10/12/2026
🌊 Hi everyone, I'm Tenaya Goldsmith, Founder & CEO of Big Kahuna Swim Academy and the Childhood Drowning Prevention Foundation in Norco and Riverside. I'm hiring, and I want to talk to you directly.
In 2005, I lost a classmate named Arturo. He drowned one week before graduating high school. That loss never left me. It's why I spent over a decade building this swim school and nonprofit, and why we teach 800+ lessons a month to children who need these skills.
I'm looking for my forever team, and it's been difficult. So I'm asking for your help!
What we offer:
💵 $20/hr starting, with a raise to $22/hr after 90 days when you're meeting expectations
⛽ A gas stipend for every shift you work
🏖️ Time off after your first year
💰 Roth IRA through CalSavers
👶 Complimentary lessons for your own kids
🎉 Team days twice a year, paid for by the Foundation
🎓 Full paid training. No swim instruction experience required.
🤝 Free professional mentoring from a certified coach to all new hires.
What I'm looking for:
I don't hire for résumés. I hire for character.
✅ Reliable. You do what you say, when you say it. You show up to every shift, on time, and you don't call out.
✅ Coachable. You take feedback, put it into practice, and keep getting better.
✅ Self-starting. You see what needs to be done and handle it. You take things off my plate instead of adding to it.
✅ Emotionally mature. You stay steady in hard moments.
✅ Accountable. You own your mistakes and close the loop.
✅ A clear communicator with our team, our students, and our families.
✅ Solution-oriented. When you bring a concern, you bring a solution with it.
✅ Mission-driven. You love kids, and you're committed to keeping them safe.
Must haves:
📌 A minimum 2-year commitment. I’m looking for people who want to stay.
📌 Attendance at our monthly team meeting, the 2nd Thursday of every month, 4:30 to 6:30 PM. This is also where we do professional development training.
📌 Comfort with the physical side of the work: long periods in the sun and heat (with breaks and an indoor area available) and lifting 45+ lbs.
📌 Can swim and tread water.
📌 Reliable transportation to both our Norco (Hamner & 6th St) and Riverside (19531 Mission Village Dr) locations.
📌 Passing a background check (and drug screen).
This role is for someone willing to do whatever the work requires: mainly teaching swim lessons, answering phones, supporting me directly, and helping run day-to-day operations. And I'm looking for people who want to stay and grow with us, not use this as a stepping stone.
If that’s you, or someone you know, apply here 👇
https://childhooddrowningpreventionfoundation.org/team-member-apply/
I notice when people follow directions. 😉
With Gratitude,
Tenaya
