About
Our Story and Our Staff
Our Short Story
Charlotte Safety Training was established in 2007 by Brian Coffey. Brian wanted to share his passion for aquatics and decided to start Charlotte Safety Training, a health and safety education company with a focus on aquatics training and the aquatic industry.
Meet the Staff
Brian Coffey
Founder
His experience includes:
Managing Pools since 1994 -Municipal and Private
Aquatics Director Charlotte Christian School from 2001-2007
Head Varsity Swimming Coach/ Swim Program Director Charlotte Christian School 1999- Present
Developed summer swim programs and teams for numerous facilities in North Carolina.
U. S. Merchant Marine Licensed Boat Captain.
Aid in development and training of Lifeguards in both Pool and Oceanfront/ Lakefront environments since 1999.
Head Coach experience of USA Swimming associated club, Charlotte Yellow Jackets Swimming.
Certified Lifeguard Since 1992 (pool & ocean/waterfront experience)
Certified Water Safety Instructor since 1994.
Lifeguard Instructor Trainer
Water Safety Instructor Trainer
American Red Cross Workplace CPR, First Aid, AED Instructor & Instructor Trainer. (all certifications)
Member of U.S. Lifesaving Association (USLA).
Lindsay Lesh
Lifeguarding Instructor Trainer
Lindsay has worked with Charlotte Safety Training for almost 10 years and enjoys teaching lifeguarding courses and recently became an Instructor Trainer.. She has recently enjoyed taking on some administrative responsibilities with CST and helping the company move forward.
Lindsay and her husband Jonathan have 2 boys and a little girl! They also added a couple of dogs to the mix this past holiday season just to liven up the chaos and have been enjoying their newest family member.
Michelle Berrisford
Lifeguarding Instructor
Michelle has been a lifeguard for 15 years first starting with the YMCA of Charlotte. Throughout college she continued to work as a lifeguard and first became a lifeguard instructor in 2014 with the Y, later crossing over to become certified a Red Cross lifeguard instructor as well. After graduating in 2016 from UNC Greensboro with a degree in education and sign language interpretation she began working in Rockingham County Schools. She continues working as a pool manager each summer and enjoys playing roller derby in her free time.
Patricia Hearl
Lifeguarding Instructor/Instructor Trainer
Pat has trained in the Charlotte Area since 1989. Serving in Aquatic Management for several Municipalities, non-profits and a Pool Management company, Pat brings the real life scenarios into training to give students a full picture what a lifeguard job entails. She enjoys travelling to Disney in her spare time and attending Aquatic conferences to keep up to date on the Industry Standards.
Amanda Noto
Lifeguarding Instructor
Amanda has been in the Aquatics field for 14 years. She originally started out in Michigan, having experience guarding at indoor/outdoor facilities, as well as aquatic parks. She has taught both swim lessons as well as Aquatic exercises for multiple years. She also spent a few years managing neighborhood pools. She transitioned away from Aquatic exercise classes and has been teaching Lifeguard classes for the last 4 years in North Carolina. When she is not teaching classes, she spends her time working in Outpatient Physical Therapy and enjoying the outdoors with her dog
Alex Constantine
Lifeguarding Instructor
Alex is a senior at North Carolina State University where he is working to get a BS in Aerospace Engineering. He has been working as a lifeguard for the past 4 years and a lifeguard instructor for 1 year. In addition to teaching for CST, he has 7 years of swim lesson instruction and competitive coaching experience and he works as a Program Assistant for the Aquatics department at NC State. Outside of lifeguarding, he is a competitive swimmer and enjoys spending time with his family and friends, particularly outdoors in the summers.
Kerrington Maner
Lifeguarding Instructor
Kerrington is a 2021 graduate from UNC Charlotte with Dual Honors, a double major in Biology and Spanish, and a Certificate in English/Spanish Translation. Having grown up in Florida, Kerrington has spent her whole life in and around lakes, oceans, rivers and pools. Additionally, she was on swim team in high school and earned her SCUBA Open Water Diver Certification while in college. She has worked in aquatics since 2015, holding positions as a Lifeguard, Pool Manager and Swim Instructor. She has experience with private and residential pools, and worked as Water Safety on a movie set. She has worked as a Lifeguard Instructor with Charlotte Safety Training since early 2021.
Among other things, Kerrington enjoys bodybuilding and birdwatching in her free time.