Meet Our Swim Instructors

Marichu Flores - General/Adapted Swim Instructor-(AEA) Autism Spectrum Aquatics Certified

ALMA MATER: St. Paul College of Manila, Philippine (BS Food and Nutrition)

My personal goal is to be active through my daily activities to gain strength, physically and mentally, to help me reach my professional goals to teach and help SJSU Timpany Center clients of all ages in their physical, emotional, and mental aspect of their life.

Achieved or accomplished First Aid certification for Adult, Child and Infant.

Fishing: Ocean or shore Fishing, crabbing, oyster harvesting
Planting Indoor/outdoor: Bonsai, Orchids, Flowering, cactus, vegetables and tree pruning. Two strings kites flying, Embroidering, sewing and silk-screening machine operator. Drawing, sketching and graphic designing. Photography. Book Binding machine operator. Hobbies: Teaching * Dancing * Sports * Kayaking * Bicycling * Walking * Cooking * Bird watching.

Dennis Young - Swim Instructor / Lifeguard , Aquatic Exercise Association - (AEA) Autism Spectrum Aquatics Certified

San Francisco born and raised, A bit different than most of the staff at TC, since I have an Industrial Engr degree from UC Berkeley and I'm one of the oldest, yet newest swim instructors at TC.  You'll know me by the grey hairs and you'll know that I am one of the "senior" staff. I started out at TC as a volunteer ( I manage TC's website as well as TC's other IT needs) after being a member for more than 8 years before asking to contribute more as a staff member. 

TC has taught me that the job of a swim instructor requires a passion and dedication to service and its rewards are not always tangible. The smiles and achievements of my students however are more valuable than the tangible. It takes patience  (and sometimes a smile), communication, and much attention to work with our students , especially the ones with special needs in our adapted lesson. Adapted lessons are a new one for me, but I am learning much from the more experienced instructors. Since our students have unique needs it's alway a grand adventure with sometimes an unplanned journey.

Craig Northcutt - BS Industrial & Systems Engr - SJSU, American Red Cross - Lifeguard & Instructor (LGI [pdf]) &
Water Safety Instructor (WSI [pdf]), Certified Pool Operator (CPO)

I’m a Water Baby

I’ve always loved the water since a child, and spent countless hours in the pool throughout my youth. With an affinity for water sports, I’ve been fortunate to have extensive experience  snorkeling, free diving, scuba diving, windsurfing and waterskiing. Then there’s snow - don’t get me started ;-)

Fun Stuff from my Past

• CA Licensed Falconer
• Top 10 in Cayucos to Morro Bay WindSurf Regatta
• Cisco Systems Veteran (19 yrs)
• Winner of several pairs of Snow Skis, Hoosier Tires, Cash and other contingencies.
• Winner, Team GS (Cisco Brew Crew) & Downhill races, Alpine Meadows Corp. Ski Challenge 
• Solo (Autocross): Multiple club & SCCA SFR championships; National Tour and Pro Solo events. Top Time of Day at four events.
• Graduate of Bob Bondurant, Jim Russell & SCCA racing license schools
• High Performance Driving Instructor for Track Masters Racing, Team Racing & Your Private Track Day clubs at Laguna Seca, Sears Point (Sonoma Raceway), Button Willow & Thunder Hill raceways.

Jen Chew - Swim Instructor
San Jose State University majoring in Applied Nutrition, concentration in Food Science 

Some of my personal goals is to be a learner for life, always seeking out opportunities to learn from others, to help the people around me and for self-improvement. Professionally, I would love to be able to use my degree to help adapted individuals build better nutritional habits and overcome any food fears they may have. I am also a Second dan in Taekwondo and have been practicing since I was 7 years old. My expertise generally lies in nutritional management, working with adapted youth and I look forward to gaining more skills as I progress through my degree :) .Some of my hobbies are gardening, crocheting, cooking, traveling and exploring new food places and recipes. I am a huge foodie and am someone who is always interested in finding new creative ways to make use of various ingredients.

Kristina Dang - Swim Instructor/ Personal Trainer 
SJSU - B.S.Kinesiology (2020)
w/ a focus in Rehabilitation Sciences
Life Chiropractic College West - Doctorate of Chiropractics (2024)

My personal and professional goal is to create a clinic where Chiropractors, Physical Therapists, Nutritionist, and others health professionals can practice to improve their patients’ quality of life. My philosophy of health is that the body is smart and knows how to heal when given the right opportunity and tools to succeed. I hope to take my experience from my schooling to help everyone I meet with the best of my abilities

I am the first person in my family to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree and a Doctorate degree.

My proudest moment was when I treated a man who was struggling to squat for 6 months prior to visiting the clinic in India. Due this man’s poor living conditions, he had no access to a seated toilet. His village only had toilets where you needed to squat in order to relieve himself. For 6 months, he was unable to squat and had to relieve himself standing up. After 1 visit, it was the first time he was able to squat with assistance. He cried after seeing that he can finally squat again after being in pain for months.

Your skills and areas of expertise: I am an expert of the neuromusculoskeletal system. Anything bones, joints, ligaments, and nerves are up my alley. I also work with extremities, functional mobility and have experience with muscle work, pain management and some functional neurology. I am also bilingual. I speak English and Vietnamese. 

I enjoy puzzles, aquarium keeping, sewing, reupholstering, crafting, and swimming.