Lindsay Meyer-Clarke giving a dock talk
Our Coaches
Our Staff
Craftsbury Outdoor Center coaches include Olympians and former World Champions, as well as coaches of some of the most competitive universities, schools, and clubs from around the world. Heading up the COC staff are these distinguished coaches:
Director:
Sara Gronewold
Associate Directors:
Kate Erickson
Troy Howell
Kevin MacDermott
Ric Ricci
Erika Sloan
Helen Tilghman
Craftsbury Sculling Center Coaches in 2025
Sally Machin, Stonington High School
Asiya Mahmud, University of Delaware
Graham Marks, Smith College
Lindsay Meyer-Clarke, South Jersey Rowing Club
Emilie Muller, Wellesley College
William Mwanga, Uganda National Team
Caleb Nollenberger, Craftsbury Green Racing Project
Henry Nuzum, US National Team
Ciara O’Sullivan, Boston University
Jaden Oates, University of Pennsylvania
Hank Osborn, Columbia University
Henry Palmer, Leander Club
Naomi Patino, Row New York
Roger Payne, University of Virginia
Bob Reichart, Capital Rowing Club
Gary Reid, Concept2 New Zealand
Nicole Ritchie, Vesper Boat Club, Temple University
Dan Roock, Green Racing Project Emeritus
Will Scully, St. Andrews School
Erika Sloan, MIT
Harrison Soebroto, St. Paul’s School
Hannah Stafford, Brick City Rowing
Bill Stekl, Amherst
Wes Vear, Green Racing Project Alum
Magda Vidal, Pocock Rowing Center
Noel Wanner, Dartmouth College
Jim Washburn, Carnegie Lake Rowing Association
Tom Wedgewood, Pennsylvania Athletic Club
Doug Welling, Bowdoin College
Astrid Wettstein, Princeton University
Paige Wheeler, Craftsbury Green Racing Project
Steve Whelpley, Green Racing Project
Craig White, St. Benedict’s Prep
Julia White-Hoppe Mines, Oregon State University
Tim Whitney, 2001 US National Team 1x
Amy Wilton, Portland Community Rowing Association
Stephanie Acerra, Holton Arms School
Toby Ayer, Salisbury School
Julia Batson, Boston College
Janet Bellantoni, Redwood Scullers
Peter Belmonte, Xavier High School
Eleanna Bez, Colgate Womens Crew
Libby Boghossian, Riverside Boat Club
Ellen Braithwaite, Open Water Rowing Center
Ellen Braun, Beaver Creek Sculling
Erik Breiland, Green Mountain Rowin
Meredith Breiland, Green Mountain Rowing
Kendall Chase, MIT
Srikar Chiravuri, Ann Arbor Huron High School
Rich Connell, Middlebury College
Maura Conron, Cambridge Boat Club
Cassandra Cunningham, Power of 3
Diane DeLuca, Michigan State
Jim Devol, Narragansett Rowing Club
Hans Doerr, The Hill School
Kate Erickson, St. Mark’s School
Maria Esway, Hockaday School
Tim Field, Chicago Community Sculling
Rob Foreman, Seattle Rowing Center
Will Forteith, Hockaday School
Jeanne Friedman, Mount Holyoke
Jaiden Gomez, Baltimore Community Rowing
Keira Gotrell, Hope on Water
Mark Grinberg, Riverside
Patrick Guelakis, Choate Rosemary Hall
Lise Hafner, Saratoga Rowing
Jack Heaslip, Riverside Boat Club
Grace Hollowell, Boston College
Malaika Homo, Salt Lake City
Troy Howell, St. Margarets School
Mesha Jefferson, Texas Rowing Center
Brannon Johnson, BLJ Community Rowing
Sherri Kline, Long Beach Rowing Association
Jackson Lifford, Northwestern, NCCR
Lisa Lowe, Riverside Boat Club
Brendan Lynch, Universitätsruderverein, Vienna
Stephanie Acerra: Stephanie played collegiate field hockey and lacrosse until she had the opportunity to begin rowing after college in 1996. She has been rowing competitively since then, both sweep and sculling with several clubs, currently with Capital Rowing Club in Washington DC. As a high school teacher, Stephanie has additionally coached rowing at the schools where she taught since 2002, including Choate Rosemary Hall, Greenwich Academy, and currently The Holton Arms School where she has been the head coach since 2014. She has been coming to Craftsbury since 2005!
Michele Africa: Michele began rowing for Humboldt State in 1996. She continued on to medal in the single at Henley and US Nationals. She has coached at all levels of rowing from juniors to collegiate and masters. She has coached at Moss Bay, Gorge Rowing Center, Camosun College, Humboldt State and Humboldt Bay Rowing Association.
Toby Ayer: Toby grew up in Burlington, VT and spent the summers of his youth juggling with Circus Smirkus, based in Greensboro, just south of Craftsbury. He began rowing as a freshman at MIT, and for a couple of summers stole over to Great Hosmer for early-morning sculling sessions while the circus was in training. He attended graduate school at Oxford, and rowed in the Boat Race for four years, ending with a streak-breaking win against Cambridge in 2000. Returning to Boston, Toby was a coaching assistant to Harry Parker at Harvard for two years and continued training out of the Harvard boathouse for several more years. During this time he taught freshman physics at MIT and coached the Brookline High School boys’ team. He also spent two summers rowing with the elite men at Penn AC in Philadelphia. In 2008 he and his wife moved to Salisbury School in northwest Connecticut, where Toby teaches physics and coaches the rowing team. He turned his experiences at Harvard into The Sphinx of the Charles, a year-long profile of Harry Parker. Toby continues train and race in masters events, both on the water and on the erg, with recent wins at CRASH-Bs, the Head of the Charles, and other regattas.
Julia Batson: Julia is the Assistant Women's Rowing coach at Boston College. Prior to BC, Batson coached with the Saratoga Rowing Association/ARION program in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. In addition to her coaching duties, Batson was also part of ARION's elite racing group. A 2023 graduate of Smith College, Batson graduated cum laude with a degree in religion and a minor in exercise and sports studies. While at Smith, Batson was a two-time All-American honoree and a NEWMAC First Team all-conference selection in 2022 and 2023. She was the 2022 Pioneer Powerhouse Athlete of the Year and earned dean's list honors in each of her four years. An accomplished athlete and sculler, Batson has won the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta four times, while racing in the championships at the Head of the Charles and the U.S. U-23, Speed Orders, and Olympic trials.
Janet Bellantoni: Janet has been rowing and coaching for over 30 years, including coaching men and women at all levels (elite, club, masters, college, and juniors). She enjoys working with all athletes, from brand new rowers to seasoned competitive masters. She is currently an assistant coach for the nationally-ranked Redwood Scullers junior team and the Technical Director of the venerable Twin Donut Rowing Club. She has coached at Craftsbury since 2016.
Janet learned to row at the University of Rochester in 1986, where she served as team captain and stroked a gold medal eight at Eastern Sprints. After college, she trained at the U.S. National Lightweight Team training center in Boston while attending selection camps for the US lightweight 4-. During this time, she earned medals at the Lucerne Regatta, World University Games, Elite Nationals, Head of the Charles, and Canadian Henley. She remains an active master’s rower, with recent wins at the Head of the Charles, the Heineken Roeivierkamp, and the San Diego Crew Classic. Her current home club on the west coast is the Bair Island Aquatic Center (BIAC) where she serves on the Board of Directors.
Peter Belmonte: In 2007 Peter was first introduced to rowing as a walk-on at Wesleyan University, where Norm Graf served part-time as assistant coach. After college, Peter raced briefly with the Riverfront Recapture men’s masters’ team, before getting more competitive and training in the single with Guenter at GMS in New Milford, CT. During that time, Peter served as head coach at Xavier High School from 2012-2018 and assistant coach at his alma mater from 2015-2018. More recently, Peter’s served as assistant coach at DCNRC on the Upper Potomac River from 2019-2021 and TBC Racing in downtown Washington, DC since the summer of 2022.
Eleanna Bez: Eleanna started rowing in 2017 at the University of Washington, and continued to row and race in Seattle primarily at Pocock Rowing Center. She started coaching at Pocock in the beginning of 2020 and worked with adults and youth rowers through the summer of 2023. While in Seattle, she also completed several rowing-related biomechanics research projects. Eleanna then went on to complete a Sports Engineering graduate program at Purdue University, where she trained and competed with Purdue Crew. Currently, she is the assistant coach for Colgate University Women's Rowing.
Libby Boghossian: Libby is a 2009 graduate of Brown University, where she studied biology and became a two time NCAA champion and a three time Eastern Sprints champion while rowing with the Bears. She then spent nearly a decade coaching scholastic and club rowing, in addition to teaching high school science. In 2017, she earned a Master's degree from Harvard University while coaching the Harvard Lightweight Men. She is now working at an education-related nonprofit in the Boston area, and continues to row for Riverside.
Carol Bower: Carol learned to row during her junior year at UCLA in 1978. She raced for the United States from 1979 to 1984, and won many medals, including Gold in the 1984 Olympics in the Women’s 8+. Carol was named Female Athlete of the Year in 1982 by the US Olympic Rowing Committee. In 1980, Carol began coaching with a position at Yale University, coaching the Novice Women. Since then, she has been a head coach of University of Pennsylvania from 1987 - 1996, and Bryn Mawr from 1996 until 2022. Carol coached the US Women's Olympic 4+ in 1988, and has twice been honored as a Hall of Fame athlete, both in 1984 and in 1991. She retired from Bryn Mawr in 2022 and now lives in Portland, Maine, enjoying surfing and hiking in the summers and cross-country skiing in the winters. Carol has coached at Craftsbury since 2005.
Ellen Braithwaite: Ellen learned to row as an adult at Craftsbury while she was a member of the Center's office staff in the early 90s. Sculling led to lots of new friends, and a new career. She combined teaching and administration for four years as the Director of the Open Water Rowing Center in Sausalito, California, and now specializes in teaching sculling to adults, both on the challenging water of San Francisco Bay and on various calmer bodies of water in California and Vermont. As a competitor in sprint events, Ellen has won sculling gold medals at the FISA Masters Worlds, as well as U.S. Rowing National and Regional regattas. She competes in long distance events in the ocean as well as on lakes and rivers, and though she has medaled in the Monterey Bay Crossing, the Catalina Crossing, marathons in Ottawa, Vermont, and California, and the North American Open Water Rowing Championship, she believes strongly in the satisfaction of modulated participation.
Ellen Braun: Ellen discovered rowing as a senior at University of Massachusetts/ Amherst rowing two-seat in the UMass W8+ that finished 2nd in the 1982 Dad Vail. After college, Ellen competed in road and track cycling, eventually winning two national championships on the track. She was a 4-year member of the US National Cycling Team, competing in Italy, Germany, USSR, E. Germany, France, Austria, and Belgium. After retiring from cycling and getting a masters, Ellen’s career focused on technology consulting and IT, eventually leading post-merger integration teams. Ellen rediscovered rowing in 2017 and joined the coaching staff Western Albemarle High School/ Beaver Creek Sculling. WAHS/BCS rowers have earned podium spots at Stotesbury Cup, SRAAs, Head of the Schuylkill, and Youth Nationals; alums have progressed to varsity D1 and D3 boats with one to U23 National Team level.
Erik Breiland: Erik is the founding president of Green Mountain Rowing in the greater Burlington, Vermont, area. Erik rowed sweep at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1994-1998) and started sculling on the Merrimack River in the summer of 1995. He coached women's novice crew at the University of Vermont in 2000 and took the novice eight to their first berth in the petite final at the New England Rowing Championships. Competitively, Erik has medaled in sculling boats at the Head Of The Charles, US Nationals, Canadian Henley, and “more prestigious races” such as the Green Mountain Head Race and Black Fly Regatta. He encouraged his mom to start rowing back in 2001; she is an active member of Merrimack River Rowing Association. Erik and his wife, Meredith, both row on the Lamoille River. Erik has been a coach at Craftsbury since 2002.
Meredith Breiland: Meredith's rowing career began in high school at Norwalk River Rowing Club (Norwalk, CT) and continued at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY, 1997-2000). After taking years off to compete in triathlons and marathons, Meredith returned to rowing professionally and personally. Meredith joined Concept2's marketing team in 2007, where she spent over 15 years promoting the lauded fitness brand. She joined HUDSON Boat Works in 2024 as the Marketing Manager. Meredith rows on the Lamoille River as a member of Green Mountain Rowing (Milton, Vermont) with her husband (and fellow coach), Erik Breiland.
Izzie Brown: Izzie learned to scull at Craftsbury in 1983. For the following four summers, attending camp at Craftsbury became an annual tradition for Izzie and her mom, as a way to spend time together before returning to college in the fall. Izzie transitioned to coaching at Craftsbury in the early 1990s, and is thrilled to be a part of the Craftsbury camp experience for all who participate. Izzie began rowing at Northfield Mount Hermon and competed in the World University Games in the 4x and earned silver at the Pan American Games in the lightweight 2x. In addition to coaching at Craftsbury, she has been a part of the coaching staff at Temple University, Mount Holyoke College and the Florida Rowing Center. As a transition to empty-nesting, she is currently a part-time coach at Oakland Strokes for the men’s program. In graduate school, Izzie studied rowing physiology and biomechanics. She also created The Boathouse Row Cookbook; an inspirational example of the strong and uplifting bond among the Philadelphia rowing community. When not coaching or sculling with Janet Bellantoni, a fellow Craftsbury coach, she is a professor teaching sports nutrition and exercise physiology at San Jose State University.
Kendall Chase: Kendall was part of USRowing’s National Team from 2011 – beginning on the Junior National Team, through the Tokyo Olympic Team in 2021. Kendall is a seven-time National Team member and a five-time U23 World Champion. Kendall graduated from UCBerkeley, where she captained the women's varsity rowing team, claiming two NCAA Championships and three PAC 12 titles. A two-time PAC 12 Athlete of the Year, Kendall was also named the PAC 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a two-time First Team All-American, a two-time CRCA All-Academic First Team member and a four-year varsity letter winner. Kendall started her coaching career in the spring of 2023 and is currently the assistant coach of the women's lightweight crew team at MIT.
Srikar Chiravuri: Coach Srikar lives and coaches in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and enjoys talking technique as much as rest and recovery. Having been exposed to rowing as a high schooler, receiving the opportunity to scull every summer as a way to dig deeper, Chiravuri believes rowing is one of the best experiences any person can grow from. Regardless of equipment, split, and competition, there’s always that inclination to further an understanding oneself through the vast world of rowing. “You only go as far as the effort you are willing to put in,” Chiravuri firmly believes.
Rich Connell: Rich began rowing as an undergrad at Franklin Pierce College in 2004, becoming the assistant coach of that program from 2007-2009 upon graduating, and later joined the Merrimack River Rowing Association (MRRA) from 2008 to 2015. In addition to coaching FPC, he was the head coach of the Dublin School in New Hampshire from 2010-2016, was the varsity boys coach at Vermont Academy from 2016-2017, and was the head coach at the Anchorage Rowing Association (ARA) in Alaska from 2017-2019. Currently, Rich is the head coach of men's and women's rowing at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. Working with those who love the sport is his passion, and he has coached aspiring rowers of all ages (from 10 through 87 years of age) and ability levels (including para-rowing) at the junior, collegiate, and master’s level.
Maura Conron: Maura began rowing at Brown University and Narragansett Boat Club and now rows at Cambridge Boat Club (MA). Maura has coached at various programs including CRI and Riverside. She was Co-Race Director of the Head of the Charles Regatta in 2013 and 2014, the 50th running. Maura now works full time at a sustainability non-profit.
Diane DeLuca: Diane began rowing at Michigan State's club program; competing in regional races, the Dad Vails, and the Head of the Charles. She continued rowing after college in Philadelphia at The Vesper Boat Club; competing in regional regattas, Club and Elite National Championships, and the Canadian Henley. She has also raced in Mexico City and rowed in Florence Italy under the Ponte Vecchio. Diane started coaching when the Fairmount Rowing Club (Philly) needed a summer coach for their novice junior boys. That was over 20 years ago, and she has been coaching ever since. Diane is a volunteer coach at Michigan State, and a regatta volunteer for the Knecht Cup and San Diego Crew Classic.
Jim Devol: Jim started rowing in College in 1974. He began coaching at the University of Rhode Island in 1980 then coached the freshmen crews at the US Coast Guard Academy through 1984. Jim started sculling in 1979. Through the 1990’s Jim raced in multiple New England masters races, the US Masters Nationals, and the US FISA masters regatta. He has raced in sweep and sculling boats in 30 Head of the Charles regattas. He began cross country skiing in the 1980’s, across New England and here at the Outdoor Center. He has participated in over 20 ski marathons in Europe, Canada, and in Craftsbury. He started teaching sculling at the Outdoor Center in 1983. He has coached on and off at the Center since then. Jim currently coaches masters at the Narragansett Boat Club in Providence, RI
Hans Doerr: Hans has been coaching junior and scholastic rowing for over twenty years. He began rowing at the University of Virginia and launched his coaching career at the Detroit Boat Club while serving with Teach for America. Over the years, he has coached at Everett Rowing Association, Blair Academy, Darlington School, and Kent School. He now teaches history and coaches rowing at The Hill School in Pennsylvania.
Flo Elkins: Flo is a Certified Personal Trainer, Wellness Strategist and Founder/CEO of F.L.O. Life Fitness. Her rowing journey started when a personal training client invited her to attend a Learn-to-row weekend with Los Angeles Rowing Club in September of 2015. In 2021 Flo became a Certified indoor Rowing Instructor with UCanRow2 & Concept2 and started incorporating rowing coaching into her business. She is the Head Coach with Bachman ROC Rowing Club and also coaches with Ready Set Row.
Kate Erickson: Kate learned to row somewhat later in life as a PhD student at Oxford University, where she joined her college's intramural team in exchange for the promise of a free hamburger on tryout day. She went on to row for the Oxford University Women's Boat Club for three varsity seasons between 2015 and 2018 and was team captain in her final year. She has previously coached at The Hill School and is now Head Varsity Boys Coach at St. Mark's School in Southborough, MA.
Maria Esway: Maria has been rowing for over 20 years with several organizations, including: Dallas Rowing Club; Lincoln Park Boat Club; Columbus Rowing Association; and Green Lake Rowing Club. She competes annually at regional and national regattas in both sculling and sweep events. Maria has also held leadership roles across multiple rowing venues, instructed all rowing levels, and interacts regularly with high school, collegiate and adult athletes. Maria is currently coaching at The Hockaday School in Dallas, TX.
Tim Field: Coach Tim started rowing at the University of Michigan between 1990 and 1994. He returned to rowing as assistant coach for Huron High School in Ann Arbor in the spring of 1999. During that season he met the boys from Manley HS (A Most Beautiful Thing) and moved to Chicago to begin working with the the team. Between 2000 and 2008 he developed Manley Crew into the Chicago Youth Rowing Clubs with teams at Manley HS, Juarez HS, Jones College Prep HS, Maria HS and indoor rowing clubs at other high schools and youth centers. He was a volunteer coach at the Chicago Rowing Foundation West 2021-2022, spring of 2023, and then with Hinsdale Community Rowing from Fall 2023 through today. Since 2023 Tim has also been working with Chicago Community Sculling in the development of a rowing club at Altus Academy, a middle school on Chicago's west side..
Rob Foreman: Rob Foreman is a Strength Coach at the Pocock Rowing Center and Lake Washington Rowing Club. He enjoys working with people who are passionate about their sports. It’s his goal to help people get stronger and perform better in their pursuits. Rob began his career working at a health club in Washington DC. After moving to Seattle, he reconnected with the rowing community. In addition to training his strength and conditioning clients he spends time working with masters and youth rowing programs.
Will Forteith: Will began rowing as a sculler at St. Mark's School of Texas in Dallas. During high school, he came to Craftsbury twice as a camper, and his Vermont experiences resulted in a lifelong affinity for New England rarely found in those born elsewhere. He did his university rowing at Cornell on the men's lightweight team. Will began coaching in the Fall of 2000 at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut, starting his career that has focused primarily on Junior Scholastic Rowing. In addition to Choate, Will has coached at the St. Mark's School of Texas, Atlanta Junior Rowing Association, Blair Academy in New Jersey, and most recently The Hockaday School. In his six years as Hockaday's Head Coach, Will's crews medaled three times at Youth Nationals, winning the Women's Under-17 2X in 2024, finishing 2nd in Women's 2V 4X in 2024, and finishing 3rd in the Women's 1X in 2021. In addition, Hockaday medaled multiple boats at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia, including winning the Freshmen Quad from 2022-2024, the Junior 4X in 2024, and the Lightweight 2X in 2023. Will left Hockaday in June 2024 and has just finished his first year as the Dean of Students at the Alcuin School, a Montessori and International Baccalaureate School in Dallas, Texas.
Jeanne Friedman: Jeanne is a USRA Level III certified coach, and has been involved in sculling since 1975. During her tenure as head coach at Mount Holyoke College (1992-2014) she led the team to four Seven Sisters Championships, two NEWMAC Championship, and numerous medals at the ECAC and New England Championships. In 2009, she was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. In 2019, Jeanne was inducted in to the Boston University athletic Hall of Fame. Coach Friedman believes in the importance of a holistic approach to rowing - mental training as well as physical.
Jaiden Gomez: Jaiden started rowing at Baltimore Community Rowing (BCR) in 2018 as a freshman in high school. After he graduated, Jaiden returned to BCR to coach through an Americorps program called Up2Us (currently Coach Across America) while attending Prince George's Community College. Jaiden then transferred to Morgan State University while continuing to coach the middle and high school programs at BCR. He graduated from Morgan in December 2024 with a Bachelor's degree in Physical Education. Jaiden currently works full-time with BCR as it's Youth Outreach Coordinator. As the Youth Outreach Coordinator, Jaiden is focused on expanding outreach, programming, and rowing opportunities for student athletes in Baltimore City and the metro area. He focuses on recruitment and retention of athletes of color while actively coaching juniors and adult programs at Baltimore Community Rowing. When he's not coaching, Jaiden enjoys cooking new foods for his friends and family.
Keira Gotrell: Keira Gotrell is a rowing coach with experience leading crews from youth as young as 10 to masters athletes, with a current focus on competitive high school rowers. An accomplished junior athlete who competed at national and international levels and a former Division I collegiate rower, she prioritizes strong technical foundations and uses rowing as a tool to help athletes grow both in and beyond the sport. Her crews have medaled at local and state regattas, and she’s supported athletes who have gone on to compete at the national level. Outside of coaching, Keira is completing her degree in Cybersecurity and Information Technology and serves as VP of Tech and Operations at Hope on Water, where she helps advance initiatives that expand access to rowing and build a more inclusive future for the sport.
Peter Graves: Peter learned to scull at the age of 9 on the Thames River in a 2x with his dad, Harry Graves. Twenty years later he proudly competed at the 2012 London Olympics not far from where he took his first strokes. Through the years Peter rowed for Cincinnati Country Day School ('03), Trinity College ('07), and the US National Team ('06,'09,'11,'12,'14,'16). Peter stroked the Trinity College 8+ that won the 2005 Henley Royal Regatta. Peter has won the Head of the Charles six times, twice in the Men's Collegiate 8+ and four times in the Men's Championship 2x. He has had the distinct honor of representing the USA internationally with his older brother Tom in the M2x ('09,'11) and in the M4x ('14,'16) with his younger brother John. Most years while on the national team he trained in Newport Beach, CA during the winter and at Craftsbury, VT during the summer. He eventually became part of the newly created Craftsbury GRP from 2013-2016. One of his favorite highlights is winning a Bronze Medal at the 2014 Lucerne World Cup in the M4x with his Craftsbury teammates: Steve Whelpley, John Graves, and Ben Dann. Peter has coached at the junior, collegiate, and international level including the Craftsbury sponsored USA M2x in 2017. He currently is the Interim Head Women's Coach at Trinity College in Hartford, CT and also program manager at Long Beach Junior Crew in Long Beach, CA.
Mark Grinberg: Mark is the retired Head Coach of Riverside Boat Club's High Performance Group in Cambridge, MA. The 2014 USRowing Fan's Choice Coach of the Year, his focus is on developing the individual athlete through a focus on small boats and sculling. Mark has coached athletes to top finishes at USRowing Youth Nationals and Head of the Charles. His former athletes row at some of the top rowing programs in the country. He has coached several boats at the U19, U23, and Senior National team levels.
Sara Gronewold: Sara learned to row at Boston University and was a member of BU’s Eastern Sprints and National Championship Gold Medal crew in 1992. After college, Sara raced on the United States Rowing Team from 1996-2000. She won a gold medal in the women’s 4- at the 1996 World Championships, a bronze medal in 1999 and was a member of the U.S. women’s 4X in 1998. She began coaching at Craftsbury in 2002, and discovered a love of coaching sculling. In addition to coaching every summer at Craftsbury, Sara coached with CRI in Boston, Boston University Summer Program, Duke University, Carolina Masters and, most recently, the Ann Arbor Rowing Club, where she was the director for several years. Sara was named to the Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.
Patrick Guelakis: Patrick has coached at Craftsbury since 2006. A 2003 graduate of Trinity College, Pat coached for two years at Connecticut College under the direction of Ric Ricci. In these two years, the first novice fours were undefeated and novice team took gold in three events in the New England Fours Championships. Pat rowed for four years with the Bantams, competing in the NESCAC under the direction of coaches Stew Stokes and Steve Fluhr. He then coached at Worcester Polytechnic Institute for five years as the Assistant Varsity Coach while teaching physics at Worcester Academy and earning his Master's in electrical engineering. He is currently Head Coach for the boy's team and a physics teacher at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT.
Lise Hafner: Lise began rowing at Brown University during the Cold War (both politically and in the boathouse). Following other competitive sports detours, including triathlon, she eventually returned to crew and currently rows and competes with both Saratoga Rowing Association Masters and Chinook Performance Racing. Lise has medaled at various US Rowing Masters Nationals Championships as well as the Head of the Charles. She enjoys guiding from newbie to seasoned veteran rowers (and is also an accredited sea kayak instructor). Lise has had several other lives, including as a photographer, where one of her clients was Concept II.
Jack Heaslip: Jack rowed for the University of Rhode Island before rowing in Germany. He coached and rowed for Ann Arbor Rowing Club and was also the head coach of the men's novice team and overall sculling coach for Huron High School. Jack became the director of sculling for Ann Arbor Rowing club (2019-2021) before moving for work to Boston, where he currently rows at Riverside Boat Club.
Grace Hollowell: Grace first took up rowing in 2003 at Pioneer Highschool in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Rowing led her to Harvard where she went on to earn several sprints and IRA medals with the Radcliffe Lightweights, while serving as Captain in 2010. Grace has coached at the high school, junior, and D1 and D3 collegiate level, spending time at Saratoga Rowing, Bare Hill Rowing, Smith College, Boston University, Dartmouth, and most recently, Boston College where she serves as the Head Women’s Coach. She looks forward to returning to the magic of Great Hosmer pond, having spent the summers of ’18 and ’19 working with the U23 GRP program.
Troy Howell: Troy was at the Outdoor Center since 2007, first as a coach, then as Fleet Manager from 2009-2014, when he became Director of Sculling Programs upon Norm Graf's retirement until Troy moved on in 2022. Troy has been coaching rowing and sculling continuously since 1991, in varied settings from the Rivanna Rowing Club, Wichita State University, Duluth Rowing Club, Episcopal School of Dallas, Middlebury College, Saint Margarets School and here at Craftsbury.
Mesha Jefferson: Mesha started her rowing career while she was attending the University of Texas at Austin. She has since started coaching rowing, first in Daytona Beach, FL and primarily in Austin. Mesha has coached rowers of all ages and skill sets, highly focusing on technique. She continues to row competitively with Texas Rowing Center. When she isn’t rowing on the water or land, Mesha enjoys gardening and attempting to master other sports.
Brannon Johnson: Brannon Johnson, a Philadelphia native and current resident, is the head coach and owner of BLJ Community Rowing, one of the most diverse community rowing programs in the Philadelphia metro area. She has built an extensive resume in rowing, teaching, and coaching over the past 15+ years. Highlights of Brannon’s achievements include Rowing 4 years on the varsity level at the University of Texas, Austin, competing in the Single Sculls at the Henley Royal Regatta, teaching and coaching over 1,000 Philadelphia residents, and founding and running the first Black owned and operated rowing organization in the country. Brannon is quoted/featured in The Unlevel Playing Field: A Documentary History of the African American Experience in Sport and was the subject of The Philadelphia Inquirer article on May 18, 2001, “A River of Challenges Can’t Sink This Rower.” 6abc September 18, 2023; Good Morning America on December 19, 2023.
Lisa Lowe: Lisa started rowing in 2007, fell in love with the sport, and is excited that her career now revolves around rowing. She was a collegiate rower at Ithaca College where she graduated with undergraduate (2011) and graduate (2013) degrees to become a Physical Therapist. She practices at Champion Physical Therapy and Performance in Waltham, MA. Lisa is also a medical classifier for para rowing, volunteers with US Para rowing, and writes about rowing and physical therapy topics online. A classified PR3 para rower herself, she continues to row in Boston at Riverside Boat Club.
Brendan Lynch: As a coach with Universitätsruderverein, Brendan is building Vienna’s college rowing scene. Before coming to Austria, he coached over a dozen Irish National Championship, University Championship, and Gannon Cup-winning Crews at University College Dublin, from novice quads to Senior 8s.
As an athlete, Brendan rowed at Lake Davidson Sculling, the McCallie School, and Trinity College — where he got his start with coaching while recovering from injury.
Off the water, Brendan can be found pursuing his true passions: a tall glass of chocolate half and half from the Craftsbury dining hall and empowering business leaders to streamline efficiencies with data-driven insights.
Kevin MacDermott: Kevin joined the Craftsbury coaching staff in 2002, began serving as a head coach in 2005 and was named an Associate Director of the program in 2009. Outside of Craftsbury, Kevin is the Head Coach of Men's Rowing at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. Since Kevin took the helm in 2009, the program has won five Men's Team Titles at the New England Rowing Championships and three ECAC Men's team championships. In 2010-11, Kevin was the Head Coach for the United States Junior National Team, leading the men's team to the Junior World Championships in Eton, UK. Prior to his appointment as Head Coach at Trinity, he served as the program's Assistant Coach, working with first-year oarsmen and coordinating recruiting. Kevin cut his teeth in collegiate coaching as the Assistant Coach for Men's Crew at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, his alma mater. Kevin has coached high school and masters rowers in Hartford and Middletown and since 2010 has served as the ergometer coach for two local CrossFit affiliates. Kevin learned to scull at The Haverford School, before going on to row for Northfield Mount Hermon, and as an undergraduate at Wesleyan.
Sally Machin: Sally began rowing in high school out of the Ottawa Rowing Club in Ontario, Canada. Though mainly a sweep rower throughout high school, she spent a substantial portion of her training in the pair and developed a love for small boat rowing, which of course led to sculling. She rowed for four years at Boston University, finishing her time there with a 2nd place finish in the Championship Women's 4+ at Head of the Charles. Since graduating in 2010, she has been more consistently sculling and racing the 1x. In 2018, she started coaching for Stonington High School and in 2019, she took on the role of head boy's coach.
Asiya Mahmud: Asiya is the head women’s coach at the University of Delaware. Prior to the Blue Hens, Mahmud coached Drexel University for eight years. In addition to her many accomplishments as a collegiate rowing coach, Asiya is a decorated international rowing coach with postings including coaching the women’s U23 4+ to a silver medal finish in 2024 at the world championships. She was also the Lead Coach for the CanaMex championships in 2023, during which American crews earned 14 medals, 8 of them gold. In 2022, Mahmud coached the U23 women’s 4+ to a silver medal in Varese, Italy, and in 2021, she coached the Jr. National women’s 4+ to Gold in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Mahmud is a USRowing Level 3 High-Performance certified coach.
Graham Marks: Graham currently serves as the Assistant Coach of Men’s Crew at Williams College, where he has coached since 2018. In addition to his time at Williams, Graham has coached at the junior level at the West Side Rowing Club and Nichols School in Buffalo, New York and at Crescent Boat Club in Philadelphia. As an oarsman, Graham began his career as a freshman at Nichols School, where he was a four year varsity letter winner. Upon graduation, he attended Boston University where he earned a BA in English and was a member of the Men’s Rowing Team. Graham has also competed for Vesper Boat Club as a member of the U23 and High Performance teams.
Caitlin McClain: Caitlin started rowing at Holy Names Academy, an all-girl scholastic program in Seattle, WA, in 1997. After rowing all four years in high school and college at Loyola Marymount University, she returned to Seattle and started coaching masters sculling and youth summer camps at Lake Union Crew and Holy Names. This launched an over 20 year coaching career that includes 10 Youth Nationals medals, including two golds, three NCAA DII appearances with Seattle Pacific University, including a championship in the Varsity 4+, and over 10 years with the U19 National Team primarily coaching sculling, and most recently the Junior Women's 8+ which won gold in 2024.
Lindsay Meyer-Clarke: Lindsay is a coach and teacher from Philadelphia, Pa. In her 15 years of coaching, she has worked with everyone from middle school to masters and currently serves as the head coach of South Jersey Rowing Club. In her own rowing career, Lindsay began rowing at the age of 12 out of a friend’s marina in her hometown of Seattle, Wa. She was a member of the 2008 Olympic Women’s Quadruple sculls, won multiple medals at Junior and Under 23 world championships in the single and quadruple sculls, earned silver medals in the women’s double and quadruple sculls at the 2015 pan American games, and helped Stanford to its first NCAA championship in 2009. Outside of rowing, in 2022 Lindsay completed her PhD in Neuromotor Science at Temple University where she now teaches Biomechanics. She lives in Philly with her husband.
Taryn Miller: Taryn has been rowing since 2004 having both sculled and swept at the high school, Division III (Marietta College), and Division I (University of Massachusetts) level. During her rowing career she won several conference championships and made three NCAA Rowing Championship appearances. Taryn spent several years coaching for her alma mater before serving as recruiting coordinator and assistant coach of Marist College. Taryn has since continued her work with health and wellness having run the Adult Sports program for Marine Corps Community Services in Okinawa, Japan and is now currently serving as the Wellness Director for the Capital District YMCA in Albany, NY. In addition to continuing to row, Taryn is a certified group fitness instructor through the American Council on Exercise and CPR, AED and First Aid instructor through the American Red Cross and Health and Safety Institute.
Emilie Muller: Emilie rowed at Bates College where she was a member of the 2015 NCAA championship team and graduated in 2016. Soon after, she began coaching at the Nashville Rowing Club in Nashville, TN, where she coached juniors, masters, learn to row groups and competitive teams. In 2017 she joined the coaching staff at Wellesley College where she is currently the Associate Head Coach. Highlights have included NCAA championships in 2022 and 2023, spring break training camps in sunny Clemson, SC, and helping to guide countless Blue Crew novices through their first-ever rowing strokes. When not on the water, Emilie enjoys biking, cooking, hanging out with her dog, friends and family, and playing tennis very poorly.
Linda Muri: After learning to row at MIT and then how to scull at Craftsbury, Linda has spent over 30 years coaching rowers of all stripes at the high school, collegiate, masters, and international levels. A nine-time US National Team member and a three-time World Champion, Linda still competes a few times a year as a masters rower. She gives back to the sport through her USRowing referee work, serves on the World Rowing Indoor Commission, and hosts a youth sculling regatta on the Charles River each fall.
William Mwanga: Mwanga William, Level 3 USRowing coach, began his coaching career in 2010 in Uganda, where he quickly rose to the position of Head Coach for both the Uganda Para Rowing Team and the National Rowing Team (U18). Throughout his career, he has coached athletes of all levels in Uganda, Kenya, and the United States, guiding them to success in international competitions, including the Eastern Central African Championships and the Gavirate International Para Rowing Camp and Regatta, and coached the Ugandan athlete for the Tokyo and Paris Olympics. An accomplished athlete, Mwanga has competed across Africa and the United States since 2011 in singles, doubles, and quads. His notable race appearances include the East and Central African Championships, the Head of the Schuylkill, the Independence Day Regatta in Philadelphia, and the Head of the Charles. Currently, Mwanga serves as a coach at The Putney School and the Brattleboro Rowing Club in Vermont.
Henry Nuzum: Henry sculled on the U.S. National and Olympic teams from 2000-2004, rowing for Igor Grinko, Ted Nash, Kris Korzeniowski, and Charley Butt; in the 2004 Olympics, Henry and partner Aquil Abdullah finished sixth and set an American record in the Men’s Heavyweight Double that stands today. Henry rowed for Harry Parker at Harvard, where he also participated in NROTC. Henry is a Navy veteran, leading a boarding party and Tomahawk missile strikes during two Arabian Gulf deployments. For over a decade, Henry has worked in shipping for SEACOR Holdings. He is married with four children and lives in Washington, D.C.
Ciara O’Sullivan: Ciara began rowing at Archbishop Carroll High School on the Schuylkill River in 2012 and has been in love with the sport ever since. They raced with Temple University for four years during their undergraduate education, racing in 8+s and using the Summers to train in small boats. After graduating in 2019 Ciara joined the Vesper High Performance Group and learned to hone in their sculling ability while training at the elite level. In 2021 they followed their passion for coaching to Smith College, an NCAA Division III program in Western Massachusetts, while earning their Masters degree in Exercise and Sport Studies. They currently coach with the Boston University Openweight Women’s team.
Jaden Oates: Jaden Oates is a dedicated oarsman entering his senior year at the University of Pennsylvania, where he competes with the Penn Heavyweight Rowing Team. With seven years of rowing experience, Jaden has developed a strong foundation in the sport, having previously rowed for St. Benedict's Preparatory School and Brick City Rowing. Throughout his career, he has competed at a high level in both the Varsity 4x and Varsity 8 events.
Hank Osborn: Hank learned to scull on Lake Hosmer at age 15. He later coached at Craftsbury for 25 consecutive summers. As a prep school rower, he was Stroke and Captain of the Tabor Academy Crew. Highlights included winning first place in the Reading Regatta in England over the US National Champions. As Stroke of the Rutgers University Heavyweights, Hank’s crew was seeded first for the 1992 IRA national Championships. Hank began his coaching career at Tabor Academy in 1995 where his crews’ victories included undefeated seasons and 2 New England Championships—the first for the school in 65 years. Hank coached Heavyweight rowing at Columbia university for 5 years and the Varsity Heavyweight Summer Crews at Dartmouth College from 1999-2005. Victories included first place finishes at Canadian Henley. Over the years, Hank coached 9 crews for the Henley Royal Regatta in England after competing in the event as a rower himself 4 times. He was selected as a Member of the Leander Club and an 8-oared shell was named in his honor. Dozens of Hank’s former athletes have gone on to row or cox for the United States National Team.
Henry Palmer: Henry has coached every level of rowing and sculling, from juniors to masters, including the US Junior National Single sculler in 2015. Henry rowed at Trinity College, accomplishing many accolades for the Bantams. After Trinity, Henry went on to row for Great Britain, and was a finalist in the Olympic Selection regatta in 2008 in the men’s pair.
Naomi Patino: Naomi learned to row at Boston University, then raced as a lightweight sculler at Boston Rowing Center and Vesper Boat Club, winning many races, including national championships. She also competed as a pro inline-speedskater, winning races in distances from 5k to 87 miles. Naomi was the head coach at Drexel University, and then the director of Florida Rowing Center. She is now a personal trainer in New York City, with certifications including pre/postnatal exercise and corrective exercise. She has been coaching at Craftsbury since 1997.
Roger Payne: Roger brings almost 50 years of rowing and coaching experience to Craftsbury. He rowed at the University of Washington, sculled at Lake Washington RC, winning 4 Canadian Henley golds in the Lt 2X, worked for both Pocock Racing Shells and Owen Racing Shells, and coached at Lake Washington, Seattle Pacific, Oregon State, Wisconsin, and Virginia. He has coached at numerous USRowing development and selection camps for Jr. and Sr. men and women, sweep and sculling. Roger has worked with several national team and Olympic scullers, most recently with the bronze medalist Paralympic LTA 2X. He is a Boatman Emeritus and volunteer assistant coach at the University of Virginia.
Bob Reichart: Bob is the Head of Coaching and Masters Sculling Coach at Capital Rowing Club in Washington DC, where he has been coaching since 2014. Bob learned to row and compete as a lightweight at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut (Class of '84). He has rowed with the Bantam, Minnesota, and San Diego Rowing Clubs, and is past Captain for the ARIEL TOY Virtual Rowing Team during the Concept 2 January Virtual Team Challenge. Today, he rows and competes for both Capital Rowing Club and Chinook Performance Racing, and has medaled at the US Rowing Masters National Championships, FISA World Masters Regatta, and the Head of the Charles.
Ric Ricci: Ric has coached rowing for 50 years, including 43 at Craftsbury. He rowed at Trinity College in Connecticut, winning the 2- IRA National Championship in 1972 and '73. In '72 he competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials and the '71 and '73 Henley Royal Regatta. Ric is currently the men's coach at Connecticut College. He coached at Yale and the Blood Street Sculls RC in Old Lyme, Connecticut, was the head women's coach at Rutgers from '86-88, and coached the silver medal-winning pair at the '91 Pan American Games.
Nicole Ritchie: Nicole started rowing as a high schooler in Putney, VT, spending time in small boats and racing the Green Mountain Head regatta. She then rowed for Bates College as the team made their first DIII NCAA appearances and second place performance as a team in 2009. After college, Nicole moved to Philadelphia to train at Vesper Boat Club. Nicole trained at Vesper for 7 years, competing in National Selection Regattas in 1x's and 2x's, the Henley Royal Regatta in the 4x, and qualifying for the Pan American team in 2014, and winning a silver medal in both the double and the quad. Most recently she finished 2nd place at the 2016 Olympic trials in the Women's Double. She was an assistant coach for the GRP Senior and U23 rowers for 1 season, and has coached at Philadelphia City Rowing, Bachelors Barge Club, and Temple University. Nicole attends UVM in their Physical Therapy program, and lives with her family in Underhill, VT. In her spare time, Nicole loves XC Skiing and also bananagrams.
Dan Roock: Dan has been coaching since the mid-80s. His career started at Florida Institute of Technology, before extended involvement with Princeton University, including six years at the helm of the women's rowing program where the Tiger 1V went 59-2 in dual races with multiple EAWRC and National Championships. He spent the next 12 years at Cornell as Director of Rowing and Men's head coach, during which time the Big Red's men's 1V was a mainstay of the national top ten. Dan led the lightweight men of Dartmouth with the LM1V medaling at the EARC Sprints and IRA's in 2011 and 2012.Dan has extensive experience in a variety of USRA National Team postings at the Junior, U23, and Senior levels, including winning gold and bronze medals with the Men's U-23 8+ (then Nation's Cup), and winning a gold and silver medal coaching Junior Men's 8+ crews with Todd Jesdale. Most recently, Dan was head coach of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center's Green Racing Project, placing rowers and crews on the US National Team in 2013, '14, and '15, with a World Cup bronze medal in the M4X.
Marlene Royle: Marlene started rowing in 1977 competing for West Slide Rowing Club, Boston University, and Boston Rowing Club; her accomplishments include national collegiate, national sculling, and Head of the Charles titles. She first joined Craftsbury's coaching staff in 1986 and served as an Associate Director from 2004-2006. From 2006 to 2009, she was the Head Coach at the Florida Rowing Center. In 1999, Marlene founded Roylerow Performance Training Programs to design plans for individuals and teams. Marlene writes a monthly training column for Rowing News. Books include Tip of the Blade: Notes on Rowing and Skillful Rowing. In 2023, Marlene co-authored the USRowing Masters Coaching Certification Course.
Will Scully: Will began rowing in 2008 at Simsbury High School in Simsbury, CT. He continued rowing at Trinity College in Hartford, CT where he was a member of a number of New-England and ECAC winning crews and where he served as captain his senior year. He rowed competitively in the U23 program at Penn AC in Philadelphia and at Mosman Rowing Club in Sydney, Australia before starting his coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach at Trinity and Simsbury, and as a JV Coach at Middletown High School in Middletown, CT. He is currently a physics teacher and the head boys rowing coach at The Hill School, in Pottstown, PA and is the head boys coach of the Penn AC Gold summer junior program.
Erika Sloan: Erika began rowing in 2008 at Simsbury High School in Simsbury, CT. She went on to row at Middlebury College, where she started to pick up sculling (including a stint as a sculling intern at Craftsbury). Following her graduation, Erika spent the summer of 2016 racing and training in small boats at Vesper Boat Club in Philadelphia. She returned to Middlebury as the assistant men’s coach for the 2016-2017 academic year, then moved to Craftsbury and spent the next four years living and working year round at the Outdoor Center, where she fleet managed, coached, and assisted then director Troy Howell in the off-season. Erika moved to the Boston area in 2021 and is currently the assistant men’s lightweight coach at MIT.
Harrison Soebroto: Harrison sculled for four years under Jim Barker at The Haverford School and rowed out of Undine along the Schuylkill. He then rowed as a lightweight at Columbia University. Harrison is currently a Humanities Teacher at St. Paul’s School (Concord, NH), where he also coaches cross country and rowing.
Bill Stekl: Coach Stekl has been tethered to the sport of rowing for fifty years. He took his first strokes on the Connecticut River as an athlete on the high school team in Middletown, Connecticut, and then devoted a lifetime of passion for the sport further north on the Connecticut as the head coach at Amherst College that spans thirty five years. His crews at Amherst have enjoyed multiple victories and podium results at the New England Rowing Championships, a victory at the National Invitational Rowing Championships, and top ten results at the Head of the Charles Regatta. Coach Stekl has been committed to a lifetime investment in mentoring and teaching the sport of rowing to a wide spectrum of athletes that includes the master and youth teams at Northampton Community Rowing, master scullers at Yankee Rowing Club, Avalon Rowing Club, and the 1980 masters four in preparation for their multiple podium finishes at the Head of the Charles Regatta.
Helen Tilghman: Helen began rowing at Mt. Baker Rowing and Sailing Center as a youth athlete in 2003. She went on to row at the University of Washington before moving into coaching full time. After spending several years at the collegiate level with Seattle University, University of Dayton, and Michigan State University, Helen moved back to Seattle and Mt. Baker. She served as the Head Coach and Director of Rowing there for four years. Helen now leads the Pocock Youth Rowing program in Seattle as a part of the George Pocock Rowing Foundation. She has been coming to Craftsbury since 2010.
Wes Vear: Wes wrapped up his undergraduate studies in 2016 at the University of Michigan after taking his time to study chemistry and economics for five years. He rowed for Michigan for four of those years and spent his fifth year attempting to train on his own. He raced in the Varsity eight his junior and senior years, winning gold at the ACRA National Championships. He also won gold in the US Men's 8+ in South Korea at the World University Games. He refused to give up his obsession with rowing for four years after graduation and trained at Craftsbury on the Green Racing Project from 2016-2020, racing for the US at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. He was finally forced to confront the adult world and attend medical school at Columbia University in 2020. Wes has recently decided he may as well put everything off again for a couple years and pause school to get experience working in public health before he goes back to finally finish his MD.
Magda Vidal: Magda began rowing in 2014 for Western Albemarle High School in central Virginia. She fell in love with sculling and worked her way to a first place finish at scholastic nationals and a second place finish at youth nationals in the Women’s 4x event. Since then, Magda has trained and competed with various clubs in every boat class. After five and a half years coaching and rowing at the Pocock Rowing Center in Seattle, Washington, Magda moved to Craftsbury to work full time for the Sculling Camp program as the Fleet Manager.
Jim Washburn: Jim stroked the Lawrenceville School varsity four to the finals of scholastic national championships. At Trinity College, he rowed in the stroke seat of the varsity heavyweight eight that won the New England championships. He has coached at Tabor, Lawrenceville, Swan Creek, and Dartmouth. Jim currently lives in New Jersey and coaches with Carnegie Lake Rowing Association. He has been coaching at Craftsbury since 1998.
Doug Welling: Doug started rowing at Bates College in Maine. He rowed for four years for Bates and the University of Otago, New Zealand prior to starting his coaching career. Doug has coached rowing at Middlebury College, University of California Santa Barbara, and is currently the head coach at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME. During the summer months, Doug coached with the US Junior National Team and at Maine Coast Rowing. His personal endurance journey has twice included the Ironman World Championships and most recently, the 100-mile Crazy Mountain Ultra in Montana. Doug loves all the time spent outdoors, especially with his family, wife and two kids.
Astrid Wettstein: Astrid first began rowing at Rochester Rowing Club of Minnesota in 2005. She spent most of her high school career sculling and developed an affinity for small boat work. She rowed at Princeton for four years and during this time medaled with the team at 4 NCAA championships and won the Women’s Champ 8+ at the 2010 Head of the Charles. She also spent two of those summers training at Craftsbury as part of their GRP U23 program. She joined Austin Rowing Club as the novice girls head coach in the fall of 2020 and served as the varsity girls head coach from 2021-23. She was an assistant coach for Syracuse Women’s Rowing from 2023-34, and is currently an assistant coach at Princeton.
Steve Whelpley: Steve started his rowing career in Wisconsin at the Milwaukee Rowing Club, where he and his high school friends started up a junior program that traveled locally and gave them all a taste for the sport. From there, he rowed at Colby College and was a NESCAC all-academic honoree for two out of his four years. After college, he moved to Penn AC in Philadelphia to continue his pursuit of rowing with aims of making the National Team. After a few years in pairs and fours, Steve finally made the full-time switch to sculling in 2008. In his first year of sculling, he finished fourth at Olympic Trials in the single. Subsequent years brought Steve to many different clubs and coaches as he attempted to climb the sculling ranks: Penn AC, GMS, Potomac, NYAC, the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, and the National Team Training Center in Princeton. He selected for two World Cup teams in the double in 2009 and 2010. In 2012, he raced to a second place finish in the double at the 2012 Olympic Trials. From here, Steve found his way to Craftsbury to be a member of the inaugural GRP rowing team. While a member of the GRP, Steve was the U.S. Men's Single in 2013 and a member of the U.S. Men's Quad in 2014 that medaled at World Cup III in Lucerne. In 2016, Steve along with fellow GRP member Willy Cowles, won Olympic Trials in the double, but failed to qualify the boat internationally. After 2016, Steve turned the page to begin coaching full time by spending a year with his alma mater. Most recently, Steve has returned to Craftsbury as the head coach of the GRP.
Craig White: Craig is the head coach and founder of St. Benedict’s Prep Rowing program since 2010 in Newark, NJ. President and co-founder of Brick City Rowing program which is dedicated to the expansion of competitive youth rowing within the city of Newark, NJ and the surrounding area.
Julia White-Hoppe Mines: Julia began rowing as a walk-on athlete at Oregon State University in the fall of 2000. She went on to train with the US National Team in Princeton from 2003 until 2007, where she took up sculling in 2004. Julia has coached both sweep and sculling at the Hun School of Princeton, OSU, UCSD, UC Davis, and was selected to attend Pocock's inaugural CoachCon in 2012. She served as Craftsbury's Fleet Manager for two years, where she also taught nordic skiing, and tuned skis at the Craftsbury Nordic Center in the winter. Julia currently works in Oregon's wine industry, and lives in northwestern Montana where she spends her time skiing, rafting, backpacking, and generally enjoying the PNW.
Tim Whitney: Tim began rowing in 1993 while a student at Phillips Exeter Academy. He rowed at Wesleyan University, stroking the Varsity 8+ and competing twice at the Henley Royal Regatta. Tim first learned to scull at Craftsbury during his junior year at college. After college, he focused on sculling the 1x exclusively, training much of this time at the Long Beach Rowing Association in Long Beach, California, where he also worked as a coach for the Junior Program. In 2001 he won the U.S. National Team Trials in the 1x, and represented the U.S. at the World Championships that year in Lucerne, Switzerland, placing 15th. Tim lives in Brattleboro, VT - works as a psychotherapist and yoga teacher, and sculls and coaches on the Connecticut River with Row-BOC, the local rowing club.
Amy Wilton: Amy began rowing as a high school student in Connecticut and continued at George Washington University. After college, she went on to coach at the University of Vermont, Wesleyan University and George Washington University. Amy has also coached at River Front Recapture, Middletown Rowing Club, Middletown High School, DC Strokes, Potomac Sculling, Litchfield Hills Rowing Club and was head coach at Megunticook Rowing. Amy is currently rowing with PCRA in Portland, ME. Along with coaching, Amy is a professional photographer and has photographed the sport for numerous rowing publications and companies, including Craftsbury. She began coaching at Craftsbury in 2000.