Our Staff

Cindy Caldwell

Cindy Caldwell is president of Harry’s Dive Shop and Metairie Diving School as well as a scuba instructor, mother, and wife. Her hobbies include reading, gardening, photography, and editing underwater photos and videos. Cindy’s favorite movie is The Little Mermaid, her music choices are Country and New Age and her favorite marine creature is the Mimic Octopus. Cindy’s claim to fame is that she was a professional unicyclist in Mardi Gras Parades. When she was ten years old, Cindy wanted to be a Ballerina. Being Harry’s daughter, Cindy grew up with diving as a daily activity. If she has to pick only one, her best diving experience was swimming with hundreds of Eagle and Cownose Rays in the Galapagos Islands. The serenity of being underwater and seeing the smiling faces of new divers upon surfacing is what Cindy gets most out of diving. More…

Louis Stein

Louis Stein is the in-house regulator technician and general equipment guru at Harry’s Dive Shop. Other than working on scuba regulators, his hobbies are computer tinkering and fine dining. (This man knows good food when he eats it) His favorite movie is Blazing Saddles, his favorite music is Rock-n-Roll and the marine creature that keeps him in constant awe is the ever elusive octopus. Whether he knows it or not, Louis’ claim to local fame is that he has the neatest, most organized work-space known to mankind. When he was ten years old, his dream was to be filthy rich. (Didn’t we all?) Louis got into scuba diving as a means of getting out from behind a desk and doing something physical. His most memorable diving experience was when he completed the requirements for his Stress and Rescue Certification in the Caribbean under less than ideal conditions, 8 foot seas. Scuba diving offers Louis the degree of excitement he loves.

Chelsea Umbach

Chelsea Umbach is the official secretary at Harry’s Dive Shop and the big boss’s daughter. Her hobbies include just about anything that keeps life interesting. Her favorite movie is Princess Bride, her preferred music is Oldies and her two favorite fishes are the Moorish Idol and Rock Beauty. Chelsea got into scuba diving the natural way, she was born into it. She began her active life as a scuba diver at the tender age of four. Her acclaimed fame is that she has the largest number of serious medical issues for someone who does not appear, much less act, as though she is ill. When Chelsea was ten years old, she believed that being a taxicab driver would be the best profession ever. Her favorite diving experience is in her own backyard, the Louisiana Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms, aka the oil rigs. (Particularly the submerged catwalk on the LENA structure out of Venice.) In addition to diving, Chelsea enjoys the variety of people she meets through diving. More…

Steve Corcoran

Steve Corcoran is a scuba instructor at Harry’s Dive Shop and Metairie Diving School. His hobbies, outside of diving and teaching diving, are antique cars and street rides. Steve’s favorite movie is Grease and his favorite music is Oldie. He enjoys hunting for the shy and well disguised Seahorse on each dive. Steve is really good with repairing things and so his claim to fame is that if he cannot fix it, it really isn’t broken. When Steve was ten years old, all he could think of being was eleven years old. Steve pursued scuba certification because it seemed to present a challenge. His best diving experience was the week he spent in Roatan, away from urban craziness. What Steve gets out of diving is his quest for and attempt at total sanity.

Daryl Deroche

Daryl Deroche is a scuba instructor with Harry’s Dive Shop and Metairie Diving School. He thoroughly enjoys scuba diving but also tinkers with carpentry and other handyman jobs. Daryl’s favorite movie is The Guardian, his favorite music is Easy Listening and his most preferred marine creature is the Greater Hammerhead Shark. Daryl’s claim to fame is his innate ability to make something useful out of practically anything. Hence the reason he is referred to as Diver Mc Guyver. When Daryl was ten years old, he wanted to be a commercial fisherman. Daryl got into scuba diving when his brother-in-laws airboat sank and he watched divers descend to retrieve it. His favorite diving experience was his dive to the flight deck of the Oriskany, the world’s largest artificial reef off the Florida coast. Because Daryl is a treasure hunter by nature, coming across special underwater “finds” is what intrigues him most.

Ray Spadafora

Ray Spadafora is a scuba instructor with Harry’s Dive Shop and Metairie Diving School. He is an accomplished Organist and played regularly at his church. Ray’s favorite movie is Patton, his music preference is Oldies and his favorite marine creature is the Lobster. (You have to wonder about this.) Ray’s claim to fame is his ability to drive safely at warp speed and not get a ticket. When he was ten years old, Ray dreamed of being an accountant. Guess what? He IS an accountant. Cha Ching- success!

Ray’s older daughter got him interested in diving when she and her husband got certified. Ray’s favorite divine experience to date was his dive to the flight deck of the Oriskany, the world’s largest artificial reef off the Florida coast. What Ray gets out of diving is “getting up early” as well as relaxation and escape from corporate America.

Mel Richard

Mel Richard is a Master Diver, our “Bird Whisperer” and lunch time pal at Harry’s Dive Shop. His other hobbies include fishing and boating. Mel’s favorite movie is The Godfather parts I and II, his favorite music is Classic Rock and his favorite marine creature is the Dolphin, aka Porpoise. Mel’s claim to fame is his ability to repeat the words, phrases, and sounds the birds teach him every day. When he was ten years old, Mel wanted to be a weatherman. Though he had always intended to do it, when Mel and Cindy met and married, scuba diving was only natural. His favorite diving experience was being underwater with wild dolphins while in Tahiti. Total weightlessness is what keeps Mel interested and active in scuba diving.

Avin Le Blanc

Avin Le Blanc is an employee of Harry’s Dive Shop and is moving forward with her scuba education and experience. She and a some friends took class together but Avin is the one that remains active in the sport. She is interested in anything that keeps her physically motivated to stay in shape. When Avin was a little girl of 10, she dreamed of becoming a professional ballerina. Her favorite movie is Drop Dead Fred while her favorite musician is John Mayer. Avin’s personal claim to fame is that she can blow a gum bubble inside of a bubble inside of another bubble When underwater, Avin is forever on the lookout for her favorite marine creature, the sea turtle. To date, her best diving experience was a trip to Gulf Shores, AL where she camped out and dove with several of her new friends. What Avin gets most out of diving is the total experience of all the great people and the underwater activity of blowing bubbles (not gum) with friends and seeing things few people will ever experience.

Todd Klibert

Todd Klibert is scuba instructor with Harry’s Dive Shop, Inc and Metairie Diving School, Inc. He teaches diving so as to share his love of the underwater world and an actual part of it. Todd’s hobbies include salt water aquariums and playing bass guitar. His claim to fame is his that he went around nine and a half times on a Gravitron before tossing his groceries. When he was ten years old, Todd had aspirations of one day becoming an Ichthyologist, one who studies toxins of various marine creatures and organisms. His favorite movie is Pirates of the Caribbean and Stevie Ray Vaugh is his favorite musician. Todd’s degree is in Marine Biology with a special interest in sharks, particularly the big white ones. He wants to have a well paying job that affords him unlimited time in the water and opportunity to share his marine passion with others. Todd’s best diving experience is the Nov 9, 2008 trip where a marvelous day of warm, calm, and clear water all seemed to coincide and mesh together with good company.

JP Garnier

JP Garnier is the resident scuba Rangers Instructor. He was manager of Sharkey’s Reef, a local restaurant/night club, and diver/care taker of the sharks in the life size aquarium. Though he is the full time IT director at Ursuline Academy of New Orleans , JP’s favorite hobby is scuba diving. His favorite movies are, Jaws, Jaws 2, Jaws 3D, and every other movie with sharks as theme characters including Shark Tales. Jimmy Buffet is JP’s favorite musician due to the laid-back rhythm of island time. His profound claim to fame is that he saved the life of a 6 foot Lemon Shark by giving it mouth-to-jaws resuscitation.. To date, JP’s best diving experience was the summer of 2008 when he watched his 12 year old daughter get certified. Now they share the feeling that is unlike any other; being underwater with the sensation of flying like birds. Now get this, when JP was 10years old, he had aspirations of one day becoming an eye doctor. Even he has no idea WHY that was ever a thought but…

[Top of Page]

E-Mail | Directions | Weather

Sign Up Now