Gregg Tatum - Project Director
Gregg began his diving career in Oregon in 1978 and has been a certified cave diver since 2004. As a professional biologist at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, he manages programs related to aquifer protection. In addition to his work with the JWEP, he also serves on the Board of Directors of the Goodenough Springs Exploration Project. He has previously held the position of National Association of Cave Divers Regional Safety Officer and has participated in scientific diving expeditions under the auspices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary program, and the Gulf Brine Seep Project.

David Moore - Assistant Director / Survey / Cartography
David started cave diving in 2004 in Missouri and Florida. He became a member of the Ozark Cave Diving Alliance in 2007 which conducts exploration and research into the springs of the Ozarks. A member of the Goodenough Springs Exploration Project, International Underwater Cave Rescue and Recovery (IUCRR), and the UT Grotto, David is also involved in many caving and sump diving expeditions in Texas including Honey Creek Cave, Perry Water Cave, Spring Creek Cave, and Cave Without a Name.

Jeffery Chance - Founding Member / Survey / Photography

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Jeff became hooked on diving in 1992 when he took his open water scuba class. Over the next two years he worked his way through advanced training and logged more than 150 dives. In 1994, he became an Advanced Open Water Instructor and has certified many scuba divers since. Jeff became Full Cave certified (NSS-CDS) in 1998 and began diving caves in Florida and Mexico. He received the NSS-CDS Abe Davis Safety Award in 2011 and holds DPV and Expedition Trimix certifications.

Ward Beecher - Survey

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Ward started diving in 1982 and obtained his cave diving and Trimix certifications in 1994 and 1999, respectively.  He has extensive experience in caves in both Florida and Mexico and has been a participant with the JWEP since 2005.

Laura Battle - Safety Officer / Support 

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Laura is the newest addition to the JWEP roster. She started cave diving in 2013 and completed over two hundred cave dives in Mexico and Florida over the summers of 2013 and 2014. She is a member of the Ozark Cave Diving Alliance and has interned at The Dive Outpost, a technical dive shop in Florida. She is also a member of the UT Grotto and is involved in sump diving activities with the Honey Creek Cave exploration project.


Ryan DeSpain - Support / Photography
Ryan is an experienced wreck diver and prize-winning underwater photographer. He has been cave diving since 2005 and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Goodenough Springs Exploration Project. He has received the National Association of Cave Divers’ Wakulla Award and completed Advanced Trimix certification in 2010.

Chuck Noe - Technical Advisor

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Chuck began diving in 1980, earned his Full Cave certification in 1996, and has served as the director of the Goodenough Springs Exploration Project since its inception in 2003. He was also a member of the Woodville Karst Plain Project in the 1990s, the director of the Gulf Brine Seep Project in 2001, and currently serves as a regional coordinator of the International Underwater Cave Rescue and Recovery organization. As a previous co-director of the JWEP, Chuck participated in exploration and surveying efforts at Jacob’s Well and currently assists the project with logistics involving the deployment of scientific instrumentation and specialized diving equipment.