Meet our staff
What Makes Us Different
Cave Country Dive Shop isn’t just another dive shop – we are a family-owned and operated team united by a deep love for underwater exploration. Our passion drives us to provide an unparalleled diving experience, whether you’re a beginner discovering the wonders of the ocean or a seasoned technical diver seeking new challenges.
Our Staff
Jamie Mitchell
Shop Manager - Cave Country Dive Shop
Jamie discovered diving in the kelp forests of Southern California and was hooked from the first time underwater. She turned that hobby into a passion that inspired her to travel all over the world diving, push her limits learning and growing as a technical and cave diver, and helping build a community of divers at home. She now brings that passion and desire to community build to Cave Country where she hopes you will come by, have a coffee, and get to know the amazing team at the shop and the incredible diving the area has to offer!
Shane Latham
Assistant Store Manager & B2B E-Commerce Manager
Water covers 71% of the Earth, and Shane Latham is on a mission to explore every single inch of it. As a seasoned PADI, SDI, and TDI Dive Instructor—and a proud SDI Ambassador—Shane doesn’t let anything hold him back. His obsession with ocean exploration and marine conservation started early, sparking a global journey that eventually took him to Southeast Asia. For five years, Shane lived the dream in Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, where he owned and operated his own dive shop.
With over 32 teachable specialties under his belt—including Scubility and Adaptive Techniques—Shane is proof that the ocean belongs to everyone. Whether he’s diving on a closed-circuit rebreather or pushing boundaries as a TDI Extended Range Instructor, Shane is always looking for the next horizon. Next up? Conquering the Instructor Trainer Workshop to become an SDI/TDI Instructor Trainer. For Shane, diving isn’t just a career; it’s about breaking barriers, modeling a deep love for our oceans, and showing the world that underwater, the possibilities are entirely limitless.
Joseph Bosquez
Director of Scientific Diving Operations & Sales
Joseph Bosquez is the Director of Scientific Diving Operations & Sales at Paragon Dive Group. He has built his career around technical diving, scientific diving, cave exploration, and closed-circuit rebreather training.
Joseph earned a BS in Marine Biology and a Masters in Marine Resource from Texas A&M University. His background includes work with NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, NOAA-related scientific diving operations, Texas A&M, Karst Underwater Research, Divesoft, and advanced dive training programs throughout the United States and internationally.
He is an active technical diving instructor trainer with experience teaching cave, decompression, DPV, mixed gas, and CCR programs. Joseph is also the founder of Bosquez Technical Diving and Scientific Diving Group, and was accepted for membership in The Explorers Club for his work in scientific diving, cave exploration, and underwater field operations.
At Paragon, Joseph focuses on scientific diving operations, technical training, expedition support, and helping divers develop the judgment and capability needed for complex underwater environments.
Justin Judd
Technical Training Director - B2B Sales Manager
Justin began diving at 10 years old in Southern California and was instantly addicted. Growing up he loved discovering the history behind the wrecks that he was diving and gave him the idea to pursue diving as a full-time career. As he grew up, he realized all the amazing places he could visit and the people he would get to meet. He went full on with his idea and moved to North Florida in 2021 to work for Dive Rite. His current favorite dive is the HMHS Britannic. Justin is an active rebreather instructor trainer and full cave and cave ccr instructor for TDI and the NSS-CDS
Don Six
Retail Sales Associate & Fill Manager
I’m Don Six and I’m addicted to diving. I first got certified in 1995, moved to a semi-closed rebreather in 2003, and then to a fully-closed rebreather in 2007. As soon as I had the required 50 hours on my rebreather, I traveled from South Florida to Cave Country in order to take the cave diving course. I had no intention of becoming a cave diver, who in their right mind would, since wet rocks seemed pretty boring to me. I was merely taking the class because I was told it was the most difficult there was and I took that as a challenge. Guess I am not in my right mind, since I am now living in Cave Country so I can cave dive every day. I have thousands of dives and still enjoy it as much as I ever have.
Lauren Lasser
Retail Sales Associate & Lead Guide
Lauren is a dive professional and underwater photographer based in High Springs, Florida. A former marine biologist, she traded fish for wet rocks and now spends her time exploring and guiding in North Florida’s springs and caves. Most of her diving takes place in overhead environments—from caves to deep reefs and wrecks around the world—places that demand skill, patience, and above all, a deep respect for the dive. She enjoys helping divers refine their skills, gain confidence underwater, and feel at home in new environments while capturing memorable moments through photography.
Greg Nixon
Retail Sales Associate & Gas Monkey
Greg is the newest member to the Cave County Dive Shop. An avid diver since 2014, he was quickly attracted to tech diving. Spending most of his time between Lake Mead and Southern California, he quickly advanced in his training and found his passion. In 2021, Greg came to High Springs, FL for the first time and completed his Full Cave CCR Training. Since then, he has completed Cave DPV, Dive Master and Technical Dive Master, while at the same time racking up his Cave Diving experience. Recently Greg retired from the Military and has moved to the High Springs area and is excited to continue his journey.
Sam Johnson
Retail Sales Associate
While studying biochemistry at the University of Florida, Sam embraced the troglodyte lifestyle and began caving with the Gainesville-based Florida Speleological Society in 2020. Through the grotto, she met cave divers and quickly became fascinated with Florida’s springs. For dry cavers, a sumped-out passage marks the end of a trip—but Sam wanted exploration to continue beyond that point. In 2024, she earned her Open Water certification in our own local springs and has been diving nonstop ever since. After completing cave diving training in early 2026, she is now preparing for sump diving and exploration in the area where Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia meet, the most cave-dense region in the United States. At home, she volunteers in cave conservation efforts and is a strong advocate for protecting Florida’s springs
Tegan Tucker
Retail Sales & E-Commerce Specialist
Tegan has always enjoyed the water. From the crystal clear Florida springs to beautiful rivers and creeks in Appalachia, he would spend a majority of his time freediving in various different locations. It’s not much of a surprise that he took the step to start scuba diving and learn the service side of diving, because you never work a day in your life if you love what you do! He is always looking to broaden his horizons and share his passion for the water.
Kevin Ingraham
Chief Operations Officer - Paragon Dive Group
Kevin is Chief Operating Officer at Paragon Dive Group, where he keeps the company running smoothly and helps shape what we do day to day. A scuba diver since 1995 and introduced to the sport by his father, he has been diving ever since and is very close to his Divemaster certification.
He loves the scuba community, meeting fellow divers, and swapping stories about trainings and trips.
Ben Lair
Owner - Paragon Dive Group
Ben is a full-time dive professional that specializes in technical diving and underwater photography and videography. Ben has experience teaching and diving all over the world. Ben currently teaches open circuit technical diving, overhead (cave & wreck), and CCR courses (Halcyon Symbios, CM O2ptima & Divesoft Liberty SM). Ben is an Instructor Trainer for TDI and offers instructor level courses for a variety of technical diving programs and the Dive Rite CM O2ptima. In addition to teaching, Ben has a passion for organizing diving expeditions in remote and harsh environments and capturing these images for others to enjoy. He realizes that most people will never be able to see these incredible places so he works diligently to be able to bring the images to life.