DIT Administration & Faculty

Michelle Perrigo

Director of Compliance & Administration

Michelle is a native of Cleveland, Ohio who moved to Seattle in 2010 from Kalamazoo, Michigan. She earned a B.A. from the College of Wooster and a Master’s of Social Work from Western Michigan University. Michelle spent 12 years around higher education in student leadership development and curriculum/program implementation as a student organization advisor. She’s also worked as a mental health counselor in Michigan and Seattle. Michelle came to DIT in August 2011 as the regular front desk substitute. She is now the Director of Compliance managing the school’s ACCSC accreditation and serving the Training department and industry by organizing applications for prior learning/top-up assessments so industry divers and DIT graduates can advance their certifications and expand their commercial diving opportunities.

Jacquie Schott

Director of Finance and Human Resources

Jacquie was born in Seattle and grew up in Spokane, WA. She also lived in Alaska for 10 years, both in Dutch Harbor and Anchorage. Jacquie started at DIT in October of 2020 and has 35 years’ experience of accounting and human resource management. She earned her Bachelor of Science, with Accounting emphasis and Marketing Minor, from Central Washington University. Jacquie and her husband live in Des Moines, WA with their 3 Bichon Frise dogs.

Quote: Education is everything, but you will have to work hard to play hard to succeed in life! Never stop learning!

Debbie Paulsen

Accounts Payable and Collections Specialist

Debbie was born in Utah and grew up in a military household. She lived in Alaska, Maryland and Germany before settling down in Seattle. Debbie has two certifications from the Gemological Institute of America. One of her certifications is for diamonds and the other is for diamond grading. In addition, she has a certification through the American Council of Exercise for personal training. Debbie started working at a young age and comes to us with a wide range of work experience. Debbie joined the finance team at DIT in December 2020.

Advice to students: The expert in anything was once a beginner. Stay strong, never give up!

Gary Davis

Registrar

Gary was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. Gary performed as a professional dancer for 20 years in ballet companies, musical theatre and on cruise ships. He has a BFA in Dance from Wright State University. After retiring from the dance world, he has been a “jack of all trades” and has administrative background in the legal, insurance and entertainment industries. He also worked as a records specialist and eventually a legal secretary at several law firms. Gary started at DIT in 2020 as an Accounting Assistant, moved into the position of Student Records Specialist and is now Registrar.

Dawn Brown

Inventory Specialist/NW Dive Supply Retail Operations Manager

Dawn was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and moved to Seattle in 2015 after living in Colorado for 3 years. She spent five years working for the Dallas Cowboys as their Key Account Manager in Merchandising, she also has over a decade’s worth of experience in inventory management and accounting.