Amy Diamond

Owner & Lead Instructor

Amy is the owner & lead instructor for Lil' Guppies Swim School.  Amy grew up on the east coast and fell in love with the water at a very young age. She was always the first one in the pool and the last one out!  Amy swam competitively from age 8 through college. She competed in butterfly, backstroke, the IM and freestyle relays and still enjoys swimming on Masters club teams. Amy has always loved working with children and so it was a perfect combination of passions to start teaching swim lessons at the young age of 15.  Amy has now taught lessons for over 25 years, and has lifeguarded and coached age group swim teams on both the east and west coasts.  She started Lil' Guppies Swim School in 2006 in Los Angeles, and recently upon relocating in 2020, has established a branch of the school in Sarasota, FL!  Amy is also an acupuncturist, children's book author, and mom to two boys, ages 11 and 5. They are the original lil' guppies and love swimming just as much as their mom! 

Meagan Richardson
Assistant Manager

Meagan joins our team from New York as both assistant manager and swim instructor for Lil' Guppies Swim School. She comes to us with over 10 years of experience. Meagan has worked as a babysitter, lifeguard and swim instructor specializing in water safety and success, and also has a background in working with special needs children. Meagan's passion for helping others continued through her volunteer work on the ambulance, and she is now a certified EMT. She is ready to jump right in and meet our families!  

Amber Maddens

Amber realized her passion for the water, and helping others at a young age. She was 15 when she started giving swim lessons and lifeguarding at the local pool. She was a competitive swimmer from 8-18 for the Indian River Rats. She has a 2 year old son, and she can’t stress enough how important swim lessons are for any and all ages! Amber is CPR and First Aid certified. She has experience teaching from infants-adults, and from mommy and me classes to stroke improvement and technique training.  She is very passionate about giving others the knowledge she has accumulated over the years in the water! 

Stephany Dolgetta

Stephany has over nine years of experience working with children both in and out of the water! She has been a nanny for newborns through 16 years of age, and has taught swimming to various ages and skill levels as well. Stephany has experience in early childhood education and worked as a teacher's assistant and substitute teacher at the New Gate School.  She is currently working towards her BA in Psychology in Applied Behavioral Analysis. Stephany also swam competitively for the Sarasota YMCA Sharks Swim Team! Stephany has a passion for the water, children and education and looks forward to working with our Lil' Guppies families!

Brandon Dyck

Swimming has always been a big part of Brandon's life. During the summer of his 8th birthday, Brandon joined his first swim team and qualified for championships with his very first event! Brandon began swimming competitively year-round soon after and is still competing now in college. Brandon has qualified for many championship meets including the NCAA Nationals and has also been named All-American for the past three years. Being on swim team also gave Brandon the opportunity to teach younger children how to swim. He has served as an assistant coach and has taught swim lessons in both private and group settings.  During the school year, Brandon heads our instructor position in the Lakeland, Winter Park  and Tampa areas of Florida.  Brandon enjoys teaching the mechanics of strokes to help kids become more proficient and confident swimmers while also enjoying the sport!

Erin Niland

Erin has been teaching swim lessons for the past 10 years with children and adults of various skill levels and abilities. She has experience working with special needs children as well. Erin served as the aquatics director for an art camp and has been a babysitter and lifeguard for many years. She received her bachelor's degree in art, photography, and psychology from SUNY Oswego in 2019. Erin's favorite thing in the world is seeing a child who was previously scared of water be able to learn to swim on their own!