Directors

Having started diving in the 70’s, Warren attended his first occupational dive course with the Canadian Navy as a Naval Reservist in 1982 in Esquimalt. Having found his passion for the work, 1983 saw him in Toronto attending the Canadian Underwater Training Centre to become a Commercial Diver. While on a Naval Reserve course in 1985, Warren was given the opportunity to enroll in the Regular Force and attended the Canadian Navy’s Clearance Diver Course at Fleet Diving Unit Pacific. After serving for over 21 years as Clearance Diver on both coasts traveling and diving the world, Warren retired from the Navy in 2006 and went to work for WorkSafeBC as a Diving and Blasting Certification Officer. He became WorkSafeBC’s representative at CSA in 2007 and participated in numerous working groups over the years. In spring of 2018 Warren was appointed subcommittee chair of the Z275.2 Occupational Safety Code for Diving Operations, and in the fall of the same year he was elected to the DCBC Board of Directors.

Kevin Gorman has been a member of the Ontario Provincial Police since 2000.  He began his Commercial Diving career in 2007 as a member of the Ontario Provincial Police Underwater Search and Recovery Unit (USRU) holding positions as a Restricted SCUBA / Surface Supplied Diver and Supervisor, Team Leader and currently holds the rank of Staff Sergeant, Unit Commander USRU.  In that time he has participated in hundreds of searches related to missing persons, evidence, and major incidents involving underwater expertise including Presidential visits, G20 and Multi National Security Exercises.  He is a graduate of the Seneca College Underwater Skills Program and participates in numerous CSA Committees related to the Z275 group of Standards.

Mike has worked in the diving industry since 1979 and has worked for most of the major oil and diving companies. He has held a series of progressively responsible positions in the diving industry for over 39 years and has progressed as a saturation diver, supervisor, and offshore project manager (superintendent). He has been responsible for daily dive/project operations on both single bell and twin bell DSV’s.  Lately he was the offshore client representative.  He has an active interest in professional development He holds a NEBOSH general certificate, IOGP client representative certificate, DSS for Offshore saturation diving, IMCA bell diving supervisor, and an IMCA offshore manager competency certificate.

Aaron is an Inshore Diving Safety Specialist, having graduated from Seneca’s UWS program in 1994.  He completed a Red Seal Millwright apprenticeship while working on the Mechanical/Dive team at the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation’s Welland Canal Operations, completing it in 2000.

He has been working on civil and offshore projects throughout his career and in 2006, was hired by Seneca College’s Underwater Skills Program where he assumed the roll as Program Coordinator in 2012.

He is engaged in the training of Occupational SCUBA, RSSDs, USSDs, DMTs, and CHCOs.  He is also the current Chair of CSA Z275.4 Standard.

During his distinguished 30-year U.S. Navy career as a Saturation (SAT) diver, John Paul was a member of the Navy’s deepest diving team, reaching a record depth of 1800 feet at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit in Panama City, Florida. He participated in several major diving and salvage projects and commanded one of the Navy’s largest diving and salvage ships, the USS Edenton (ATS-1). While in command, the USS Edenton conducted the first efforts towards salvaging pieces of the Civil War Ironclad USS Monitor. Additionally, he completed several assignments involving research, development, testing and evaluation of new diving equipment and systems. John Paul’s educational experience includes teaching navigation, ship handling and composite warfare concepts at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He is a retired Navy commander with command at sea and ashore. He has served as director of Divers Institute of Technology since 2000.

Shawn MacPhail commenced his career as a diver in 1986.  By 1992 he received his Air Diving Supervisors certificate from the NEB.  In 1994 Shawn completed his saturation diving course and second CSWIP weld inspection certificate.  He has been involved in offshore diving programs since 1991, in every aspect from Diver (Air/Saturation), Lead Diver, Air/Gas Supervisor, Offshore Construction Manager (OCM), Diving Safety Specialist (DSS) and Client Rep. Shawn is Operations Manager at Dominion Diving Ltd, writing offshore job procedures, attending Hazard/Risk assessments for major oil operators and in-house assessments. He is also responsible for the safety and review of diving/work procedures, company diving manual and for compiling and submitting several diving program applications. He currently provides independent marine consultant services through his company Blackwater Safety Consultants Services to contractors and operators worldwide.

Stu has a background as a mechanical pipe fitter and industrial systems designer, which evolved to commercial diving, completing the Seneca program in 1992. He worked as a freelance diver in various disciplines from aquaculture, seafood harvesting, to construction, which granted an opportunity with the Canadian Coast Guard in 1996. Through this tenure became instrumental in creating a recognized Rescue Diving Program within the Canadian Coast Guard which was monumental in becoming the very first Canadian Federal Organization to have a diver training program accredited by the DCBC in 2009.

Continuing to work on various inshore diving projects in the private sector, involvement with hyperbaric systems became a more prolific activity and focus.  In 2014 he was offered to assist with supporting a transportation tunnel project in British Columbia where Stu helped inject the diving skillset and disciplines to support soft ground tunneling in Canada for the very first time.

With the prospect of supporting future tunneling projects, helped an existing Canadian Diving company springboard into the market of Western Canada.  Through a few years of success, providing a suite of marine, and hyperbaric support services, Stu is now able to focus entirely on hyperbarics in support of tunneling.

Paul has over 30 years of experience in the inshore and offshore diving industry, including working on significant projects at the local, national and international levels.  Paul started his diving career as an inshore Diver in 1984. His passion for diving propelled him to work and train to become a Saturation Diver, which he worked at for several years with safety and professionalism always top of mind.  He then went on to further his training and obtained his IMCA Closed Bell Supervisor’s ticket. During the past 10 years, Paul has worked mainly overseas as a Saturation Supervisor for several large companies and operators in the oil and gas sectors.  Paul has also worked as a bridge supervisor, diving technical authority, dive system auditor, air diving superintendent, and a company diving representative.  He holds a DCBC Diving Safety Specialist (Closed Bell Diving) designation, as well as an IMCA Dive System Auditor and Assurance Certificate.  Paul’s post-secondary education includes general studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland; the Canadian Underwater Training Centre in Toronto, Canada; the Underwater Centre, Fort William – Institut National de Plongee Professionnelle in Marseille, France; Interdive Plymouth, United Kingdom; and the National Hyperbaric Centre, Aberdeen, Scotland.  Paul was born in Placentia, NL.  He currently resides in St John’s, NL.

Jean-Luc Ward, from Montreal, Quebec, has been in the diving industry for over 4 decades, beginning as an air diver in 1985 after graduating from Canadian Underwater Training Center.  During the first 13 years he worked in the civil inshore construction diving industry, he also held a position as a paramedic in Montreal, as well as eventually becoming an instructor for Canadian Working Diver’s Institute.  In 1998, Jean-Luc entered the offshore oil and gas industry as an air diver, and in 2000 decided to advance his career by continuing his training at the Underwater Centre and became a Closed Bell Diver. In 2014, Jean-Luc stepped up his education and became an IMCA Bell Diving Supervisor and subsequently a DCBC Offshore Diving Safety Specialist (Bell Diving). He primarily works in the Offshore Industry of Southeast Asia.  He is actively involved with the CSA Z275 Standards technical committee.

Tracy has been with the DCBC since 2008. Originally from NL, she moved to NS with a BA from Memorial University. Eventually she went on  to complete further training in Business Administration. Tracy’s positions within DCBC have evolved from Executive Assistant to Certification Manager, and now CEO. With ISO 9001:2015 training, she continues to manage certifications but now also manages school accreditations.  Actively involved in CSA on the national level, and IDRCF on the International level, her degree of access to the diving industry reaches far and wide. Tracy has also been instrumental in hosting the CUCE since its inaugural year in 2008, a Canadian conference that continues to move across the country. In her spare time, Tracy enjoys following her passion in health and wellness as a group fitness instructor at Goodlife Fitness.