Speakers
BOB ADAM
Sales Manager, Zim Sailing
Bob Adam is the Sales Manager at Zim Sailing in Warren, Rhode Island. Bob has been in the marine industry for many years to include positions at Doyle Sails, North Sails, Vanguard Sailboats and Laser Performance. In addition, Bob has spent a number of years coaching High School, College and several off season clinics for Optimist sailors on Narragansett Bay. Bob has won several local, regional and national championships in several one-design classes to include- International 110, Daysailor, Interclub, 470, JY15, J35 and Mumm 36 to name a few. Bob can be seen at many youth regattas. In his spare time he loves zipping around Narragansett Bay on his 29er with his kids Bradley and Grace and his wife Stephanie.
BETSY ALLISON- KEYNOTE SPEAKER
US Sailing Team Sperry Topsider Paralympic Coach
Betsy Alison started sailing at age 7 because her father insisted. Grumpy at first, soon Betsy was singing with her pals as they slipped happily over Barnegat Bay. She was successful as a local sailor, but turning it into a life dream, or a profession, never occurred to her. Then in 1977 she found herself at Tufts University, which just happened to have the best sailing team in the country. When her father died during her freshman year, a friend persuaded her to go sailing on Upper Mystic Lake. For the first time Alison realized her natural aptitude for the sport.
A self-described seat-of-the-pants sailor, she learned the technical side from talented Tuft’s teammates. She credits numerous mentors, like Dave Perry who told her to buy a Laser, then told her how to sail it in heavy air: “pull everything tight and hike” (she did, winning her first, full-rig Laser regatta); her coach Joe Duplin, who pushed her to do more than she thought possible; and fellow collegians like Ken Read, Tommy Lihan, Morgan Riser, and Lynn Jewell Shore.
An Honorable Mention for All-American at Tufts in 1981, Alison has a unique ability to quickly apply what she learns. Ken Read told her how to sail a J-24 over lunch, after which she won the first of her five Women’s Keel Boat Championships.
Voted Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year a record five times, Alison says she never felt discriminated against on the water: “You have to prove yourself. When you get the job done on the race course, you develop respect.”
In 1998, Allison was asked to coach the USA team in the World Disabled Sailing Championship. Today she is the US Sailing Team Sperry Topsider Paralympic Coach.
ANDREW ALLETAG
Adult Program Director, Community Boating, Inc.
Now the Adult Program Director, Andrew Alletag first joined Community Boating-Boston as a junior sailor and was hooked. Andrew worked up the ranks from the junior racer to Instructor, Head Race Coach, High School Coach, Instructor, Dockmaster, and now Program Director. And in the winter of 2010, he joined the Fleet and Facilities staff in maintaining and repairing a fleet of over 120 boats including Lasers, 420s, Rhodes 19's, Sonars, Cape Cod Mercurys, windsurfers and kayaks. His passion for sailing and racing has helped Andrew run a very successful program of over 4,000 Adult Members.
CHARLIE ARMS
Director of Sailing, California Maritime Academy Program
Charlie grew up sailing with her family in the Navy Sailing Program in San Diego. She taught youth sailing in the summers from high school through college where she ran the Leeway Sailing Center while getting her B.A. in Recreation & Leisure from Cal State Long Beach. She raced competitively in San Diego and after moving to the San Francisco Bay Area to work at the California Maritime Academy. She is an Instructor Trainer in
Small Boat, Keelboat & Powerboat and serves on the National Faculty as well as a Vice Chair on the Training Committee.
MALIA ARRINGTON
Director of Ethics and Safe Sport, US Olympic Committee
Malia Arrington oversees Safe Sport, a training program designed to provide guidelines for the welfare and training of young athletes.One of her primary tasks is developing a database of centralized and standardized resources for use by National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and will work to encourage NGBs to adopt policies, practices, programs and tools to address sexual and physical misconduct.
Prior to joining the USOC, Arrington served as an associate in the Denver, Colo. offices of Reilly Pozner, LLP and Dorsey & Whitney, LLP. Distinguished among law professionals, Arrington was recognized as a Super Lawyer "Colorado Rising Star" (Appellate) in 2011. She has served judicial clerkships in Colorado, and a judicial internship in the Netherlands. Additionally, she is a member of the Colorado Bar Association Ethics Committee and was a mentor for the Bridgeway Home for Girls.
Arrington's law experience coincides with her background in sports. While obtaining a bachelor's degree in international studies at Emory University, she was also a member of the varsity soccer team and coached youth soccer in Atlanta. She also has a J.D. and master's degree in biomedical ethics from the University of Virginia.
KEVIN BROOME
Sailing Director, American Yacht Club
Kevin grew up in a sailing family racing in and around Cape Cod. Currently the Sailing Director at American Yacht Club in Rye, New York, Kevin works with a wide range of sailing talent and oversees the clubs' various sailing programs. He is passionate about the club's pursuit of creating lifelong sailors.
Kevin has had a wide exposure to different facets of the sailing and water sports world. He uses that background to bring a unique perspective to his sailors. He has multiple active US Sailing certifications in which he interweaves with his personal sailing and coaching experiences. His energy, fun-filled approach and passion for the sport inspires his sailors to bring their own sailing to the next level.
Kevin has done a fair amount of travel in and around North America, has visited hundreds of clubs and worked with many fantastic coaches and sailors. He speaks with fondness about people that he has worked with, places that he has seen, friends he has made and most importantly, the lives that he has seen changed for the better because benefits that sailing
offers.
Kevin spends his "free time" working with Sail Equipment Australia and BIC Sport lending his marketing experiences to those brands and is a US Sailing Level 1 Instructor Trainer, a Level 2 Coach, a Keelboat and Windsurfing instructor and member of the Small Boat National Faculty. Still an active racer, Kevin spends time sailing V15s, lasers and various keel boats.
AMANDA CALLAHAN
Head Coach, Roger Williams University
Amanda Callahan began her duties as Head Sailing Coach and Waterfront Coordinator in August of 2007. Since then, the Hawks have consistently been one of the top ten teams in College Sailing based on the Sailing World rankings. In 2008, the team made their first trip to the ICSA Coed Dinghy National Championships, where they placed fourth in a field of 18. They have returned every year since. Later that year, she guided Cy Thompson to victory at the ICSA Men’s Singlehanded National Championship, the first sailing national championship in school history. In addition, Callahan has coached seven sailors to All-American honors. In 2011, the Hawks won the ICSA Team Racing National Championship, the first team racing national championship in school history.
Callahan came to RWU from Stanford University, where she spent the 2007 season as the assistant coach of the Cardinal sailing team. While at Stanford, she assisted in qualifying two teams for the Collegiate National Championship. Under her tutelage, she assisted in developing two All-American sailors and one honorable mention.
Prior to her post at Stanford, Callahan held the head coaching position at Tufts University during the 2006 season, where she qualified three teams for the spring Collegiate National Championships and guided them to impressive results. The Team Racing squad finished second in its event, while her Coed Dinghy team came in fourth place at the championships.
In addition to her coaching duties, Callahan continues to sail competitively. Her team, Silver Panda, had a banner year in 2007, winning the Triple Crown of team racing: British Team Racing Championship for the Wilson Trophy, the U.S. Sailing Team Racing Championship for the Hinman Trophy, and the ISAF Team Racing World Championship. Silver Panda, the first and only team to complete this feat, was later short listed for the Rolex Sailor of the Year Award. Silver Panda won the ISAF World Championship again in 2009. Outside of team racing, Callahan actively races sunfish and competes in women’s match racing.
A 2003 graduate of William Smith College, Callahan is a member of the 2003 Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association’s All-America Team. She was named captain of the Hobart and William Smith Colleges Varsity Sailing Team 2001-02 and 2002-03.
A native of Canton, Massachusetts, Callahan currently resides in Portsmouth.
CAPPY CAPPER
Executive Director, Wayzata Community Sailing Center
Cappy Capper is the Executive Director of the Wayzata Community Sailing Center, a nonprofit community program located on the former Rosecrans property on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota. The Wayzata Community Sailing Center offers instruction March through November, with an annual enrollment of over 700 youth sailors. College and high schools train in the spring and fall, youth day camps, youth racing programs and adult lessons are offered in the summer.
Cappy started sailing on Lake Michigan in a Sunfish at age five and teaching sailing in 1984 at the Columbia Yacht Club. He has sailed in everything from an Optimist to 60-foot yachts. Cappy is well known in the youth sailing community as one of its most competent and dynamic forces. He is the US Sailing Level Two Master Coaches Trainer and Level 3 Certified Coach. Capper has been very active with US Sailing as a member of the National Faculty, Chairman of the National Junior Championships, Member of the Youth Championships Committee, Member of the Training Committee, and Regional Training Coordinator.
He is also involved with the University of Minnesota Sail Race Team as their head coach and trains two local high school sailing teams. He founded and served as President of the Midwest High School Sailing Association, Vice President of the Interscholastic Sailing Association of North America, and has coached several High School, College, and Youth Racing teams to National Championship regattas. Capper has been recognized by US Sailing three times; “Outstanding Seasonal Program Director” in 1995, the “Captain Joe Prosser Trophy” for excellence in sailing instruction in 1996, and the “Outstanding Director Of New Program” in 2005. Cappy was inducted into the College Sailing Hall of Fame on June 3, 2010, and he received the Graham Hall award for outstanding service by a college sailing professional.
MORGAN COLLINS
Executive Director, Sail Sand Point
Raised in the Midwest, schooled on the eastern seaboard, sailing hither and yon. Working in community sailing while also doing things that earn money, until finally giving up on the money part. Now a part of Sail Sand Point in Seattle, and couldn't be happier.
ROB CRAFA
Director of Waterfront Programs, SUNY Maritime College
Rob is fortunate to be managing one of the top collegiate sailing programs in the country while having the opportunity to offer community waterfront programs at one of the best facilities in the nation. In 2008 he was awarded the US Sailing Community Sailing Council's award for "Outstanding Director of a Seasonal Program." Rob came to Maritime after serving as the Founding Executive Director of The Waterfront Center in Oyster Bay, New York. Rob is a US Sailing Powerboat Instructor and Instructor Trainer and a member of the Community Sailing Council.
JOHN CRAIG
Principle Race Officer, America's Cup Race Management
John began as a Provincial Coach for British Columbia Sailing with a special interest in junior program development. Now a resident of San Francisco, John is responsible for conducting the races of the America's Cup World Series, the Louis Vuitton Cup - America’s Cup Challenger Series, and the America's Cup Match. John is a Board Member of US Sailing and was formerly the Race Manager of St. Francis Yacht Club before joining ACRM.
KELLIE CRETE
Safety and Loss Prevention Manager, Gowrie Group
Kellie Crete manages the Safety & Loss Prevention division at Gowrie Group, New England's premier independent insurance agency. Kellie is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and resides in Marion, Massachusetts. Kellie started her career in the environmental, health and safety industry twenty-three years ago. She is an industry leader in safety and loss prevention, and has worked with companies across all segments, including manufacturing, pharmaceutical, utility, construction, non-profit, and marine. Kellie focuses on helping her clients decrease their liabilities and exposures to fines, lawsuits, negative press, and employee complaints. Her work also focuses on lowering her client’s workers compensation rates. Kellie ‘s experience has led her to conclude that employee education, ongoing training, written programs, and management “buy in” are the primary ingredients for environmentally friendly facilities, healthy workplaces, and safe employees.
KAREN DAVIDSON
Keelboat Programs and NSPS Manager, US Sailing
Karen is starting her thirteenth year at US Sailing. She has held positions in accounting and publications before settling in the training department. She enjoys sports and outdoor activities as well as volunteering her time with the local Rotary.
PETER DURANT
Member, US Sailing National Faculties / Regional Powerboat Training Coordinator- Area A
ERIC EISENDRATH
Lead Trainer, Positive Coaching Alliance
A passionate and enthusiastic presenter, Eric, as Positive Coaching Alliance's Lead Trainer, has presented over 550 workshops in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. A former Division One goalie, Eric played hockey for Brown University. Upon graduating, he began a career in sports television, which has allowed him to cover six Olympic Games, the NFL, NBA, MLB, and the NHL. In addition, Eric has worked as a high school Varsity hockey coach and youth soccer and lacrosse coach. He has also run three marathons (New York twice and Boston once). A resident of the Ocean State, Eric attended the US Sailing Symposium in Houston, Texas, and enjoys recreational sailing on his Hobie Cat.
JON FAUDREE
Varsity Sailing Club Coach, Jacksonville University
Jon Faudree took over as head coach of the Jacksonville University Varsity Sailing Club Team in the Fall of 2012. In the past 20 years, he dedicated himself to teaching and coaching sailing. His students have gone on to be Collegiate All-Americans, Collegiate Sailing Coaches, National Champions and U.S. Olympic team members. Prior to joining JU he spent four years as youth sailing director and head coach for the Rochester Yacht Club. There he helped increase enrollment by 100 percent and created one of the country’s premiere youth sailing programs.
Faudree is a U.S. Sailing Level 1 and 2 certified sailing instructor and is in the process of receiving Level 3 certification. In 2007, he was nominated for the U.S. Sailing Developmental Coach of the Year.
Before he coached, Faudree was a competitive sailor. He started racing at age 9 and was skippering his family’s J/24 at 15, winning several club championships and local regattas along the way. He became New York State’s Laser champion in 1997 after winning the gold medal at the Empire State Games.
Faudree raced in college at New York Maritime College and Christopher Newport University. His long list of sailing experience as trimmer/tactician includes a national championship in 2005, second at the 2007 J24 World Championships and seventh at the 2008 J22 World Championships.
GUY FLEMING
Sailing Director, Waikiki Yacht Club / Master Instructor Trainer, US Sailing
Guy began teaching sailing to adults in 1982 at Rainbow Bay Marina in Hawaii. He attended the University of Hawaii where he majored in sailing and minored in English. In 1984 Guy began working for Waikiki Yacht Club's youth sailing program as an instructor for beginning sailors. Two years later he was the racing coach and a year after that he was the head instructor. Upon graduation, the program switched from a seasonal to a year round program and Guy became the full time racing coach/ Sailing Director. During that time, he was an assistant coach for the University of Hawaii Sailing team for 16 years. Guy is a Master Instructor Trainer for Level 1, a Coach Trainer for Level 2, A Level 3 Coach, Safety Boat Instructor, Basic Keelboat Instructor Trainer, Judge, Area Race Officer, and sailing enthusiast. In addition to kite surfing and racing Lasers, Guy enjoys taking his six year old to the beach with the family Sunfish or Stand Up Paddling when there is no wind, but, he does live in Hawaii so usually there is wind. Currently his interest lies in training to prevent sailing injuries and recovering from injuries. He plans on sailing dinghies well into his 80's
STU GILFILLEN
Sailing Programs Administrator/NSPS Agenda Coordinator, US Sailing
Stu Gilfillen has spent over a decade involved with program administration and coaching. His coaching experience includes having served as the head coach for the Sarasota and Duxbury High School teams and the Providence College Sailing Team. His administrative experience includes having served as the Executive Director of the Sarasota Youth Sailing Program in Sarasota, FL and Sailing Director for both the Edgartown and Beverly Yacht Clubs. Under his watch sailors have won the Sears Trophy, Orange Bowl Regatta, High School Single-handed Nationals, US Sailing Youth Championships, been named Gary Jobson All-Stars and qualified for the USODA South American Championships and ISSA Fleet Racing Nationals. Currently the staff liaison to US Sailing’s Community Sailing Council and Commercial Sailing Schools, Stu also serves on the small boat National Faculty, is a US Sailing Level 1 Instructor Trainer, a Level 2 coach, a US Powerboating Instructor and in 2008 was recognized by the Community Sailing council as the “Outstanding Director of a year Round Program." He has a very patient wife and a 2 year old daughter that he’s certain is already smarter than he is.
MEADE GOUGEON
Gougeon Brothers, Inc.
Meade Gougeon is the Chairman & Founder of Gougeon Brothers, Inc. which he formed in partnership with his brother Jan in 1969. Meade graduated in 1960 from Western Michigan University with a BBA in Business Administration. Before forming his own company, he worked for Wickes Corporation’s Engineered Products Division.
The original intent of Gougeon Brothers, Inc was to build iceboats. From there the business manufactured boats, wind turbine blades, and is most famous for the manufacturing of West System® Brand Epoxy. The West System brand started in 1971 and is now sold world-wide. The company is respected throughout the marine industry for its research and development in adhesives and coatings. Gougeon Brothers, Inc. has also built many well-known racing boats and multihulls. Technology developed and tested by the company is used world-wide. Over the years, Gougeon Brothers Inc. has built several famous one-off racing sailboats and multihulls including Golden Dazy, Rogue Wave and Adrenalin. They also produced Tornado Catamarans and the Gougeon-designed G-32 Catamarans.
In 1977 Gougeon Brothers broke new ground in the design and manufacture of wind turbine blades. NASA, General Electric, Westinghouse and Boeing all contracted with Gougeon Brothers Inc. for their wood/epoxy blades. The company supplied more than 4,000 blades to western wind farms before ending that portion of the business in 1993.
Meade was the DN North American Ice Boat Champion in 1980 and 1997. And in the Open Class Division of both the Port Huron-To-Macinac race and Chicago-to-Macinac race, Meade has taken first place trophies numerous times with Adagio.
Meade and his wife Janet divide their time between their two homes in Michigan and Florida. His main hobbies are DN Iceboat racing in the winter and sailing and racing in the summer on his 35’ trimaran Adagio (which was designed and built by him and his brother Jan in 1970), his 32’ catamaran, Janet C, and his sailing canoe. He also participate in the Everglades Challenge every March.
Meade currently is on the Kantzler Foundation Board of Directors, and also a member of the International TORCH Club.
DR. TIM HERZOG
Reaching Ahead LLC
Dr. Tim Herzog is currently a certified consultant with the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) and a licensed counselor for Reaching Ahead in Bozeman, MT. He started coaching sailing 20 years ago and taught at six different yacht clubs. His coaching career also included stints as Head Coach of Boston College and Assistant Coach at the US Merchant Marine Academy. He taught many Level 1 and 2 Coaching Courses for US Sailing and is Level 3 certified. Herzog holds masters degrees in both counseling/sport psychology and in clinical psychology as well as a doctorate in counseling psychology; his dissertation research explored a performance technique integrating video and imagery for college sailors.
He recently gave workshops for sport psychologists at the annual AASP conference on video-imagery, on biofeedback, and on tele-consultation. An adjunct sport psychology professor for National University, he also writes articles for publications such as Outside Bozeman, Montana’s Healthy Living, the Bozeman Chronicle, Sailing World, and scholarly journals such as The Sport Psychologist. Herzog has worked with high performers at three different universities (including the US Naval Academy), an elite sports camp (IMG Academies), and with officers and enlisted personnel of the US Army (Center for Enhanced Performance at Fort Lewis). Pulling from a wealth of experience to help people feel and perform their best within unique contexts.
RIKI HOOKER
Sales Director / VP Sales, RS Sailing
Riki is the Vice President of Sales for RS Sailing, manufacturers and distributors for the RS Sailing dinghies. With an HQ in Southampton, England, RS Sailing now has a distribution network across North America.
Riki has worked with RS for 14 years and has been involved in the development of virtually the entire range. A degree in Marine Business at Southampton Solent University and a lifetime of dinghy sailing has put him in a good place to be involved in the world’s most exciting sailboat range. Riki has been part of a management team that has created a leading small boat sailing brand from Portland to Auckland. Riki is a committee member of the British Marine Federation' International Strategy Group that shapes the schemes which are delivered to encourage the growth of marine businesses in the UK. Riki recently presented at the ISAF International Sailing Federation World Conference in Athens, Greece. Riki lives in Southampton, England and is married with a young son.
RICH JEPSEN
CEO, OCSC SAILING / Chair, US Sailing Training Committee
Rich has sailed since he was a boy growing up in Massachusetts. He owns OCSC SAILING with a partner, Anthony, a school that is celebrating its 32nd anniversary this year. He regularly charters around the world, with his next charter in the Greek Isles. Rich also serves as the Chair of US Sailing's Education Division and as the Chair of US SAILING's Training Committee.
HART KELLEY
Head Sail Training Coach, US Coast Guard Academy
Hart Kelley is a long-time member and volunteer at US Sailing. At the age of 10, Mr. Kelley learned to sail at Community Boating in Boston. While he has raced and coached extensively on small and large boats, Mr. Kelley now enjoys leisurely sailing in and around Narragansett Bay with his family and friends. Mr. Kelley has been employed as the Executive Director at Community Boating and at the US Sailing Center of Martin County in Stuart, FL, as the Associate Director of Training at US Sailing, and most recently as the Head Sail Training Coach at the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. As a member and now co-Chair of the Small Boat National Faculty since 1994, Mr. Kelley has volunteered to help expand, develop and improve the small boat training programs used in Level’s 1 and 2. Mr. Kelley is also an active Small Boat IT, CT and MIT and Basic Keelboat and Cruising Instructor IT.
LARRY LEDGERWOOD
Instructor, OCSC
Larry serves as Chair for NSPS as part of his responsibilities on the US Sailing Training Committee. He has been a part time keelboat instructor as OCSC in Berkeley CA for the past ten years which includes work as a charter captain and running corporate team building events on San Francisco Bay.
His racing has primarily been on Etchells and J-24s and his cruising has included leading or participating in flotillas in various parts of the Med, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. He came to sailing in his mid 30’s, (a long time ago!).
His day job consists of owning and running Consultative Resources Corporation a sales consulting and training firm and keeping up with his practice as a corporate management coach focused on helping owners and executives develop their staffs.
His passion is exploring a two part question: “Why do we do the things we do and why do we not do more of what we know to be effective?”
AMY LYONS
Youth Program Director, Community Boating, Inc.
Amy has been involved in community sailing for the past six years, first as the Program Director at Treasure Island Sailing Center in San Francisco, and currently as the Youth Program Director at Community Boating, Inc. in Boston. She has a great deal of experience with community outreach to engage underprivileged children, and with designing curriculum and programs.
JOHN McKENNA
Commercial Director, SailX
A lifelong sailor, John has been professionally involved in the sport since 2003 when he joined OC Sport as Commercial Director. Over the next 7yrs John and the team grew OC Sport into the leading sports marketing business in sailing, conceiving and commercialising some of sailing's most successful projects in sailing including the Extreme Sailing Series, The Barcelona World Race, Oman Sail, working with governments and premium brands such as Artemis, Barclays, BT, Nespresso and Omega. In 2010 John exited to set up his own sports marketing consultancy based in London. In this capacity, John still consults to OC Sport and to leading brands and governments around the world helping them better understand and exploit the sport of professional sailing. As part of this work John is working with the team at SailX.com to develop the potential of this fantastic racing and training simulation.
RACHAEL MILLER
Founder/Director, Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean
Rachael Miller is the co-founder and Director of the Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean whose mission is to find and remove marine debris using remotely operated vehicles, sonar, and nets from aboard American Promise, a Ted Hood 60'. She is a member of the US Sailing National Faculty and Training Committee as well as a Level 1 and 2 Instructor Trainer. She is a certified windsurfing, kitesurfing and snowkiting instructor, holds a USCG 50 ton Master license, lives in VT with her husband and 2 Newfies and loves the frozen water as much as the liquid.
KATE NEUBAUER
Executive Director, Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center
As Executive Director, Kate Neubauer has provided leadership through the substantial growth and development of the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center since 2004. She is dedicated to providing the community with educational and recreational access to Lake Champlain and is passionate about furthering the impact of community sailing nationwide.
Kate has extensive experience in non-profit management and has a proven track record for setting high expectations, achieving results, promoting organizational goals and executing organizational mission. Kate is a member of the US Sailing's House of Delegates and serves on the executive committee of the US Sailing Community Sailing Council. In 2011, Kate was awarded the Vermont’s Rising Star Award for her commitment to business growth, professional excellence and involvement in her community.
SHANNON RYAN
President, Board of Directors for American Marketing Association’s Silicon Valley chapter
Shannon is a global marketing expert with measurable results in brand strategy and engagement across mediums, including direct, experiential, digital, and mobile.
Over the past 16 years, she has held senior leadership roles on both the agency and brand side, including management of her own agency, ArchetypeDNA, which she founded in 2009. She is currently the GM of the Online Marketing Summit brand at UBM TechWeb. Her experience is diverse across BtoB and BtoC having worked with companies such as Atmel, Cardinal Health, Charles Schwab, Cisco, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, eBay, Focus.com, George P. Johnson, GSMA, IBM, Immersa Marketing, Intel, Merrill Lynch, MKTG, ON24, Oracle, RSA Conference, Texas Instruments, Thomas Weisel Partners, Thomson Learning, and VMware.
Shannon's expertise also includes interactive and web-based product development, including management of over 25 global SaaS products and the launch of eight (8) products. She currently serves as the President, Board of Directors for American Marketing Association’s Silicon Valley chapter, Focus.com’s adviser on experiential marketing and Marketing Chair for the St. Francis Yacht Club. Shannon resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and spends most of her free time racing her J105, Donkey Jack, and Vanguard 15s.
CHRIS PETRACCO
Race Administration Director, US Sailing
MARTHA PITT
Sailing School Director, Chicago Yacht Club
Martha has been working at the Chicago Yacht Club for three and a half years, starting as the Assistant Head Coach back in the fall of 2009, and is now the Sailing School Director. The Chicago Yacht Club Sailing School is rated as one of the top programs in the country, supporting booming learn-to-sail and racing programs in the summer, travel teams in the winter, as well as an extensive high school program in the fall and spring. Before her current involvement in program administration, Martha's focus was coaching. She got her start sailing and coaching at the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club on Martha's Vineyard, MA, and since has worked for Sail Caribbean and Sail Martha's Vineyard before coming to Chicago. Her experiences on the Boston College Sailing Team before she graduated in 2009 came to define Martha as a sailor and coach, and she has taken those skills and brought them to the Chicago Yacht Club program. Now as both a program director and coach, Martha has taken great joy in passing on her knowledge of the sport to junior sailors. She is a US Sailing Level II Coach, and is certified to teach the US Sailing Powerboat course, CPR/AED, and First Aid.
JESSICA SERVIS
REACH Program Manager, US Sailing
Jessica Servis heads up the REACH program for US Sailing, an initiative that focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) educational programming. Prior to joining US Sailing, Jessica served as the Executive Director (and co-founder) of Just-Sailing, a community sailing program in New Jersey with a predominantly STEM-based focus. She comes from an educational background, having started her career as a Special education teacher, and holds a Masters in Special Education from Rowan University. She’s worked with a variety of STEM related organizations including sea Perch and LEGO Robotics.
PAMELA STARR
Regional Development Director, Constant Contact
Pamela Starr is one of the country’s leading email marketing and social media marketing experts. As Constant Contact’s Regional Development Director, Pamela has shown thousands of small businesses and organizations how to get profitable and measurable results from email marketing and social media. A popular speaker, Pamela delivers real-world tools and strategies that drive stellar results!
Pamela has dedicated her entire career to helping businesses grow. Prior to joining Constant Contact, she owned a marketing service that helped professionals secure more clients and build their repeat and referral business. Her experience also includes managing Marketing and New Business Development for a regional coffee retailer and an international consumer products company.
Pamela has a bachelor’s degree in Advertising from the Florida State University and did graduate-level studies in Communication at the University of Central Florida.
MEKA TAULBEE
Sailfit
Meka is a Personal Trainer certified by the American Council on Exercise. She holds a degree in Psychology mentoring in Dance. Meka dedicates herself to promoting Nutrition and fitness for sailors and sailing enthusiasts. She has trained members of the US Sailing Team, Bronze medal Paralympics Sailors, Sailors at the Olympic games as well as the Optimist US National Sailing Team and the USF Sailing Team. Sailors are not her only clients. Many are working moms, women trying to conceive and those with a general interest in establishing a better lifestyle through fitness and nutrition. She is CPR and First Aid certified, has a certification in Plant Based Nutrition from Cornell University and her education also includes specialty certificates in:
• Holistic Fitness
• Yoga and Mind Body Healing
• Lower Body Strength and Stabilization
With additional training in:
• Nutrition for Women
• Mind Body Programs
• Physiology
• Injury Prevention
• Abdominals
• Kinesiology
• Exercise Programs for Kids
• Back Stabilization
• Athletic Abs
• Kids Stability Ball Exercises
Having grown up in a strong sailing community, it was a natural progression for Meka to use her skills to help those passionate about this sport. Many sailors don't realize how physically and mentally demanding the sport of sailing is. It requires high levels of endurance, muscular development and self-awareness, the perfect blend of mind and body. And, the perfect focus for Meka's talents.
At one point in time Meka found herself 55 pounds overweight. At 5'3" that is a lot for a body to carry. She struggled with weight as a child and during high school and college she was able to keep her weight steady. But, after college and working full time her weight was difficult to control. Meka reached a frustrating point in her life where she decided that once and for all she would never have a weight problem again.
Not believing in fad diets she made a lifestyle change and shed the weight through her own hard work and motivation. She continued her workouts with a professional trainer and started training for fitness competitions. Meka was very close to her first competition when she realized that she would rather teach others how to live a healthy lifestyle than compete. She started studying for her personal training certification and took her examine while on the road with SailFit. She has been certified by the American Council on Exercise since 2001.
"SailFit and Kurt’s (Kurt Taulbee, her husband) Olympic dreams have taken us all over the world and traveling has taught me a lot about fitness, both mentally and physically. I am a runner so all I need are my sneakers and I'm off. I have seen some of the most beautiful countryside and beaches this way. I have also seen many laps around a rest stop! Fitness benefits me physically, but mentally there is nothing compared to it. Whether I am running or weight training it's my time to push myself and to work out whatever stress or hurdles I may be facing. I believe that you need to be mentally fit as well as physically fit. Put these two elements together and you are a force to be reckoned with. This is what I want to share with people and what I want to teach them."
As a personal trainer Meka has been fortunate enough to work with some of the top Sailors in the country. Some of which have gone on to represent the USA at the Olympic Games. She says each of her clients teaches her just as much as she teaches them. “Their desire and passion for what they do is unparalleled”.
DR. CHRIS THURBER
Campspirit.com
Dr. Thurber has been involved in independent schools since 1988. In those 24 years, he has taught everything from elementary school French to senior citizen swimming. He now teaches Introduction to Psychology at Phillips Exeter Academy, a private coeducational boarding school in seacoast New Hampshire. Dr. Thurber joined the faculty at PEA in 1999 after a three-year post-doctoral fellowship at Children’s Hospital in Seattle. Dr. Thurber has been involved in camps for 40 years. He attended three different day camps between the ages of 4 and 11, including Ledgemere Day Camp in Cape Elizabeth, Maine and Portland Sports Camp. In 1980, he spent his first two-week session at YMCA Camp Belknap. This summer will be his 32nd at Belknap, where he now serves as waterfront director and senior staff member.
“Schools, families, and camps are symbiotic,” says Dr. Thurber. “It’s no surprise that the first camps were created by professional educators…progressive men and women who were looking for a powerful complement to traditional classroom education. Now, more than 150 years later, there is a renewed understanding of the importance of active learning and exposure to nature. I’m glad to see that the rest of the world is discovering what camp directors and progressive educators have known for years.”
In 2000, Dr. Thurber and co-authored the best-selling Summer Camp Handbook with longtime friend and colleague Dr. Jon Malinowski, professor of geography at the United States Military Academy (West Point). Dr. Thurber is widely published in the academic and popular press and has more than 30 years of camp experience. Dr. Thurber also served on the ACA’s Research Committee for more than a decade and is a long-time member of Phillips Exeter Academy’s Health & Wellness Council. All of Dr. Thurber’s personal and professional work is guided by the principles of kindness and leadership-by-example.
In 2007, Dr. Thurber co-founded ExpertOnlineTraining.com, a revolutionary set of web-based educational tools for youth development professional and health care providers. EOT is now the world leader in online staff training for youth development professionals, with more than 2000 subscribing organizations. Dr. Thurber also designed the American Camp Association’s homesickness prevention DVD-CD set, which has been shown to lower the intensity of first-year campers homesickness by 50%, on average.
An award-winning contributor to Camping Magazine, Dr. Thurber has also shared his youth development expertise on Martha Stewart, the Today Show, CBS Morning News, NPR and PBS. His ideas on how to maximize the benefits of the camping experience for children have been featured in Time, Parents, Scholastic Parent & Child, Parenting, Good Housekeeping, Women’s Day, USNews & World Report, Newsweek, Smart Money, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Wall Street Journal.
EMLIE BARKOW VEINOT
Jr. Sailing Program Director, Newport Harbor Yacht Club
Emlie Barkow has been working as the Jr. Sailing Program Director at Newport Harbor Yacht Club since 2009. Prior to that, she was the Sailing Director of Pleon Yacht Club, Marblehead, MA for 4 years. Emlie has been involved in a summer program since the age of 6 as a sailor, instructor, coach, or program director. Emlie graduated from Hobart & William Smith Colleges with Psychology, Education, and Sailing majors. Emlie's true passions are working with kids and sailing; this has become her dream job!
LYNN WALLS-LYNCH
On the Water Director, Chicago Yacht Club
Lynn has spent the last 16 years working in the sailing industry. She is currently the On the Water Director at Chicago Yacht Club and helps prep and run the club's regattas as well as manages the club's powerboat fleet consisting of 19 boats ranging in size from 13' to 46'. Lynn is responsible for conducting the powerboat training sessions for members of the RC as well as expanding the training opportunities for the club. She has a Masters 50-ton Near Coastal License as well as several US Sailing Certifications including Club Race Officer, Level I Instructor Trainer, Powerboat Master Instructor Trainer and Basic Keelboat Instructor. Lynn also participates on the US Sailing Training Committee as well as National Faculties.
STEPHANIE WEBB
Secretary, Programs & Grants, Edison Sailing Center
While celebrating her husband's 40th birthday aboard a 40' sailboat, little did she know that within six months, a youth sailing organization would be birthed and from that, Edison Sailing Center would emerge as a community-based, volunteer-driven safe boating organization. Armed with an educator's background and a trainer's toolkit, Stephanie has helped create programs and put a unique spin on grants. Stephanie is involved with the Salvation Army, small group ministries, and strategic planning for non-profit agencies.
RICH WHITE
Program Director, Clearwater Community Sailing Center
CHARLES ZECHEL
Executive Director & CEO, Community Boating, Inc.
Since 2002, Mr. Zechel has lead Boston’s Community Boating Inc. (CBI) as Executive Director/CEO. During this period, CBI’s annual budget has grown from slightly less than $1,000,000 to over $1,400,000 in line with CBI’s new and expanded program offerings. CBI’s endowments ($865,000) were restructured in 2009 to strengthen CBI’s long term financial position including adoption of a financial investment policy. CBI’s programming has expanded to include the nationally recognized Universal Access Sailing Program, hosting the Massachusetts Bay League, the nation’s largest high school sailing league, and CBI’s junior program outreach programs serving over 1000 children annually. During Mr. Zechel’s tenure, CBI has been awarded numerous local and national awards for excellence including the 2010 Prosser Award from the US Sailing Association and the US Merchant Marine Academy. Most recently, in partnership with The Esplanade Association, Mr. David Mugar, The Solomon Fund, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Mr. Zechel successfully lead the process of advocacy with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts resulting in the successful $3 million replacement of CBI’s docks in 2011.
Mr. Zechel brings a wealth of experience and expertise in managing the business side of sailing programs, endowments, and facilitating organizational change and growth during a period of heightened financial uncertainty and turmoil.