The Water Planet team is proficient in marine ecology, seamanship, psychology, physical therapy, acupuncture/acupressure, moxa therapy, sensory toning therapeutic techniques like massage, watsu and wata, graphic arts and music. Their social and linguistic skills, developed in contact with a broad spectrum of cultures and ethnic groups is certainly an asset in favor of your experience.

The facilitators of "Water Planet" do not pretend to have the knowledge and the qualifications needed to solve the ecological and existential problems we are facing, but by their combined experience and skills they will help you with your approach to understanding your bond to nature and its meaning.

Denis Richard

Denis was born in 1950 in Switzerland where he spent the first 20 years of his life. He studied Literature and Languages, then left his country on a continuous field trip for the study of various foreign cultures and ethnic groups. His travels took him first to Asia, then to Africa where he lived for four years in the bush with the tribe of the Bajunis, who taught him indigenous coral reef ecology. An avid sailor, he embarked on a Trans-Indian Ocean sailing expedition and worked as boat Captain and salvage diver in the Maldives. He ended his trip in India where he stayed at an Ashram to investigate an interest in eastern spirituality and religion.

After starting a Hotel-Dive operation in Jamaica in 1983, he came to the United States to continue his education. He became a naturalized citizen. After 3 years of commercial fishing in Alaska, Denis understood the need for a different approach to the management of our planet's resources. After an attempt to start an awareness project related to dolphins casualty in the tuna fisheries in Central America, he worked for four years as executive director and then as president of a wild dolphin project in Panama City Beach, Florida. setting up and implementing education and awareness programs in the schools of Bay and Walton County.

Since 1990 he is President of Water Planet. Inc. Together with his wife Nathalie, with Toro, Aki and with Monica, he has developed programs of self-improvement for adults and children.

Nathalie Richard

Nathalie was born and raised in Kinshasa, Republic of the Congo. She completed her higher education in Belgium where she obtained a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of Louvain. Her Masters thesis is on "Therapy with Dolphins," a critical analyses of several research works on mentally disabled children.

Natahlie is also a certified physical education teacher. She is a graduate student of "La Source - School for the Applications of Aquatic Welfare Techniques." She is continuing her education to become a "Water Babies" instructor.

Natahlie first swam with dolphins in 1992. Her experience shaped her whole career orientation. She did a 3-month internship in Panama City Beach, where she met her husband Denis Richard.

She is developing special dolphin-encounter programs involving sensory toning techniques for children and for the disabled. She is also starting an infant-swimming program. She publishes educational books for children and does most of the topside photography for Water Planet during the encounter and educational programs.

Geneviève David

Geneviève was born in Montreal, Canada in 1978. At age 9, while watching a movie about the bond of friendship between a young woman and a dolphin, she realizes that her life has to revolve around the ocean and dolphins. However, the opportunities are scarce in her parts of the world to get closer to her dream. After an attempt at literature and biology, she decides to complete a Baccalaureate in Child and Youth Care Work (Psychoéducation) at the University of Montreal and specializes in the behavior of children with PDD (Pervasive Development Disorders). It is during her third year of University that she re-discovers the dream she had as a little girl. She finds Water Planet after several months of looking for a facility offering encounters with dolphins in a manner that is compatible with her deep love and respect for animals. Genevieve signs up to a one-month session of the 2004 Water Planet Internship Program. This opportunity allows her to set the foundations of her Masters degree thesis and to design a research protocol. In the summer of 2005, she returns to Water Planet to conduct her research project: "The impact of the Water Planet Harmony Program on the adaptative behaviors of children with pervasive developmental disorders". In 2006 Genevieve functions as Internship and Research Coordinator for Water Planet. Together with the Water Planet management, she sets up and implements the new interns training program and continues her research data collection. Geneviève successfully completed her Masters Degree in June of 2007. She is presently working in a psychiatric hospital for children where she helps youths with PDD. Because of a lack of conclusive research on the impact of the interaction between children with PDD and dolphins, Geneviève has developed her own research focusing since 2004 on the children, who participate in Water Planet's Harmony Program.

Hideyuki Sato

Hide was born in Japan in 1962. He obtained a degree in economics at Josai University. At age 20 he started training in Chinese martial arts. He entered the Schools of Oriental Medical Science and Physical Therapy to study the human body mechanisms.

Hide is now licensed in physical therapy, acupuncture. Moxa therapy and massage therapy. He is also a WATSU practitioner.

In 1997, as he was working in a Hospital, Hide took a trip to Bahamas to swim with wild dolphins. He was so impressed by the experience that he started looking for a way to combine the powerful emotional impact of dolphin encounters with bodywork for more effective therapeutic results.

in 1999 he quit his job at the hospital and started his own clinic in Tokyo.

In the summer of 2000, Hide came to Florida to participate in a WATSU training/wild dolphin encounter seminar offered by Shantam Lenz He was then introduced to Water Planet's Serenity Program, which was exactly the dynamic he had been looking for. Since then, Hide flies from Tokyo every summer to participate in the Serenity Program. His deep knowledge of oriental medicine is a great asset to our program.

Steve Frame

Born 1969 West Virginia.
After working many years in the fast pace corporate world and deciding it was not for him, Steve and his wife opened the Basic Essence Learning and Healing Center on Panama City Beach. Where he studied Energetic Healing techniques and trained to be a Reiki Master (Japanese healing art). It came to Steve to combine his music with the healing techniques to create a music therapy that would facilitate people in their own healing.

During his Music Therapy session Steve takes the group on a "journey" through guided imagery. While on the journey each person in the group meets their very own power animal. We travel to anywhere the mind can imagine and participate in a drum circle, laughing meditation, directing a vocal sound choir, a sharing time about and acting out of our power animal, meditation with flute music and the "Happy Feet" song.

With music being the universal way that we can communicate, it eliminates all barriers. By combining the music and techniques, it sparks the mind's creative side, and enables you to verbally and physically express yourself in whatever way it needs to come out.

Pam Davidson

Relying on her strong background in neurological & sensory training, Pam, who is NDT trained & certified, has endeavored to approach the therapeutic needs of children by incorporating special training / techniques such as Myofascial, cranio sacral, aquatics, and sensory integration into her practice. Her life long love of the water led her to develop the most unique aquatic therapy program that is serving over 100 children through their programs in the metro Atlanta, Georgia area. EiT has several licensed therapists on staff who, along with Pam, make our program successful through our unique, holistic therapeutic approach. Incorporating land & water based therapies with our excellent staff yields success in our children and changes their functional abilities.

Pam was introduced to the special experience of swimming with dolphins and their therapeutic ways in 1995. Since that time she has pursued dolphin encounters in many locations, such as Mexico City, Cancun, Hawaii, Mississippi and Florida.

In 1998, Pam along with her husband and business partner Tim, were introduced to swimming with wild dolphins by Denis Richard of Water Planet. Pam & Tim believed immediately that adding dolphin encounters to EiT's repertoire would be a wonderful & therapeutic experience for the children, in a most unique way. The Serenity Program was born

Jeremy Vanderslice Beller

Born in 1985 in Panama City, Florida were he has spent most of his life enjoying all the advantages of the Gulf of Mexico. Jeremy is a recent graduate of Florida Keys Community College were he majored in business and diving technologies. This training has helped him to understand more of the ocean and of all of the wonders it holds. Jeremy has been involved in the Water Planet programs for about 10 years. He attended an internship with Water Planet in 2006 and has been Captain on one of the Water Planet boats since the spring of 2007.
Jeremy believes it to be the most fun and rewarding job out there and believes that every person should be able to experience the dolphins first hand like we do every season.

Aki Koike

Aki is a devoted volunteer student from Tokyo. She left Japan in 1999 after graduating from High School with the idea of exploring other countries and cultures. After two years of College in Tampa, studying child development, she relocated to Panama City, where she became an Associate of science graduate of Gulf Coast Community College with a certificate in Child Development and Early Childhood Education.

She is helping with Water Planet's therapeutic programs for disabled children in order to continue researching children's behavior. Aki has completed a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education for Special needs children at the University of South Florida. Aki taps into her traditional ancestral Asian grace to administer water shiatsu.

Her goal is to become as free as wild dolphins. She is almost constantly smiling and her smile is very contagious for the children. She would live in the water if she could. She loves the outdoors. She likes to communicate with people and animals. She swam with wild dolphins for the first time in Panama City where she met the Water Planet team Denis, Nathalie, Toro and Monica, who have become her dolphin family. Aki has taken a temporary leave from her activities with Water Planet.

Toro Ogasawara

Toro was born in Tokyo in 1968. Bachelor of Law from Chuo University, Tokyo. After a 6-years career in hotel business management, Toro took a trip to the Bahamas, Hawaii, and Florida where he met and interacted with wild dolphins. His experience was so strong and so meaningful that he decided to get out of the business world.

In 1997, Toro started working with Denis and HDI at making the experience of wild dolphin encounters available to youths groups from Japan.

Toro feels a growing need for "connectedness", kinship to people, to nature and to the world. Thanks to his influence in Japan, he is organizing seminars about the beneficial effects of wild dolphin-encounters on teenagers' social integration. He organizes and promotes motivation and self-esteem boosting programs for "at risk" teens in Tokyo and other large Japanese metropolitan areas in collaboration with high schools and private institutions. Toro also organizes educational and therapeutic programs for people with learning disabilities.

Toro is presently based in Japan where he works as a principal in a high school. He will be holding this position until he resumes his activities with Water Planet in 2008.

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