Gaylynne Sword has been a dedicated advocate in the drowning prevention community since 2009, teaching thousands of lessons and training over 50 instructors across the country, ensuring that more families have access to life-saving education. She hopes to make survival swim training as essential and routine as well-child checkups and car seat safety.
In 2017, Stephanie Webb experienced a terrifying wake-up call when her 3.5-year-old daughter suffered a non-fatal drowning accident at a grandparent’s pool. Like many parents, she thought she had taken all the right precautions—using floaties, closing pool gates, and enrolling her child in traditional swim lessons. But after the accident, she realized that while her daughter had learned to enjoy the water, she hadn’t learned how to survive in it.
Determined to change that, Stephanie immediately enrolled both of her children in survival swim lessons, and the results were life-changing. Seeing firsthand how aquatic survival training gave them the skills and confidence to stay safe in the water, she became certified to teach infant, toddler, and children’s swim survival lessons in 2021. Now, she is passionate about helping other families equip their children with water safety skills that could save their lives.
Erin Stammer takes a sensorimotor learning approach to aquatic survival lessons, helping infants, toddlers, and young children build confidence and essential water safety skills at her private residence in Northeast Santa Rosa. Her passion for swim survival training is deeply personal, and she is committed to ensuring every child gains the skills needed to stay safe in the water.
Pandi Chorey is a dedicated survival swim instructor who specializes in teaching aquatic survival skills to children ages 3+ in Davis, CA. Since becoming certified in 2021, she has successfully taught hundreds of children in Yolo County how to develop water competency and essential toddler swim safety skills.
Renae Schuldt’s passion for swimming started at a young age. She has been in aquatics and offering swim instruction for the past 15 years. In 2025, she was certified in survival swimming. She’s excited to continue sharing her passion and love of water while teaching essential swim safety skills in the Chicagoland area.
Kourtney’s Kause is a non-profit organization founded in honor of Kourtney Andrews, who lost her life to drowning in 2017. Serving Santa Clara County and beyond, Kourtney’s Kause believes that every child should have access to high quality swim lessons. To make that a possibility, we grant swim lesson scholarships, offer a variety of instructors, consistently expand our team to meet demand, and offer lessons at various times and locations to accommodate different schedules and living situations.
