UTD Seattle –
with instructors
brian wiederspan and
jeanna edgerton
teaching utd classes from open water through instructor
In late 2008 a group of 10 scuba instructors from around the world gathered in San Diego for the first UTD
Instructor Development Course. Several things happened during those two long weeks: UTD was officially born, and a disparate group of instructors found a home where they could teach the way they dived.
Two of the ten arrived from Seattle: Brian Wiederspan and Jeanna Edgerton. Experienced technical and
cave divers and instructors, Brian and Jeanna had a strong following as instructors in the Pacific Northwest, an area that was ripe for something new.
Flash forward to 2014. Brian is a UTD Instructor Trainer and Trimix Instructor, and Jeanna is a
Foundational and Tech Instructor. They’re both
incredibly active in the Seattle dive community,
running classes, projects and trips year round.
With a passion for wreck and cave diving, one of
their more recent interests has been the exploration of flooded mines. In 2009, they made multiple dives exploring a flooded copper mine. In
2012 they searched for a flooded mine in eastern
Washington. And in 2014 they explored a flooded zinc mine. See www.frogkickdiving.com for
details of these expeditions. Their true passion,
cave diving, takes them to southeastern Mexico at least once a year.
UTD Instructor Brian Wiederspan teaching
at the Seattle Aquarium.
Several years ago a partnership was formed with the Seattle Aquarium. After teaching a series of UTD
Essentials, Tech 1 and scooter classes, Brian trained Seattle Aquarium DSO Jeff Christiansen as a UTD
instructor. More classes are in the works for the Aquarium, run both by Jeff and by Brian and Jeanna.
Jeanna is an avid underwater photographer and Brian has found a passion in underwater video. See
www.frogkickdiving.com for their works.
Next up: a summer and fall filled with Essentials, Technical and Overhead classes, a trip to the Red Sea
on the MV Tala, more work at the Seattle Aquarium, another cave diving trip to Mexico and trips to North
Carolina and California.
Contact Brian at [email protected]. Contact Jeanna at [email protected]