Dr. A. Jose' Jones
Dr. A. Jose' Jones is professor emeritus of Marine and Environmental Science at the University of the District of Columbia. He is the founder of the Underwater Adventure Seekers, which was established in 1959 and is one of the oldest continuously-operating scuba diving clubs in the world. Dr. Jones also is a co-founder of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers, which was founded in 1991 in Washington, DC. Dr. Jones, a scuba diving instructor (PADI MSDT #1031) and underwater photographer /
videographer, has made over 6000 dives in more than 50 different countries.

Dr. Jones is a marine biologist who holds a Ph.D. from Georgetown University. He also studied marine biology as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Queensland in Australia. Dr. Jones has been awarded numerous dive-related awards throughout the country and abroad and currently serves on the Divers Alert Network’s Board of Directors. Dr. Jones’ vision and dedication to UAS, NABS and the dive industry has rendered him one of the most recognized and respected dive professionals in the world.

Alex Colvin UAS President
Alex Colvin has unselfishly devoted most of his dive career to helping others become better divers. His training experience started before he acquired his Instructor’s certification. Alex assisted UAS members with their annual club “checkout” as a dive assistant. “Checkout” involves a full range of dive skills from swimming and treading water to ditching and donning dive equipment and practicing stations in the pool and everything in between. The annual checkout culminates in a trip to the freezing waters of Millbrook Quarry in Haymarket, VA for what is equivalent to a recertification of the PADI open water course. Checkout training begins in the month of February and runs for 8 weeks at a local pool. The quarry sessions are over the course of several weekends in the months of May and June. It takes a lot of commitment and dedication by Alex and the other club dive assistants under his supervision. Commitment to the club’s checkout and continuous training is part of what makes UAS a strong club.

Alex has helped instill in members the need to continuously train and to make safety in the water a priority. In addition to serving as UAS Safety Officer for the last 4 years, he has been a member of the NABS Aqua Corps. Alex has proven his leadership abilities and set a high standard for all divers. He has traveled with the club to destinations from the Caribbean to Africa. He can be found at the local pool, swimming lap, after lap, after lap. He is always training. The Underwater Adventure Seekers and the National Association of Black Scuba Divers are grateful to Alex for his dedication to these organizations, their members, and to the sport of recreational diving.

Alex Colvin served as acting Recording Secretary for NABS in 1999. He was elected as President of UAS in 2003. He served for two years 2003 and 2004. Alex was appointed UAS Safety Officer in 2006 and has served in that position since that time. Alex has been a member of the NABS Aqua Corps since 1996.

Alex has truly built on his initial dive certification. He earned his PADI Open Water certification in July 1994. That was just the beginning. Below is a list of his professional certifications:

• Dive Master—June 1996
• Assistant Instructor – April 2000
• Open Water Instructor – July 2006
• Master Scuba Diver Trainer
• Emergency First Response Instructor—May 2003
• Handicapped Scuba Instructor –February 2007
• PADI I.D.C. Staff Instructor –August 2008
• DAN Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries Instructor
• DAN Automated External Defibrillator for Scuba Diving Instructors
• DAN First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries Instructor
• DAN Automated External Defibrillators for Aquatic Emergencies Instructor
• DAN Advanced Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries Instructor
• DAN Oxygen First Aid for Aquatic Emergencies Instructor Introductions


Ruthie Browning UAS Vice President

Ruthie's love of water began as a small child when she played in the spring near her grandmother's house. She was fortunate enough to grow up in a city where Black kids had access to an outdoor pool during the summer months. She was introduced to diving by Kimberly Partlow more than 10 years before she was actually certified as she was a busy mom and taught part time in the evenings at PG Community College.

In 2003 on a trip to St. Maarten, she finally got on a boat and was introduced to SCUBA. She was hooked, but pressing home and work issues delayed certification until 2006. Since then, Ruthie has been an active member of UAS and NABS and is currently working on a Divemaster certification.


Kamau Sadiki UAS Secretary

Kim Walker UAS Treasurer

Kim Walker is the Treasurer and board member of the Underwater Adventure Seekers scuba diving club since 2006. He is also a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor. He originally learned to dive in 1997 while stationed in Hawaii with the US Air Force. Upon his return to this area, he met members of the Underwater Adventure Seekers and became a more pro active diver who now has over 600 logged dives. During his tenure with UAS, Kim was named Co-Diver of the Year in 2005, Most Prolific Diver in 2006, and Most Dives in a Year in 2007 & 2009.

Kim has dived locally in Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Florida. He also dove throughout the Caribbean, Central America, Red Sea, Great Lakes, Mexico, as well as Guam, Philippines, Palau, Yap, Papua New Guinea, and Malaysia.

He is also a distinguish member of NABS Aqua Corps and a staff member of Aquatic Adventures Scuba Academy located in Alexandria, Virginia. He is also a NOAA scientific diver focusing on underwater archeology. Kim's goal is to dive in all of the world's top diving destinations at least once

Sylvester “Sly” Smith
Sylvester “Sly” Smith discovered the Underwater Adventure Seekers while visiting a local dive shop and immediately knew that he wanted to become a member. Upon completing his Open Water certification with UAS, Sly was driven to reciprocate the positive support, training, and mentoring he had received. As such, he volunteered to assist with UAS’ dive training and conditioning, served in every elected UAS office (except Treasurer), served as the editor and publisher of UAS’ newsletter, and became a UAS scuba diving instructor. Sly, a NABS lifetime member, also has been a proud member of NABS Aqua Corp - - an elite team of dive professionals who provide dive safety support at NABS events. Sly still serves as a UAS scuba diving instructor and is a UAS Executive Board member. Sly’s goal is to become renowned for his love of dive photography and videography.


Angelo Harvell new Dive Coordinator