Meet Our Staff

CORI MYKA, Founder & President

Cori started her swim teaching career at the young age of 14, when she volunteered at a local pool in her native Southern California community.  In 1999, she co-founded Orca Swim School, together with her husband Bruce.  In 2004 she was thrilled to work with Melon Dash to learn Miracle Swimming for adults.  Cori became one of the first people certified to teach this breakthrough method of swim instruction.  It has shaped the focus of her business and ignited her passion for teaching adults to swim, especially those with a fear of water.  This teaching method  became so important that the focus changed to include teaching others how to use  Miracle Swimming. She began working with Melon to teach new instructors, and has taught her own staff to use Miracle Swimming, as well.  In August 2015-106, after many years of teaching, Cori took a sabbatical with her family.  This sabbatical took them all over the US in a 24 foot trailer. Cori came back having explored many pools and open water of the US, she also came back with a new found enthusiasm to teach adults how to swim. Cori’s continued love of learning and exploring has further developed Orca’s own curriculum to include the most recent developments of brain training, life coaching, mindfulness and online learning.  This ongoing passion has lead to the launch of innovative new swimming curriculum that integrates the science learning with the healing of water.

LYNAR, Office Manager

Growing up in the Arizona desert and backyard pools, some of Lynar’s earliest memories are of swimming and enjoying a lot of time by the pool. When she moved to Washington several years ago she realized that many adults did not have such pleasant memories of time spent around water. That is why she was so happy to have found Cori and be a part of her goal to help adults overcome their fear of the water and enjoy the pure pleasure of swimming and hanging out in the water. In addition to sharing the love of the water, Lynar is also a certified Yoga instructor and enjoys all the outdoor activities that Washington has to offer.

MARGARET, Orca Swim School Instructor

Margaret is a lifelong swimmer with her fondest childhood memories being on the swim team and long summers at the water.  Like many swim teachers, she began at her local pool as a teen with Life guarding and Teaching traditional Red Cross programs.   After college, she went on to develop her professional career in Grant Writing and Development of Non-Profits.  While this work was challenging and fulfilling there was something missing.  Margaret took some time to reflect and look for her passions in life.  This brought her back to the water and to find Orca Swim School.  She thought she was just looking for a teaching position but soon found out that Orca Swim School provided her much more than an ordinary job.  It provided her a way to profoundly change lives, be in the water, and grow and learn each time she comes to work.

BECKY, Orca Swim School Instructor

Thank you to Pat, Becky’s wife, who was afraid of water and came to learn with us.  She was so delighted with the program and her own ability to learn after the many attempts in other classes and by her loving well-meaning wife, she recommended said wife come to learn to teach.  Becky describes herself as a water baby who learned to swim as a toddler in the lake at the family farm.  She has always enjoyed recreational swimming and was a competitive springboard diver.  Becky is now enjoying being newly retired from a full career at Boeing.  Her other love besides water is being an “animal whisperer”.  She is certified in animal massage and feels a deep contentedness with the non-verbal cues and behaviors of animals.  Becky has a wonderful mix of enjoying life, people, animals, and learning.

Rachael, Orca Swim School Instructor

Rachael has been swimming all her life enjoying pools, lakes, and oceans. Water is a healing place for her. It’s a whole other world in the water and a beautiful place to explore. She is very excited to be teaching at Orca Swim School because it combines her love of helping people and being in the water. Rachael has a background in coaching and she thrives in helping people develop their skill set starting where they are at, walking beside them, and going at their pace. Facing fears, old beliefs, and breaking past patterns to help people grow is what brings her joy.

She is honored to experience the water and learn with students in the Portland area.

Ellen, Orca Swim School Instructor

Ellen began swimming at age 5 at her neighborhood pool in Wichita, Kansas, soon joining the same swim team & synchronized swimming group that her mom had been apart of as a child. She fell in love with the water and every summer day was spent at the pool. She has been a lifeguard, pool cleaner, synchro coach, swim lesson instructor, and swim shop employee.

After graduating from Kansas State, Ellen moved to Seattle to pursue a career in social work & direct service with young people in crisis. After seven years in that field, Ellen is thrilled to be back in the water and teaching with Orca Swim School. She enjoys watching students discover a new world of opportunities and fun in the water. It’s a true privilege to be with students as they fall in love with the water, finding joy and healing along the way.

Chris, Orca Swim School Instructor

Chris has always enjoyed being around water but didn’t get the opportunity as a child to learn how to feel comfortable in deep water, so he became a student at Orca Swim School. That experience completely changed his relationship with water and afterward, he took more classes and got more and more comfortable in deep water and open water. With that new found confidence in water, he later went on to learn and experience sailing, kayaking, paddle boarding, snorkeling, and open-water swimming. In 2019 he, Cori, Margaret, and another student swam 1.3 miles across Lake Washington in the Park to Park Swim. In 2017 he began volunteering as a spotter for swim classes and in 2022 he completed lifeguard certification and became a swim instructor.

He is profoundly honored and humbled to have the opportunity to pay it forward and help others open the next chapter in their lives where they can find joy, accomplishment, and relaxation in swimming and other activities in and around the water.

Guila, Orca Swim School Instructor

Hi! I look forward to meeting you. I’ve always enjoyed the water, but it wasn’t until I was 46 that I took my first swim lesson. I have since participated in many open water events, including Alcatraz (12 crossings), the Portland Bridges 11-mile race, and many others.

I have taught hundreds of adults to swim in Lake Washington since 2012. As a new member of the Orca teaching team, I am passionate about helping new swimmers discover confidence and joy in the water. Seeing their smiles is often the highlight of my day!