Officers
John Brady – Chair – Philadelphia, PA
John Brady
John Brady has worked in maritime preservation for 40 years. Before becoming the Director of Independence Seaport Museum’s Workshop on the Water in 1997, he worked as a shipwright and a builder of wooden boats at South Street Seaport, Philadelphia Maritime Museum and the Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild. At Independence Seaport Museum, he brought the Workshop to national prominence as a boat building and maritime education center.
John served as the President and CEO of the Independence Seaport Museum since 2011 and will retire from that position in February of 2021. During his tenure the museum expanded its focus to include the environment of the Delaware River while continuing to explore the region’s maritime history from commercial, naval, and recreational perspectives. High school education programming was greatly expanded in areas of math, biology, and engineering, utilizing the boat building shop and historic ships while adding a maker space and science lab. A life-long sailor John also expanded the on-water programming at the museum as the museum took a lead role in tall ships events, regattas, a boat livery, and kayaking expeditions on the Delaware River. The River became the museums most significant gallery and classroom.
John serves as an authority on boat and ship construction on the Delaware River and along the New Jersey coast. He continues to sail a wide variety of traditional boats, as he has for 54 years. John is on the Board of Directors of The Bayshore Center at Bivalve, Tall Ships America, and The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. He has been published in WoodenBoat, Sea History, and Power Ships Magazines as well as authoring several blogs. John credits his education to Ocean County College and Rutgers University.
Charles “Chip” Swicker – Vice Chair – Bel Alton, MD
Charles Swicker
CAPT Chip Swicker served as a deckhand in the 3-masted schooner VICTORY CHIMES in 1974, before graduating from Dartmouth College in 1977. He then went to sea for five years in a variety of large ocean-going sailing ships, including the schooners HARVEY GAMAGE, PRIDE OF BALTIMORE and R/V WESTWARD, and worked in shipyards in Amsterdam and San Juan. After shaving off his beard and receiving his commission from Navy Officer Candidate School in 1982, he was assigned briefly to USS EDSON (DD 946) before serving as Electrical Officer and Navigator in USS SCOTT (DDG 995), Fire Control Officer and Battery Control Officer in USS VIRGINIA (CGN 38), Weapons Officer and Combat Systems Officer in USS PHILIPPINE SEA (CG 58), Executive Officer in USS MONTEREY (CG 61), and Commanding Officer of the guided missile destroyer USS JOHN S. McCAIN (DDG 56). Captain Swicker’s Major Command was the guided missile cruiser USS VICKSBURG (CG 69). Ashore, Captain Swicker received a Master’s Degree in Scientific and Technical Intelligence from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1990. He is also a Distinguished Graduate of the Naval War College, and spent three years teaching fellow officers as Director of the Command at Sea Department at the Surface Warfare Officers School in Newport, Rhode Island. Captain Swicker completed his 30-year Navy career as Senior Naval Advisor to the Secretary of State, and retired on the deck of the schooner VICTORY CHIMES, finishing where he started. He is married to the former Barbara Gayle Biddle of Padanaram, Massachusetts. They first met 34 years ago as Mates in R/V WESTWARD, got spliced in 1983, and currently make their home in Bel Alton, Maryland.
Mike Meighan – Treasurer – Sarasota, FL
Mike Meighan
Mike Meighan is Executive Director of Global Expeditions Group – ActionQuest, GoBeyond & Sea|mester. Born in the UK, Mike knew he loved marine life, sailboats, and teaching, but his ‘Aha moment’ happened in 1995 while training teenagers aboard yachts in the Caribbean for ActionQuest Teen Summer Adventures. A realization that learning while living in dynamic, uncontrived and often unfamiliar environments offers exceptional opportunities for social, emotional and academic growth. Mike has committed his professional career to this end, founding Sea|mester in 1998 and GoBeyond Student Travel in 2001 and eventually Global Expeditions Group as the parent organization in 2005.
In 2019 Global Expeditions Group operated over 21,000 student days collectively. Students represented 44 states and 26 countries, sailed over 21,000 nautical miles, earned more than 1,300 scuba certifications, 1,400 academic credits and dedicated more than 15,000 hours to the service of others.
Mike remains hands-on with program development, staff training and operations, sailing for three months in the Caribbean each summer with groups of 200 or more. Throughout the rest of the year, he remains active within the industry, serving as a board member for the American Sail Training Association / Tall Ships America. Mike lives in Sarasota, FL with his family.
Board of Directors
Aaron Singh – New York, NY
Aaron Singh
Chase Jackson – Cape May, NJ
Chase Jackson
Chase is a non-profit administrator with over 30 years in the community arts field. Sailing came late in life but it has become one of her passions. She was active for years with the Black Boaters Summit and is a member of the Universal Sailing Club, Baltimore, MD. She has taken ASA basic sailing courses and has crewed on bare-boat cruises in BVI, the French Polynesian Islands and the Netherlands. While quasi retired, she became a volunteer crew member on the Schooner A J Meerwald out of Port Norris, NJ. That segued into a position with Bayshore Center at Bivalve, the owner and operator of the A J Meerwald. She is currently the executive director of the Ocean City Arts Center in Ocean City, NJ. She is on the steering committee of the Creating Change Network, a program hosted by New Jersey Theatre Alliance and ArtPride New Jersey that aims to build a more equitable, just, and anti-racist arts community in New Jersey. Chase is a member of the Non Profit Professionals of Color Collective and the NJ Arts and Culture Administrators of Color Network. She is also a member of American Association of University Women-Cape May. She graduated from Elizabeth City State University with a BS in Accounting and earned a Certificate in Arts Management from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Prior positions held were: Managing Director of the Village of Arts & Humanities, Philadelphia and initiating Director of Arts Programs at the country’s largest community development corporation, New Community Corporation, Newark, NJ. She has been a participant in two national Ford Foundation initiatives and has maintained a network of cohorts. She is also an accomplished storyteller, producer, director, actor and blues vocalist and founder of ChaseArts, a producing/presenting organization. Chase declares that she has to live near a body of water where you cannot see the other side. She grew up in Norfolk, VA on the Chesapeake and currently lives six blocks from the Atlantic Ocean.. She is always at home on the water. . .
Gary Jobson – Annapolis, MD
Gary Jobson
Gary Jobson has enjoyed a long and successful career in boats small and large. He was twice named College Sailor of the Year. He has won many of the world’s offshore races, and he was tactician on the winning America’s Cup yacht, Courageous, in 1977, with skipper Ted Turner. He started his career as a sailing coach at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and later at the U.S. Naval Academy. Since then, Jobson has authored 21 books on sailing, narrated or produced 1,200 television programs and films, has given over 2,700 lectures, and has competed in 5,700 races. Jobson spent 31 years with ESPN covering nine America’s Cup events and producing many documentaries. He has covered seven Olympics (including the Tokyo 2021 Olympics) and an America’s Cup for NBC. For his work in television, Jobson has been presented with two Emmys, four Tellys and an ACE Award.
Jobson is currently Chair of the Chesapeake Bay Trust and Chair of Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County. Jobson is a Trustee Emeritus at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, a committee member of the Friends of St. John’s College, and serves on the Fales Committee at the U.S. Naval Academy. He is also a past President of US Sailing, America’s governing body of sailing, and Past Vice President of World Sailing. For many years, Jobson has been actively involved with education, environmental issues and healthcare. From 1993-2017 he served as Chair of the Leukemia Cup Regatta Series, which has raised over $60 million. Jobson spent 15 years on the Board of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Virginia. In 2012 the Gary Jobson Professorship of Medical Oncology was established at the University of Maryland Medical School for Dr. Aaron Rapoport. (Jobson survived a two-year battle with lymphoma in 2003-04).
Jobson was inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame (2011) and the America’s Cup Hall of Fame (2003) by the Herreshoff Marine Museum. In 1999 he won the Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy, US SAILING’s most prestigious award. He is a Graduate of the State University of New York Maritime College. He attended Graduate School at CW Post College (Political Science) and was awarded a Doctor of Letters from the State University of New York in 2005, and a Doctor of Humane Letters by Lakeland College in 2013.
Gary and his wife, Janice, have three grown daughters and five grandchildren. The Jobsons have lived in Annapolis, Maryland since 1977. Jobson’s hobbies include daysailing Whirlwind, his open cockpit sloop, skiing, flyfishing, reading and taking long walks.
Harry Graves – Richmond, OH
Harry Graves
Harry Hammond Graves (H2) is an International Environmental Technology Entrepreneur pioneering Fuel Cell GT technology and the Quadfactory Fleet. Fuel Cell GT technology will enable the maritime industry to travel at record speeds with net zero emissions. The Quadfactory Fleet together with Max Wind and Max Solar will enable “Net Zero” and “Paris 1.5” to be delivered early.
Mr. Graves has served in various leadership positions at Global Energy and Procter & Gamble. He is also an international competitor in rowing and sailing. A gold medalist and course record holder at the Henley Royal Regatta and Helmsman for the British America’s Cup 12 Metre Lionheart K18 in the America’s Cup Jubilee in Cowes, England. He has served as a US National Team Coach and Director/Trustee of the National Rowing Foundation.
John Gaughan – Bethesda, MD
John Gaughan
John Nadeau – New Orleans, LA
John Nadeau
John Nadeau, Rear Admiral US Coast Guard (ret), currently serves as a senior advisor and maritime consultant to owners and operators of commercial vessels, waterfront facilities, ports, and other maritime stakeholders. His areas of expertise include:
- Sustainable shipping, alternative fuels, other novel & contemporary regulatory issues
- Regulatory approval for offshore oil/gas/LNG/wind energy exploration, development & production
- Corporate safety culture & safety management system assessment & improvement
- Compliance strategies for U.S. & international regulations and key stakeholder engagement
- Maritime accident & casualty investigations
An accomplished senior leader and U.S. Coast Guard veteran, John successfully led diverse organizations conducting all aspects of marine safety, maritime security, and environmental stewardship. He was the Coast Guard’s Senior Executive for all international and national policy, standards, and programs to promote marine safety, maritime security and environmental stewardship. He has accumulated deep technical experience in commercial vessel design, compliance inspections, safety management systems, port state control, casualty investigations, navigation safety, port & facility security, and crisis response. He spearheaded development and implementation of national regulations and policy and, as the Head of the United States’ delegation to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), he advanced the US position on updates to SOLAS & MARPOL instruments and major challenges impacting the global maritime community, including the “IMO 2020” fuel oil sulphur cap, cyber risk management, ballast water treatment, autonomous ships, and the Polar Code and the International Code of Safety for Ship Using Gases or Other Low-flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code).
Maisa Tisdale – Bridgeport, CT
Maisa Tisdale
Maisa Tisdale has advocated for the preservation of the Mary and Eliza Freeman Houses since 1994 and founded the Mary & Eliza Freeman Center for History and Community in 2009 after coordinating a successful movement to save the homes from demolition. Ms. Tisdale led the Freeman Center as a volunteer until 2019 when she became the Center’s first professional staff member. Over the past ten years Maisa Tisdale not only focused on the restoration of the Freeman houses but has worked to create a safer and healthier “built” environment in Bridgeport’s South End – stressing the importance of historic preservation, community development, environmental justice, and climate change.
Maisa Tisdale worked as a private contractor for the US Department of State’s Bureau of Education & Cultural Affairs (ECA) for many years; and has worked as: Executive Director of The Ocean Classroom (Bridgeport); Assistant Director of Admissions at Fairfield University; and Manager of Sponsorships and Grants at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center. Ms. Tisdale’s assignments with ECA strongly reinforced her lifelong belief that arts and culture can indeed precipitate lasting and systemic change for the better, between nations and between diverse groups of people. Maisa also completed Professional Mariner Training at Chapman School of Seamanship and served as deckhand and docent, aboard PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II.
Marcus Asante – Baltimore, MD
Marcus Asante
Marcus is the Director of Marine Arts Workshop (MAW). MAW creates learning opportunities and events designed to educate teen and young adult students about marine trades and sailing/boating safety. An annual youth regatta is held in Cambridge, MD with New Bedford, MA and Baltimore, MD soon to be added. He works as an active Marine Technician as a private contractor with customers between Baltimore and Annapolis, serving power and sailboat owners. Recent projects include work involving gas and diesel engines, sailboat rigging, electrical troubleshooting, electronics installations, fiberglass and gelcoat repair, yacht transport and demolition, purchase and sales of vessels, winterization, pumps and water systems, and canvas/sail repair. He is a 2010 graduate of the Marine Studies Program at The Landing School in Arundel, Maine, where he received ABYC certifications in Marine Diesel engines, Marine Electrical, and Marine Systems. He also completed certification in Dometic Vacu-Flush installations. Marcus has worked at many marinas and boatyards around the Chesapeake Bay. He has also sailed much of it, from Norfolk to the C and D Canal on a variety of sail and power vessels over the last 25 years, in addition to many locations from Maine to Florida and the Caribbean. He was previously a sailing instructor for Living Classrooms Foundation, Getaway Sailing School, and Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound in Baltimore. He currently owns a 1980 Hunter 36 sailboat, which will continue to ply the waters of the Chesapeake and beyond. Marcus is the Founder of Universal Sailing Club, whose members are mostly African American, and is the only sailing club of this demographic on the US East Coast. His achievements have been recognized by numerous media outlets including Baltimore Sun, Chesapeake Bay Magazine, and Boating Industry Magazine.
Mark “Buz” Buzby – Norfolk, VA
Mark 'Buz' Buzby
Admiral Mark Buzby, USN (ret.) served as the Administrator of the United States Maritime Administration (“MARAD”) from August 2017 – January 2021.
Admiral Buzby started out in the industry at Kings Point, from which he emerged in 1979 with a license as Third Mate and a bachelor’s degree. Nearly immediately, he was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy. He served as the Commander of the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command from 2009 to 2013, and retired from the Navy from that position. In the meantime, he commanded the destroyer USS Carney during its first Persian Gulf deployment. He also commanded Destroyer Squadron 31 as the sea combat commander for the Abraham Lincoln Battle Group during two deployments in support of Operations Southern Watch and Enduring Freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan, respectively; the Surface Warfare Officers School Command; and Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay. As a junior officer, he served at sea aboard numerous cruisers and destroyers including USS Connole, USS Aries, USS Yorktown, and USS Shiloh, primarily in operations and combat systems billets. In 1985, he was the Atlantic Fleet Junior Officer Shiphandler of the Year. During the Kosovo crisis of 1998-1999, Buzby returned to sea as U.S. 6th Fleet assistant operations officer participating in combat operations as part of NATO’s Operation Allied Force in Kosovo. Ashore, Buzby has served on the Navy staff as the Point Defense Anti-Air Warfare section head for Surface Warfare Division and as Aegis Combat System development officer. As a flag officer, Buzby has served on the Navy staff as deputy for Surface Ships, deputy for Surface Warfare and deputy for Expeditionary Warfare.
Admiral Buzby is a graduate of the Joint Forces Staff College and in 1991 earned concurrent master’s degrees at the U.S. Naval War College and Salve Regina University in Strategic Studies and International Relations, respectively. Admiral Buzby’s personal awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (four awards), Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (five awards) and various other unit and campaign awards.
Admiral Buzby and his wife, Gina, reside in Norfolk, Virginia. A lifelong yachtsman, Buzby owns Nor’easter, a Grand Banks Eastbay 43 yacht that he sails all around Chesapeake Bay.
Mark Scibinico – Galveston, TX
Mark Scibinico
Captain Mark Scibinico serves as the Director of Maritime Operations and Port Captain for the Texas Seaport Museum, which is owned and operated by Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF). Mark joined GHF in 2012 and began his time there with the extensive second restoration of ELISSA. Over the last several years, Mark has acted as liaison between GHF, the USCG and ABS that has resulted in ELISSA being recertified as a Sailing School Vessel. In 2018, Mark organized the first ever Galveston Tallship festival, along with the dedicated staff of GHF and Tall Ships America.
Mark has over 15 years’ experience working on vessels of all types, sailing from the Antarctic Peninsula to the Canadian territories on both coasts of the Americas. Having sailed on everything from dinghies to cruise ships; Barques to brigs; tugs boats to schooners, he has extensive training in traditional sail, volunteer management and regulatory management of passenger and sail training vessels.
CAPT Michael Turdo – New London, CT
CAPT Michael Turdo
CAPT Turdo is Commanding Officer USCGC EAGLE (WIX 327) and a permanent Cutterman with ten years at sea. Prior afloat assignments include Deck Watch Officer USCGC Forward (WMEC 911) in Portsmouth, Virginia; Executive Officer USCGC Monomoy (WPB 1326) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts; Commanding Officer USCGC Baranof (WPB 1318) deployed to the Northern Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; Commanding Officer USCGC Key Biscayne (WPB 1339) in St. Petersburg, Florida; Executive Officer USCGC Eagle (WIX 327) in New London, Connecticut; Commanding Officer USCGC ESCANABA (WMEC 907) in Boston, Massachusetts. Previous assignments ashore include: Command Center Duty Officer at Coast Guard Activities New York; Company Officer at the United States Coast Guard Academy; Staff Officer in the Office of Defense Operations, Coast Guard Headquarters; Chief of Professional Maritime Studies at the United States Coast Guard Academy.
CAPT Turdo is a 1997 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Government. He also holds a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He currently resides in East Lyme, Connecticut with his wife, Wendy, and their two daughters.
Nathan Hauser – Newark, DE
Nathan Hauser
Nathan joined the Board in 2017. He is the Vice President and General Manager of Moran Philadelphia and Moran Baltimore. Moran Towing is a marine services provider with a reputation for providing industry leading quality, safety and performance. Moran operates over 100 vessels from 16 locations in North America, engaged in harbor tug assist and escort operations as well as bulk marine transportation. At Moran since 2002, Nathan has been deeply involved in efforts to achieve industry leading quality and safety certifications. He is also a member of Moran’s Corporate Design Team and Quality Steering Committee. Prior to joining Moran, Nathan was employed as a Merchant Mariner aboard United States Flagged oceangoing ships engaged in international trade. Nathan also served for 14 years as a Reserve Naval Officer. Nathan is a Dual License graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point. He maintains current USCG Licensing in both the Deck and Engineering departments, including unlimited and ocean endorsements. Nathan is active in the local Philadelphia port community, currently serving as a Board Member for the Maritime Academy Charter High School, the Ports of Philadelphia Maritime Society. He is also an active member of the Mariner’s Advisory Committee. Nathan is an avid aviator and also enjoys sailing with his family.
Patricia (Patti) Lock – Waukesha, WI
Patricia (Patti) Lock
In the past 20 years promoting ships, ship programs and sail training, she has helped develop many cities host the fleet for the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE®. These include Savannah, GA, Portland, ME, Jacksonville, FL, Galveston, TX, Pensacola, FL; returning series regulars such as Chicago and Cleveland; new 2019 ports, Buffalo, NY and Kenosha, WI; and in 2018 Tall Ships® New Orleans 2018, a massive 18-month undertaking to bring six tall ships down the Mississippi to New Orleans for their tricentennial celebration.
A US Coast Guard Auxiliarist from Flotilla 36-06 Wilmette Harbor, IL for fifteen years, Patti is a long-time advocate for fresh-water conservation, better environmental practices and the preservation of bee and butterfly habitats. When she is not promoting education under sail, Patti enjoys her time as a member of the Rotary Club of Arlington Heights, IL, volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, and is a former Board Director for the Metropolis Performing Arts Center, also in Arlington Heights, IL.
Pete Tebeau – Pawcatuck, CT
Pete Tebeau
Pete Tebeau brings to the Board over fifty years of experience as a maritime professional and marine educator. Upon graduation from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, he served 22 years on active duty in the Coast Guard in assignments focusing on Arctic operations, pollution prevention, response & enforcement, and marine environmental technology R&D. Upon retirement, he embarked on a 25-year career as a maritime consultant working on projects for government, academia and private industry in the areas of oceanography, marine technology, maritime operations and marine environmental protection.
Pete holds undergraduate degrees from the Coast Guard Academy and Florida International University, and masters degrees in Physical Oceanography from the University of Miami and Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island.
Since 2003, he has undertaken a career in science education, teaching physical sciences at the high school level at Stonington High School, and teaching oceanography, meteorology and marine environmental protection at the Coast Guard Academy. He has Connecticut State Teacher Certifications for Earth Science, Physics and General Science for Grades 7-12. In addition to classroom teaching, he has worked with youth as a rowing coach at both Stonington High School and CGA.
Pete’s sailing experience includes three summers on Tall Ship USCGC EAGLE, as well as recreational sailboat voyages in the Caribbean and Puget Sound, and numerous afternoon sails on his own sloop. His current aspiration is to continue teaching marine and maritime science in both formal and informal settings to promote youth engagement & development and ocean stewardship.
Simon Colley – Hingham, MA
Simon Colley
Simon Colley has over twenty years of expertise in designing and delivering high-impact learning experiences. He is the founder of Trust Labs—a company that provides experiential leadership programs for leading global law firms, with a focus on trust and culture.
Prior to Trust Labs, Simon held VP roles with two Boston-area tech start-ups in the blockchain and ed-tech spaces. While at the latter, he led the development and implementation of a scalable train-the-trainer program for the Saudi Ministry of Labor, enabling the rollout of a nationwide blended-learning initiative to empower Saudi women to enter the workforce.
Simon previously served as the Director of Operations and Senior Captain for the Spirit of Bermuda, as Captain of the tall ships Tole Mour, Roseway and Lettie G Howard, and in various roles with Sea Education Association and Ocean Classroom, amongst others. His experience also includes over a decade with Outward Bound as a curriculum developer, program manager, and lead instructor. Simon currently sits on the boards of Courageous Sailing and Tall Ships America. He lives in Hingham Massachusetts with his wife Caitlin, also an experienced tall ship officer, and their two adventurous little boys.
Simon holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, a BEd from the University of Western Sydney, and a BS in Marine Biology from James Cook University. He also holds a USCG Captains license, for vessels up to 1600 tons, upon oceans.
Stefan Edick – Gloucester, MA
Stefan Edick
Captain Stefan Edick is a lifelong sailor who began his professional career in sailing ships in 1993. Issued his first Captain’s license in 1996, he has held command of a dozen traditional vessels, including the schooners William H. Albury, Lettie G. Howard, Westward, Spirit of Massachusetts, Harvey Gamage, Amistad, Virginia, Lynx, and Adventure. In addition, he has served as an officer in the Class A Tall Ships Sorlandet, Roald Amundsen, and Gazela. He currently holds a USCG 500 Ocean Master’s License for power and sail and a Norwegian Chief Mate’s Endorsement for Unlimited Tonnage. He has devoted his career to programs of education under sail, is the former Executive Director of the Gloucester Adventure and was awarded the ASTA Sail Training Program of the Year in 2002 for work with youth in the Lettie G. Howard. A longtime participant in the Gloucester Schooner Festival and the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, Captain Edick was also Commodore and Vice Commodore of the American Schooner Association.
William Sabatini – Erie, PA
William Sabatini
Captain William Sabatini grew up in southeastern Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, and has been around water his entire life. He began sailing tall ships in Newport, RI, before attending Tabor Academy, an academically rigorous high school in Marion, MA. While at Tabor, Billy sailed for four years on the Schooner Tabor Boy; he also crewed on various other schooners during his summer breaks. In the latter half of his senior year, he restored a 1939 Alden Coastwise Cruiser, Luau, which he sailed throughout New England after graduation. The following year, he sailed Luau to Maine Maritime Academy, where he spent the next four years earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Small Vessel Operations, with a concentration in Sail Training. While at Maine Maritime, Billy worked his way up to the position of Chief Mate of the Academy’s schooner Bowdoin, where he designed and implemented Bowdoin’s student run sail training program. During his college career, he also assisted in the development of a supplemental seamanship program, applicable to both traditional and modern vessels, for students in all majors at the Academy.
Billy began his time with the US Brig Niagara in 2005, as 3rd Mate, advancing to Chief Mate in 2008, Captain in 2014 and Executive Director/Fleet Captain in 2018. During the winter months, he has served as Mate or Captain on a number of tall ships on every coast of the United States. Over the last two plus decades, he has sailed the East coast from Nova Scotia to Venezuela, the West Coast from Alaska to Mexico, and the entire Great Lakes system, as well as crossing the Atlantic twice.
Billy lives in Erie, PA with his dogs Bruin and Queen Charlotte and his cat Commodore.
Patron
Michael J Rauworth, Esq – Nahant, MA
Michael Rauworth
Michael Rauworth served on the Board of Tall Ships America for more than 20 years, and completed his service as President and Board Chair in 2021. Mike’s long-term service to American Sail Training Association/Tall Ships America has seen the organization through many cycles of change and development through generous contributions of his time, expertise and gifts.
Mike has worked as a maritime lawyer in Boston for more than 30 years, following a career at sea amounting to more than 200,000 sea miles. He maintains an unlimited Coast Guard license as Master of Sail, Steam, and Motor Vessels, and as first-class pilot on waters of Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington, serving as master of six commercial vessels and deck officer on fifteen others, ranging from sail training to deep-draft cargo vessels, to tugs and barges, and to military vessels. He served as Commander of U.S. Naval Forces during Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti in 1994, and later retired as a Captain from the Coast Guard Reserve after service ranging from icebreaker voyages to both polar icecaps to commanding seven military units. Mike taught marine insurance at Massachusetts Maritime Academy for seven years and is the author of a two-part article on the Jones Act, published in Sea History magazine in 2017.