Brenda J Ramer, M. Ed.
Founder & Executive Director Team ECCO, Inc.
est. 2001
Brenda received her BS in Education from the Univ. of Cincinnati and a Master's Degree in Education from Peabody College of Vanderbilt Univ. She has combined, more than 15 years of classroom teaching experience ranging from special populations to the gifted, and elementary to middle grades. She is married to Thomas F. Ramer, of Ganly & Ramer Attorneys at Law, and has 3 children: Katherine; Angela; and Michael. " I started Team ECCO as a way for education to be more. It is about thinking outside of the box and personal success. I founded this program on the belief that experience is the best teacher, and having a successful learning experience can change a life."
Level 1 Scuba Instructor, MDEA # S12190 Willis Inssurance # 30974
Member PADI Diving Society # 014762181
PADI Instructor Emergency First Aid / CPR # EFR 2430
Member DAN ( Divers Alert Network) # 1277684
DAN Instructor Emergency O2 # 13097
Diane LeDane
Director of Goods and Services
Board Member / Volunteer
Diane has been part of Team ECCO since 2006. She volunteers as co-ordinator for meals and food services for all Team ECCO programs and events. She makes feeding an average of 40 people at a time look easy! Diane is responsible forcollecting donations of food, drink, and paper goods from local distributors. When home, she works full time at Herritage Hills, part time at The Ceaders, both places support her involvement with Team ECCO and gratiously excuse her for travel programs. Diane is very thankful for the support these places show to TEAM ECCO by letting her work around travel schedules. " What these kids get out of the trips is wonderful. They learn as much about themselves as they do about what they are studying."
Jack Creson
Board Member
Dir. of Transportation
Blue Ridge Charters
Jack has been the primary driver for allTeam ECCO Sea Venture travel programs since 2006. He is a favorite among the children, who affectionately call him "Captain Jack". He does more than safely driving our travel programs from place to place - he makes extra stops for icecream, maintains the wireless microphone system, manges the visual aides, and carries us for grocery runs. Jack actively participats in events help at our Center, contributes to Board activities, and donates financial support to help Team ECCO continue quality programing for children.
Greg Mesa, P.A.
Board Member / Medical Volunteer
PADI advanced scuba
Greg Mesa is a registered and licenced physician's assistant. Greg has been the lead medical volunteer for Team ECCO since 2006 He has accompanied us on numerous travel adventures covering the medical needs of students and occasionally chaperones and other Team leaders. Greg is active as Board co-chair, opperates the Center in the absence of the director, participates in events and fundraisers, is a primary donor for internet service for student research, and is responsible for creating aquarium stands and equipment storage.
John Chamberlain
Volunteer / Executive Assistant
John is a leader among volunteers at the Team ECCO Center. His main responsibilities include marine specimen feeding, fresh food purchaces, filter maintenance, water salinity, mail preparation, general errands, and full assisance to the dirctor. He participates in all levels of Team ECCO programing, and often helps with the teaching of classes. When not involved with Team ECCO, John works for Ingles Grocery on 25 N, enjoys movies, and watches wrestling,
Nora C. Mosrie
Nora C. Mosrie Fine Art and Design Studio
Team ECCO Arist / Creative Consultant
Nora has shared her talent for art with Team ECCO participants since we began in 2001. From her, the children learn the basics of line, shape, perspective, color, view, blending, and sequence. This knowledge is then used to create beautiful works of multi-media art ranging from canvas and fabric painting to clay to papermaking to sand sculpting. Nora brings out in the children what they may not be able to express with words. HEr philosophy melts well with Team ECCO in her desire to show participants that art is a personal accomplishment, that need only be wonderful to the creator.
Allison Romstadt
Vice-chair, Board of Directors
Lead Chaperone / Volunteer
Allison has been a Team ECCO chaperone for 7 years and has done enough trips to do them in her sleep! She works with new chaperones on Team policy and directives, maintains all program lists and organizes groups, is back up to Diane LeDane, and manages event time and schedules. On the board, Allison is in charge of meeting order, assistist with Center management in the absence of the director, chairs fundraisers, and organizes volunteers. All three of the Romstadt children have participated in Team ECCO programs with her son, Grayson, being one of the elite A Team Divers, and her daughter Natalie is a possible intern for the 2011 - 2012 school year.
JESSICA PULFER
Director, Marine Lab, Key Largo, FL
BS in Marine Biology, University of West Alabama
Marine Biology Advisor to Team ECCO
Jessica has been invloved with the Team ECCO program for 3 + years. She has seen Team ECCO change and adapt to accomodate the ever growing needs of the students it serves. As Director of Marine Lab, Jessica's duties include training and monitoring staff, curriculum development, and supervising everyday MarineLab operations, in addition to her previously held responsibilities of Dive Program supervisor and senior captain. Jessica began her marine science career soon after graduating by working as a Fisheries Observer aboard various commercial fishing vessels in the Bering Sea and Gulf and Alaska. She collected biological data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration & the National Marine Fisheries Service, and has previous experience as a marine science instructor from Seacamp on Big Pine Key and as an environmental educator at the Wahsega 4-H Center in Dahlonega, GA. She is a certified Divemaster and Coast Guard licensed Captain.
Pat Stafford
TEAM reef guide and instructor
Scuba instructor PADI
Pat is the official TEAM ECCO Divers guide to the Florida Reefs and the Pennekamp Staate Park and National Marine Sanctuary. Pat has taken our divers on several reefs, both natural and artificial, and is there to help educatte and brief us for reef life observations, especially the sharks! Pat is currently working with Team ECCO to secure dive training for Rescue and Diver Master for several of our dive team members.
TEAM ECCO Divers: A TEAM members
These divers have varied experience in both fresh and salt water, from shallow reefs to 100 feet down in caverns. In 2007, they were awarded letters of merrit from local and state officials for their training during a 24 hour saturation dive. These 10 students also spent time diving off of Grand Bahama Island in the summer of 2008, where they did comparison/contrast of Bahamian reef systems with those found in the southern US National Marine Sanctuary. They observed dolphins trained to travel between captivity and open water, and a controlled shark feed done with UNEXSO divers. In 2009 they returned to the Fl Keys to do comaparison dives on natural and artificial reef sites, and accually served as resonders for a marine accident that sent a diver over a wall and lodged him between a boat and a sea wall. 2010 was a gap year for diving due to a death in the director's family. In March of 2011 3 of our divers traveled back to Grand Bahamas Island to dive again with UNEXSO, and enjoyed a private dinner with Cristina Zenato, and were guests at her presentation of SHARK CULTURE. Many of these divers also volunteer to help with snorkel safety, SASY, and new diver classes. They have also worked with programs for both Boy and Girl Scout troops and participated in youth fund raisers.
Several divers, who are not pictures, have moved on and are attending college and dive as they can as recreational divers. Team ECCO is proud of each of them and wishes them well.
still active: 
Morgan Walker
PADI Cert. Advanced Open Water
Registered Life Guard
attending UNC Wilmington
Grayson Romstadt
PADI Cert. Advanced Open Water
Student Assist: Discover Scuba
accepted UNC Wilmington
Michael Ramer
PADI Cert. Advanced Open Water
Student Assist: SASY, Snorkel Safety, Discover Scuba, Open Water Cert.
Completed special training with Cristina Zenato of UNEXSO in shark feeding & tonic immobility behavior 2/4-8/09, additional training March 2011, offered shark feeder internship for summer 2011
Team ECCO Divers : New-Bees
These divers have been certified either through the Team ECCO program with Bermuda Triangle Dive Shop or an independent dive shop and have completed their PADI Open Water or Jr. Open Water Certification. They have limitted dive experience with Team ECCO dive adventures.
ACTIVE: logged dive within 12 months
Seth Alexander Brent Coburn Tuesday Grace Sinclair
Aqua Guides
This group of student interns have completed special training at theTeam ECCO Center. They log in a minimum of 4 hours each month of volunteer time, assist with the teaching of 3 classes and lead 1 class each year, help with daily aquarium needs, create learning posters for displays, assist with special programs and fundraisers, and serve as greeters and docents for visitors.
The Aqua Guide program is sponsored in part by:
Dr John Strickland, DDS; Jack Romer/Economy Drug Store; Jeff Miller/Miller's Laundry;
