The Starfish Aquatics Institute (SAI) is an internationally recognized water safety training and certification agency based in the United States with programs operating on every continent.

• SAI collaborates in drowning prevention and standards development initiatives and our representatives frequently speak at international industry conferences, including the World Conferences on Drowning Prevention in Canada, Viet Nam, Germany, South Korea and Malaysia as well as the World Waterpark Association Middle East Symposium in Dubai.

• SAI created the StarGuard lifeguard training program in 2000, which grew and evolved into a separate operational entity - StarGuard ELITE (SGE) - in 2018. StarGuard Elite is used by waterparks, municipalities, cruise lines, pool management companies and other aquatic venues that want the best in operational safety.
• As a global leader in swim instruction, SAI represents the United States in the International Federation of Swimming Teachers’ Associations (IFSTA), based in Great Britain. SAI President and CEO, Leslie Donavan, currently serves as the Vice President of IFSTA.

• SAI’s swim lesson curriculum is used by some of the largest swim programs in the United States. In addition, SAI partners with the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) to offer its swim instruction program to all PADI resort and retail members. The PADI Swim School, powered by the Starfish Aquatics Institute, was introduced in 2011 and is in use around the globe.
• In 2007, SAI was invited to collaborate with the USA Swimming Foundation to help develop a Water Safety Day prototype and conduct a pilot program for its anti-drowning campaign, the Make-a-Splash initiative. SAI is a charter signatory to the initiative and the Water Safety Day program created by SAI has been used across the United States.
• SAI efforts have been recognized by Aquatics International. SAI representatives, including Jill White, Leslie Donavan, Lake White and Jennifer Calver have all been recognized in its Aquatics Power People issue and Sara Poe as the first featured Everyday Hero.
• Jill White, the co-founder of SAI along with husband Robbin White, is on the Board of Directors of the World Waterpark Association (WWA) and was inducted into the WWA Hall of Fame. She has over 17 authored publications and books, and has served as a member of the Writing Committee for the CDC Model Aquatic Health Code, and on the Board of Directors for the Council for National Cooperation in Aquatics. Both she and Ms. Donavan served on the YMCA Expert Advisory Board.

Vision
What we aspire to do

​To be the premier aquatic training and safety services organization worldwide.

Motto

Salutaris Vitae Unum Ad Tempus ("Saving Lives One at a Time"®)

Values
Principles that guide our actions

Partnerships (vs. competition)
Leadership integrity (vs. complacency)
Integration (vs. segmentation)
Innovation (vs. stagnation)
Responsiveness (vs. bureaucracy)
Experiential learning (vs. passive learning)
Independence (vs. dependency)
Service value (vs. profit)
Practicality (vs. complexity)
Mentor (vs. dictate)
Affirmation (vs. discouragement)
Social impact (vs. self-serving)

Impact
How our value-guided actions will help us make a difference for you.
We pledge to:

• Develop training that is concise, practical, and relevant in real-life situations.
• Create innovative rather than “me-too” products. Using an evidence-based approach when possible, we will help establish sound best practices rather than simply repackage how things have always been done.
• Be responsive and limit bureaucratic inefficiencies by focusing on one thing – aquatics – and having training providers work directly with the organization's leadership.
• Encourage accountability as the foundation to saving lives, and seek to change the behavior of those who are complacent or irresponsible.
• When relevant, develop training programs based on experiential education principles and methods adapted to aquatics, creating competence and confidence in those who attend.
• Provide aquatic professionals with a framework of best practice guidelines, rather than prescribe rigid procedures. In our relationships we will seek to serve as a mentor rather than a dictator, and encourage educated decision-making.
• Seek to provide value when determining pricing, keeping in mind that fees must be reasonable to remain a viable organization, yet be mindful of the economic reality of those we serve.
• View integrity as the foundation of all we do and seek to earn respect through respectful relationships, honesty, and reliability.
• Encourage and reward quality and competence in people and realize it is their actions that make an impact and determine excellence within a program or at an aquatic facility.
• Seek to serve others in our leadership role and truly change behavior, rather than simply disseminate information.
• Seek to partner rather than compete with others who share our vision, and understand that together we can all make a significant difference.

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THE STARFISH CENTER FOR AQUATIC SAFETY RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP and SPLASH-EDU
In 2019 SAI founded the Starfish Center for Aquatic Safety Research, Education and Leadership (the “Starfish Center”), a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation which, among other activities, provides an educational platform to the international aquatic community through Splash-EDU. This platform will deliver and provide books and ancillaries, online courses, video, virtual courses and workshops, in-person training and workshops, and e-commerce opportunities for aquatic professionals. The Starfish Center currently partners with the Association of Aquatic Professionals (“AOAP”), a non-profit corporation which, among other activities, offers an Aquatic Professional Designation (“AqP”) to the aquatics industry. The Starfish Center and AOAP will offer the AqP designation to the global aquatics community through Splash-EDU.
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