Family Friendly Attractions & Events
Nestled amidst breathtaking natural surroundings, Moody Gardens offers a perfect blend of relaxation and excitement for guests of all ages for work or play. From tropical rainforests to the oceans of the world, a wide range of attractions, educational activities, kid's events, dining options, and exciting entertainment await. This island resort uniquely accommodates large conferences, weddings and social events as well as being the romantic escape and family destination where special memories are created.
Meet The Team
Ocean Health & Dive Medicine
Scientists. Divers. Medical Professionals. Educators.
Jake Emmert
Jake Austin Emmert was born in Austin, Texas and began his lifelong journey into diving at the age of 12. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and a Masters of Marine Resource Management from Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG), is an Emergency Medical Technician and diver medic, and serves in various capacities leading and supporting diving operations for the Moody Gardens Dive Program. Jake is a renowned diving instructor and accomplished diver, holding various leadership credentials from organizations like the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) and the National Association of Underwater Instructors, as well as assembling diving operations to coordinate and conduct marine restoration efforts as far as 300 feet below the water's surface.
Though his primary efforts are focused on the implementation and execution of Moody Gardens’ diving operations, undersea medicine program, and special projects as its first Director of Marine Operations, Jake also supports the larger institutional diving program community across the United States through service. He is the current Secretary of the AAUS Board of Directors, has served as the President and Secretary of the Association of Dive Program Administrators (ADPA) Board of Directors, and has served in multiple capacities supporting federal advisory councils, federal regulatory agencies, and supporting not-for-profit efforts on capitol hill to protect and inspire support of our nation's waters and the treasures they hold.
Justin K. Wilson, M.S.
Justin K. Wilson is a marine biologist, diver, educator, and U.S. Army veteran whose career has taken him from military firefighting and emergency response to sea turtle conservation and underwater operations along the Gulf Coast.
A graduate of Texas A&M University at Galveston, Wilson holds a B.S. and M.S. in Marine Biology, with graduate research focused on sea turtle nesting temperatures along the upper Texas coast. Before entering the marine science field, he served nine years in the U.S. Army as a firefighter, attaining the rank of Sergeant and building a strong foundation in leadership, teamwork, and emergency response.
From 2019 to 2026, Wilson worked with Kemp’s ridley, green, and loggerhead sea turtles with Texas A&M Galveston and the Sea Turtle Division at Padre Island National Seashore. His work included nesting and stranding response, tagging, morphometric and biological sampling, motorboat and airboat operations, and leading field teams in remote coastal environments. He also trained hundreds of volunteers and employees in wildlife protocols, vehicle operation, CPR, and first aid.
Wilson’s connection to the underwater world extends into professional and scientific diving. A certified Divemaster and AAUS scientific diver, his experience includes research and training dives, underwater research, and safety-focused dive operations. Across his work in marine science, conservation, education, and emergency response, he brings together a lifelong connection to the Gulf Coast with a passion for protecting the people, wildlife, and environments that depend on it.
Dr. Leisa Deutsch
CDR Leisa Marie Rossello Deutsch, MD, MPH, FACEP, DipABLM is an emergency and undersea medicine physician, U.S. Navy Commander, educator, and Medical Director of the Moody Gardens Diver and Undersea Medicine Program. Her career has taken her from Navy medicine and operational diving environments to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, academic medicine, emergency departments, and the waters of the Gulf of Mexico—all connected by a fascination with human resilience in extraordinary environments.
A graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine with a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from Emory University, Dr. Deutsch completed her residency in Emergency Medicine at William Beaumont Hospital, where she served as Chief Resident. Her Navy career led her to the Naval Undersea Medical Institute and ultimately to serve as Department Head of Hyperbaric Medicine at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute. She later served as a flight surgeon and as Medical Director of NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, supporting the health and safety of astronauts and divers training for human spaceflight.
Today, Dr. Deutsch brings those worlds together at Moody Gardens, where she is helping build an undersea and hyperbaric medicine program with a vision extending far beyond the walls of a chamber. The program is being developed as a center for diver safety, education and training, hyperbaric medicine, human performance, research, and collaboration—with the Gulf of Mexico itself at the heart of the mission.
She believes that caring for people and caring for the environments in which they live, work, explore, and push the boundaries of human potential are inseparable. Through partnerships spanning medicine, science, the military, diving, athletics, education, and marine conservation, Dr. Deutsch and the Moody Gardens team envision a program capable of improving lives while contributing to the health and understanding of the Gulf.
For Dr. Deutsch, hyperbaric medicine is not simply about treating illness or injury. It is about creating resilience—of people, communities, and the ecosystems that connect us.
At Moody Gardens, that means building something with the potential to change lives above and below the surface.
Dr. Kristi Ray
Dr. Kristi Ray, D.O., M.P.H., is an aerospace medicine and undersea and hyperbaric medicine physician, making her one of a small number of physicians in the country trained to bridge the physiology of deep space and deep sea. She currently serves as Deputy Medical Director of the Moody Gardens Diver and Undersea Medicine Program, a contract NASA Flight Surgeon, and one of the Medical Directors of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at Johnson Space Center, where she oversees the medical readiness of more than 50 commercial divers and leads clinical operations across more than 10,000 dives and 400 suited spacewalk simulations each year.
Dr. Ray's clinical and academic roots run deep along the Gulf Coast. As faculty at LSU and UTMB Galveston, she serves as a referral physician for decompression illness for divers from offshore oil and gas operations spanning Texas to Florida, directing hyperbaric oxygen treatment and emergency medicine care. Her research centers on decompression physiology and the treatment of serious decompression sickness, including a landmark study on the use of deep treatment tables — work that informs both commercial dive programs and her advocacy for accessible hyperbaric care in coastal communities.
Beyond the clinic and the chamber, Dr. Ray is a passionate advocate for the health of divers and the oceans they explore. She believes diver wellness and ocean stewardship are inseparable: a diver's safety depends on a healthy underwater environment, and a healthy reef depends on divers who are educated and equipped to protect it. That conviction has led her to champion coral reef restoration alongside her clinical work, pairing hands-on conservation with diver education and preventive health — ensuring both the people and the ecosystems of our oceans are cared for together.
Greg Barefoot
Dedicated Physician Assistant with 20+ years of experience in multiple medical settings including urban and critical access emergency departments as well as a busy undersea and hyperbaric medicine clinic. Recognized for providing diving medical care in austere settings to public safety dive teams as well as technical diving communities. Devoted to providing high-quality care to injured divers and raising the bar on dive safety and diving medicine education.
Katerin Luzon
Katerin G. Luzon is a Dive Officer at Moody Gardens with a background in scientific diving. She completed her marine biology studies in Peru, specializing in kelp forest habitat characterization and underwater photography. An active scuba instructor, Katerin is passionate about diving, marine conservation, and community engagement.
Over the past six years, Katerin has built meaningful connections through diving, beginning with Peruvian artisanal fishing communities and continuing today through the Moody Gardens Volunteer Diver Program. She brings the same enthusiasm, warmth, and collaborative spirit to her work at Moody Gardens, fostering a welcoming environment where divers can connect, contribute, and share their passion for the underwater world.
Janavi Mahimtura Folmsbee
Born and raised in Mumbai, India, contemporary artist Janavi Mahimtura Folmsbee is internationally recognized for her interdisciplinary, research-based artistic practice informed by firsthand data and experiences collected in the ocean and dedicated to marine conservation. Working across painting, sculpture, ceramics, installation, photography, lenticular media, and public art, she creates immersive environments that celebrate the beauty and complexity of the natural world.
Mahimtura Folmsbee received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009. Born overlooking the Arabian Sea and now based in Houston, Texas, her research-based artistic practice has been shaped by nearly two decades of scuba diving and extensive field research around the world.
Her work has been presented in solo museum exhibitions, museums, galleries, public art commissions, and international art fairs throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, including exhibitions in Mumbai, Beijing, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dubai. Her work has also extended into collaborations and commissioned projects for Skechers, the Houston Chevron Marathon, Super Bowl LI, and FIFA World Cup initiatives, demonstrating the ability of her practice to engage audiences across both cultural and public platforms.
Her public art practice includes multiple permanent commissions for Houston Airports, including The Aquarius Art Tunnel, a 240-foot immersive installation in the permanent collection of the City of Houston, and Water Wisps: Sanctuary Bubbles, a 321-foot architectural intervention at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Her solo museum exhibition, MAGIC WATER, at Rockport Center for the Arts was endorsed as an official activity of the United Nations Ocean Decade and further expanded her exploration of biodiversity, immersive installation, and public engagement.
Mahimtura Folmsbee’s work has been featured in publications including Harper’s Bazaar Malaysia, The Times of India, The Houston Chronicle, Houston Modern Luxury, PaperCity, Texas Arts & Culture, CODAworx, and Scuba News, among others, and on ABC News, KPRC, CW39, and Telemundo.
Her work has received numerous honors, including the National Mural Award, the CODAworx People’s Choice Award, recognition as a CODAworx Creative Revolutionary, and the PIA MidAmerica GraphEx Gold Award. She has collaborated with organizations including NOAA’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, Rice University’s Correa Lab, Moody Gardens, the Coral Restoration Foundation, and other scientific and conservation partners, contributing artwork to scientific publications and interdisciplinary initiatives that bridge art, science, and environmental stewardship.
Mahimtura Folmsbee previously served as a voting member of NOAA’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council and currently serves on the Director’s Council for FotoFest. She currently serves as Artist in Residence for Coastal Preservation and Restoration (CPR Texas), where she collaborates with scientists, conservationists, and local communities to support the organization’s mission of restoring 90% of Texas’ oyster reefs.
There's a Place for You Beneath the Surface
Our oceans and the people who explore them depend on the choices we make today. The Moody Gardens Ocean Health & Dive Medicine Program thrives on the passion, expertise, and dedication of people just like you. Whether your interest lies in marine conservation, hyperbaric medicine, local volunteer opportunities, or scientific research, there is a distinct place for you in this growing community.
Volunteer Your Time
Help us share our mission with visitors and support daily conservation activities.
Learn More →Apply for Internships
Gain real-world experience working alongside our marine and medical teams.
Apply Now →Build a Partnership
Connect your business or organization to our regional ocean health network.
Partner With Us →Contact the Ocean Health & Dive Medicine Team
Interested in partnering with the program, volunteering or an internship? Send us a note and we will follow up.
