Stuck at home during the pandemic, Max Bracey (BBA ’12) finally wrote out the business plan for the idea that had been brewing in the back of his mind for years.
“I just kind of went for it,” says Max, a scuba instructor who has taught diving all over the world. During his travels across the globe, Max was struck by what he saw—the negative impact of human activity on the ocean—as well as what he wasn’t seeing: other people of color going on dives.
Those experiences inspired his nonprofit, DiverSeaFy, which Max launched in 2020 with the goal of creating access for youth of color to scuba diving. Utilizing the marketing expertise he gained at WSB, Max recruited and sponsored an initial cohort of five divers in 2021.
Since then, he’s certified over 30 divers and has received over $100,000 in grant funding for diving instruction and continuing education.
Through both recreational and environmental clean-up dives, Max hopes to inspire a sense of duty among his students to protect natural spaces—and maybe ignite interest in conservation careers.
“The ultimate goal is to create a symbiotic relationship between our students and the ocean environment,” says Max. “The health of the ocean is essential to all life on Earth, and we need all hands on deck advocating for it.”