Jennifer Simpson is set to present The Dhow Jones Report: The History of Diving in Saudi Arabia at this year's Aramco Hafla Reunion in Texas. Jennifer worked in Dhahran for Office Services from 1978-86. In her off hours, she ultimately became the first female PADI scuba instructor in the 22-country Arab world. Many in Dhahran can attribute their introduction to diving to Mike Jones, the inspiration for this presentation. Starting in the 1960s, the presentation covers the primitive Indiana Jones days of diving, all the way through 2023, where one amazing Saudi woman is shattering glass ceilings.
Join us for a fun, visual trip down memory lane which includes 130 photos and many familiar faces.
Jennifer writes, "In Dhahran, I was an Interior Space Architect. Most recently, I spent sixteen years living and working in Panama designing multinational corporate headquarters and hotels. The last project was the $100 million Sofitel Hotel Casco Viejo. The last two years I have been living in the Mayan Riviera of Mexico, still designing hotels.
"I continue to dive. In 2019 and 2021 I made trips back to the Red Sea to dive with "My Daughter From Another Mother", Nouf Al Osaimi, an amazing Saudi female. She is so well known internationally for diving and ocean ecology, that she was the keynote speaker at last year's Davos Economic Forum. My long-term goal is to break the world record for oldest female scuba diver who was 94. I have twenty years to go!"
