PADI has more than 120 AmbassaDivers who represent the training agency but its latest appointment has special status – marine biologist, oceanographer and explorer Dr Sylvia Earle has just been named the first PADI Emeritus AmbassaDiver.
Now 89, Earle has had a career that embraces more than 100 marine expeditions; nearly 10,000 hours spent under water, including record-breaking dives; more than 200 publications and lecturing on ocean issues in 80+ countries.
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“Dr Earle embodies everything PADI stands for and we celebrate her continued commitment to inspiring future generations of divers and conservationists,” says Kristin Valette Wirth, PADI Worldwide’s chief brand & membership officer.
“For decades, she has continued to break through the glass ceiling and show what is possible when it comes to both seeking adventure and saving the ocean.
“It’s a privilege to amplify her legacy as a scuba diver and ocean advocate.”
The PADI AmbassaDiver scheme is now 10 years old, and the scuba divers it has chosen form part of a global team committed to encouraging their communities to experience, explore and protect the underwater world, says the agency
“I look forward to being a champion for PADI and using this honour to inspire respect, love and care for the ocean while providing effective guidance on safety for those who seek adventure under water,” says Earle, who is regarded as one of the first scientists to have used scuba to document marine life first-hand.
She was the first female chief scientist of the USA's National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and and would later lead the five-year Sustainable Seas Expeditions programme with NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries.
Earle recorded the deepest seabed walk while leading the first all-female team of aquanauts for the Tektite II project in 1970. In 1985 she made the deepest female solo descent by submersible to 1km, aboard the Deep Rover submersible she had co-designed with her husband Graham Hawkes.
In 1992 “Her Deepness” founded Deep Ocean Exploration & Research to develop submersibles and other subsea technologies,
She remains busy. In 2009 she founded Mission Blue, dedicated to establishing more Marine Protected Areas and designating what she calls “Hope Spots”. She also co-hosts the YouTube series Dive in With Liz and Sylvia, with her daughter Liz Taylor and special guests.
Accolades include TIME Magazine’s first Hero for the Planet award in 1998, the TED Prize in 2009, UN Champion for the Earth in 2014, and the Ken Burns Prize in 2024.
“Dr Earle’s PADI Emeritus AmbassaDiver distinction is more than a title – it will become a powerful movement that engages the global diving community, honours her legacy and inspires others to rally behind our shared vision to explore and protect the ocean,” says Wirth.
Another 12 PADI AmbassaDivers are also expected to be inducted alongside Earle later in February.
Also on Divernet: Dr Sylvia Earle partners with Tiburon Subsea, Philippines ‘centre of the centre’ becomes Hope Spot, Dr Sylvia Earle joins forces with PADI in the name of ocean conservation
