Shallow Water Blackout Prevention was founded by Dr. Rhonda Milner and her husband Gene "Dusty" Milner after their son, Gene Whitner Milner, III, age 25, drowned in their backyard pool on April 17, 2011. At the time of his death Whitner was practicing prolonged breath-holding to prepare himself to go spearfishing in the Bahamas the following week. Dr Milner ran our organization along with Britt Jackson, the Executive Director, until they hired Dean E. Haller as the Executive Director on June 1, 2016. Dean and his wife Sandy lost their son "Benjo", age 27, on August 1, 2014 while he was practicing prolonged breath-holding spearfishing in the Bahamas. He was in 7 feet of water.

Both Whitner and Benjo drowned after succumbing to a shallow water blackout (SWB) (also known as a hypoxic blackout or underwater blackout/faint), which is triggered by prolonged breath-holding. Our 2 families along with volunteer "Ambassadors" from the US, Australia, the Netherlands and the UK work together to end SWB. Our connection to Australia includes a very active Chapter of our organization - Shallow Water Blackout Australia

Dr. Milner continues to hold the position of Chair of our Board and the CEO while Britt Jackson provides superior administrative support and manages our website and social media.

To learn about the causes and prevention of a shallow water blackout click here