Stuart Gilfillen, Executive Director Tiverton, RI Stuart Gilfillen
Stuart Gilfillen comes to Tall Ships America after 13 years with the United States Sailing Association where he held the role of Director of Education, overseeing all educational programming and product development for the organization at both the student and instructor levels. While at US Sailing, he also served as the staff liaison for the organization’s Government Relations , Sports Medicine Committee, and Education Committees, as well as the primary contact for the US Coast Guard’s Office of Boating Safety.
Prior to joining US Sailing, he served as the Executive Director for the Sarasota Youth Sailing Program in Sarasota, Florida, the Sailing Director for both the Edgartown and Beverly Yacht Clubs and the Head Coach of the Providence College Sailing Team. He is a US Sailing Small Boat Level 1-3 Instructor Trainer, a US Powerboating Safe Powerboat Handling Instructor, and a Reach (STEM) Educator.
Stuart is a past recipient of US Sailing’s Outstanding Director of a Year-Round Community Sailing Program Award and the Marty A. Luray award, given to an individual who has made an “outstanding and unselfish contribution to further public access sailing.”
He’s a past board member for the US Safe Boating Institute, past Board Chair for the National Safe Boating Council and a member of National Association of State Boating Law Administrator’s (NASBLA) Education Committee.
A graduate of Roger Williams University, Stuart lives in Tiverton, RI with his wife, two daughters, and overly affectionate German Shepard, Molly.
Erin Short, Director of Events and Communications –
Washington, DC Erin Short
Erin Short joined Tall Ships America in 2006 and is the Director of Events and Communications. Over the course of seventeen years, she has helped coordinate over 85 TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® maritime events on the Pacific Coast, Atlantic Coast, Great Lakes and Gulf of Mexico. Her main role is as liaison between Tall Ships America’s Host Port Partners, tall ships fleet, US Coast Guard, city partners and community stakeholders to ensure every event is safe, secure, and successful. Erin is passionate about promoting tall ships, maritime history and our waterfront communities through the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® events and on social media. Erin grew up sailing Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay and has sailed in several of Tall Ships America’s member vessels, culminating in a transatlantic voyage. After graduating with a BS in Anthropology from University of Colorado, Boulder, she missed the ocean and moved back to Rhode Island. She now lives in Washington, DC, and has taken up sailing on the Anacostia River. When not travelling with the tall ships (and sometimes when she is) Erin is on a quest for the perfect bowl of ramen.
Nicolas Hardisty, Director of Operations –
Providence, RINicolas Hardisty
Nicolas Hardisty joined Tall Ships America as Program Manager in 2019 and was named Director of Operations in 2023. He earned an MA in History from Rhode Island College, specializing in African American and Colonial Atlantic histories. Prior to this position, Nic worked as an instructor of history at Community College of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College, and was the coordinator for RIC’s experiential education program at the Rhode Island State House. Nic’s family has been involved in tall ships and sail training for generations, and he is excited to offer his own contributions to the industry. He conducts historical research and analysis in his spare time and has presented articles on African American history, presidential assassinations, ideology & identity in the American punk music scene, and identifying/managing vicarious trauma in historians at numerous conferences throughout the United States. He is a co-founder of the academic collective Global Empire & Resistance Scholarship, serves on the executive council of the New England Regional World History Association, and is an academic advisor for Battle of Rhode Island Association. Nic is a Senior Fellow with the Center for Ocean Policy and Economics and served as the tall ships industry representative on the COPE° Working Group for Psychological Safety, Bullying & Sexual Assault and Harassment in the Maritime Sector. He also somehow finds time to teach maritime history at Northeast Maritime Institute. Nic was married on board the tall ship Kalmar Nyckel in 2021 and has four children- Jonah, Marigold, and the newest arrivals: twin boys Benny and Everett.
