Officers & Board of Directors

President—Barbara Thompson
AN SSI Advanced Open Water Instructor and co-founder of the foundation. When not teaching and diving, Barbara is an Account Manager for subsea engineering and construction company, Acergy. Barbara leads fund raising efforts and recruiting new students.
Vice President—Sophie Wimberley
Sophie is also a co-founder and an Advanced Open Water Instructor with SSI. Sophie is a Medical Science Liaison for Schering-Plough. Sophie instructs adaptive students and plans travel.
Secretary—Nancy Walker
A PADI Open Water diver, Nancy is a full-time mom and parent of a new diver. Nancy helps with administration and lots of behind the scenes contributions.
Treasurer—Theresa Cortez
Although not a diver and never plans to be one, Theresa is fully behind the organization and works very hard in recruiting and press relations. She and her husband, Martin who is a new diver, create promotional videos for Dive Pirates and write our press releases. She is a Press Officer for CPS Energy utility in San Antonio. TX

Board Members

Lou Brown
Lou is a West Texas rancher, political advisor, critter keeper, and organist for the local monastery. She has lots of divers in the family but much prefers to sit on the beach and listen to the surf. She brings terrific experience in organization and fund raising.
Nettie Evans
Nettie has the distinction of being our first dive pirate and is a co-founder. "Naughty Nettie The Red" is a hardware store owner in Indiana, a PADI Divemaster & SSI Adaptive Dive Buddy. “I want to encourage new divers to join us without feeling physically impaired and enjoy the freedom of diving.“
Bob Evans
"Overboard" Bob Evans is a career Navy Mechanical Engineer, civilian. As a PADI Divemaster & SSI Adaptive Dive Buddy from Indiana, I hope to help spread the word of Dive Pirates to the eastern seaboard !
Martine Hamilton
Martine is a PADI Advanced Open Water diver and an enthusiastic member of our team. No job is too small or big for her and she volunteers for extra tasks whenever she has time available. She works in the insurance industry in Dallas.
Tracy Hamilton
Tracy is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer Instructor and recently became an SSI Adaptive Instructor. He is a Project Manager for EDS in Dallas and also travel coordinator for Adventure Scuba in Plano, TX. Tracy, along with his wife, Martine, has worked very hard in fund raising and contributing to our Pirates Ball.
Dave Kuhary
Dave is a Vietnam Veteran and an SSI Open Water Instructor in the Cleveland, Ohio area. When he learned about our foundation, he immediately sent donations and asked what more he could do. He owns a successful injection mold business and is an enthusiastic grandparent.
Ginnie Pulliam
Ginnie is a PADI diver and a terrific underwater photographer. As an army nurse (ret) she has seen the devastation of injuries and has been on board with Dive Pirates from the beginning. Ginnie is retired from the military, but still works in nursing in San Antonio, TX.
Chris Pulliam
Chris is a PADI Open Water Instructor and a recent SSI Adaptive Instructor along with Tracy Hamilton. As a physical therapist, Dive Pirates is a natural fit for Chris. She is working hard to recruit more students in San Antonio, TX.
Byrdie Thompson
Byrdie lives in Tulsa, OK which is not considered a diving mecca, but she stays close to our organization by giving great advice on how we raise funds and generously giving herself. She does not dive, but thinks the program is terrific. She has worked in charitable giving for 30 years in Tulsa and is a great resource for us.