Naturalist/Expedition Diver

Elisabeth Handler

Elisabeth grew up in the beautiful blue and green wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. Her love of animals and nature developed from a childhood of traveling the world with her family, and adopting homeless animals, but it was after first experiencing diving as a young teenager in the South Pacific that she knew she'd discovered her passion.

Elisabeth has her Bachelor's Degrees in Marine Biology and Wildlife Care & Education from Unity College and has spent years working closely with her love of animals as a professional animal trainer, including training dolphins at Sea Life Park in Hawaii. But she has gained most of her unique experience as a rebreather/scuba diver for the US Navy in the rich waters of Puget Sound. She has volunteered with zoos and aquariums all across the country, but currently dives for Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington, where she performs dive shows and presentations for guests, embracing the opportunity to educate visitors on the local underwater ecosystem, especially when she gets to teach about marine mammals.

Elisabeth is also a hobby videographer and is never without her GoPro on diving expeditions, whether exploring coral reefs to discovering shipwrecks. When on top of the ocean, she can usually be found paddleboarding, kayaking, or working for Lindblad, bringing support and education to the underwater world she loves to call her second home.