol uses his positive attitude to keep diving fun and his military background to ensure constant attention to detail and safety every time he steps into the water.

SDI Dive Master

With a background in Automotive Engineering Technology spanning nearly 25 years, Mike Lenardon knows the value of precision, dedication, and problem-solving. However, his true passion lies in the natural world, particularly beneath the waves.

Having spent childhood summers snorkeling and swimming in Blue Spring State Park, Mike developed a deep appreciation for Florida’s underwater ecosystems early on. Since relocating to Florida, he has immersed himself in the world of diving, turning his lifelong passion into a profession.

As a Dive Master, Mike is committed to ensuring every diver has an exciting and memorable experience. He loves introducing new divers to the magic of our local ecosystem, while also encouraging experienced divers to grow their skills and confidence.

Events & Marketing Manager / SDI Rescue Diver

Mary Ann is a freediver and underwater photographer. Grew up in Orlando but her roots are from the Philippines. She is definitely an island girl at heart! You will always find her near the water, whether it’s spearfishing, kayaking with friends or fishing with family. She loves sharing her passion for the water with others, as she is a part of a community of freedivers that advocates the awareness for safe diving practices and never diving alone. Her freedive group creates meetups to spread knowledge on the buddy system to reduce the risks of dive related accidents.

Through freediving, she has grown a love for traveling. In the last two years she has gone to the Caribbean Islands and Hawaii for unforgettable experiences diving on famous shipwrecks, meeting with professional underwater photographers and diving with manta rays, whales, sea turtles and sharks. 

Did we mention, Mary Ann is a pastry chef too! (Yummmy 🎂)