Sarah Smith, Waterfront Manager
Sarah, a recent Babson College graduate, spent her last 23 summers at the Annisquam Yacht Club in Gloucester, Massachusetts. She is thrilled to join the staff at the Community Sailing Center and is looking forward to a summer of exciting new things. Sarah loves being outside, especially when it’s sunny. Sarah lives way up at the top of the Bolton Valley Access Road where she likes to take long hikes and play with her much-loved Westie. Sarah spends her winters skiing as much as possible throughout the US.

Jamie Wellman, Waterfront Coordinator
Jamie is from Champaign, IL and has an AA degree from Landmark College. He is currently finishing up with his BA in Public Relations from Champlain College in Burlington. Jamie learned to sail at the National Outdoor Leadership School in Mexico and has not stopped since. He enjoys anything outdoors and on the water. In his spare time when he is not by the water Jamie enjoys live music festivals and hanging out with his friends. This is his second year working for the Community Sailing Center and he is looking forward to another great summer.

Sarah Ramsey, Waterfront Coordinator
Sarah is from Connecticut, and grew up sailing on Long Island Sound. She is currently a sophomore at Champlain College, majoring in marketing. She loves the outdoors—whether it’s skiing, hiking, sailing, or cliff jumping—she’s down. She also loves to dance, cook, paint, and play with her kittens, Elvis and Diesel. This is her first year working with The Community Sailing Center and she couldn’t be more excited about it!

Emma Hamilton, Waterfront Coordinator
Emma is from Topsham, Maine and is a senior at the University of Vermont. She is studying sociology and applied design and spent last semester traveling in New Zealand. Emma enjoys camping, sailing, live music and being on the water. She is looking forward to spending the summer in Burlington and working on Lake Champlain.

Jessica Johnson, Waterfront Coordinator
Jessica is from Woodstock VT and is a student at UVM currently studying Biology and French. About to start her last year at UVM, she is pursuing a career in medicine after graduation and doing some traveling. Outside of school she also teaches at Sugarbush in the winter, spends most of her free time skiing, hiking, snowshoeing, swimming, traveling and doing anything that involves being outdoors. She was introduced to sailing a few years ago when she started working for a community sailing organization on Nantucket island during the summers. She is really looking forward to working at the community sailing center this summer and spending lots of time on the lake!

Brian Jessiman, Head Coach NVHSST
Hi, my name is Brian. I have been racing sailboats since I was 9 and have spent time in many different types of boats. I started out in Lasers and 420’s and then moved into the Laser 2 and racing big boats from a J/22 to a Holland 42 1Ton and currently own about 16 boats. From that, you might guess that I am pretty into this stuff. I grew up sailing the Great Lakes based from Youngstown New York. My home program was Youngstown Yacht Club where I participated in the Junior Sailing program and eventually started instructing and then coaching the Race Team. I bought my first race boat (a brand new Laser 2) when I was 17 and raced both Lasers and Laser 2’s extensively. From there on I spent much of my time racing big boats all over the country as well. During this time I also spent most of my time working in boat yards to get a good understanding of boat repair and maintenance. During the winter I teach skiing and snowboarding.

Chris Childers, Instructor, Assistant Coach NVHSST
Chris comes to Vermont from New Jersey, where he grew up racing and cruising the Barnegat Bay. He was an active member of the Community Sailing Center during his college tenure, but then fled to Florida to escape the cold. After lending a hand to the US Paralympic Team and overdosing on fresh grapefruit and grouper, he returns to Burlington with a newfound appreciation for frost. When he’s not sailing, Chris is usually spotted tinkering with his bike, playing music or getting dirty in the garden.

Anna Taylor, Instructor
Anna has been working at the Community Sailing Center for 6 years. In 2008 she graduated from the University of Vermont where she raced with the UVM sailing team. Since then she has been exploring foreign lands and has just returned from Argentina. She will be attending law school at American University in Washington DC this fall and is looking forward to a summer full of sailing, cheddar cheese and general outdoor frolicking.

Pete Brewster, Instructor
Pete hails from Canton, CT but has made VT his home for the past 6 years. Growing up sailing throughout the northeast, Long Island Sound, and a few excursions in the Caribbean, Pete has mastered the art of cruising along the ever-changing waterways of the place we call Earth. Hoping to find some new challenges this summer, Pete is stoked for the upcoming sailing season and looks forward to seeing the old faces, and new ones, enjoying the beauty of Lake Champlain.

Emma Hermanek, Instructor
Emma grew up in Chicago, IL where she learned to sail and raced on her high school sailing team. She taught sailing at another youth camp in Chicago for four summers, but is now living full time in Burlington. She will be a senior at University of Vermont studying Recreation Management and French. Her favorite activities include skiing, being outside and spending time with friends.

Chris Lund, Instructor
Chris is from Riverside, CT and is a UVM student in the college of engineering and mathematics. Chris sailed on Long Island sound out of Riverside Yacht Club and raced as a junior sailor. Chris has been fortunate to sail on his family’s Sabre 36 around Long Island sound and while living in Japan they had the boat shipped to Tokyo harbor where he sailed on weekends. Chris raced on an Express 37 out of Mamaroneck harbor and enjoyed the experience. In his free time Chris loves to ski, mountain bike, and play frisbee. Chris looks forwards to teaching sailing on Lake Champaign this summer.

Craig Morrill, Instructor
Craig Morrill has recently been immersed in the uncertainty of his freshman year of college. After a semester in Boston at the Wentworth Institute of Technology, he transferred to the University of Vermont to study environmental engineering before changing his major. He is now in Environmental Studies with a concentration in agriculture, education, and advocacy, with a minor in food systems. When not in school,Craig likes to do things on the lake, such as sailing, wakeboarding, kayaking, and just about any other activity that exists. He also like to climb, run, ride my cyclocross bike, and do anything else where he can be outdoors.

Nick Neverisky, Instructor
Nick is a new transplant to Burlington. He grew up in New Hampshire and has spent the last few years teaching sailing in San Francisco, leading trail maintenance in Glacier National Park, and teaching climate change advocacy in the mountains of Washington. He has a degree from Hampshire College with a concentration in myth theory and experiential education, a course of study that helped him to explore the experiences people have outdoors through the lens of literature and mythology. This summer he’s particularly looking forward to being outside every day, exploring northern Vermont, and working with an excited crew of new sailors.

Molly Northrop, Instructor
Molly is from Connecticut. She grew sailing on Long Island Sound since she was seven years old and sailed for her High School sailing team. Although this is her first year instructing at the Community Sailing Center, Molly has been a sailing instructor for the past four years. Molly is currently 20 years old, studying psychology at UVM. Aside from sailing, Molly loves to ski and go to concerts! She can’t wait to kick off a great new season!

Nick Wilkins, Instructor
Nick grew up sailing in Gloucester MA, where he sailed and coached both 420’s and lasers. He recently graduated from Lesley University in Cambridge MA. In the winter Nick works on the Park Crew at Bolton Valley (and he is a SKIER). Nick loves sailing and skiing, with soccer and video games close behind. He recently moved to the Burlington area and had a great winter and I am looking forward to a great summer!

Melody McKnight, Americorp*VISTA member
Coming to the Community Sailing Center from the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior, Melody is excited to work on curriculum development and build on the CSC’s community connection through volunteer coordination and social marketing during her term of service as an Americorps VISTA. Melody has paddled extensively in the Apostle Islands and also at Isle Royale in Lake Superior, as well as the Florida Everglades.

Alex Haesler, Intern
Alex grew up in Vermont and is currently a senior at the University of Vermont, majoring in public communication. She spent the last semester studying abroad in Greece. She enjoys being outside, running, and traveling. She is excited to spend the summer working at the Community Sailing Center and hopes to learn a lot.

Theo Ingram, Head Coach NVHSST
Theo grew up sailing on the Shrewsbury River in Oceanport, NJ racing Optimists, 420s, and have spent most of his time in Lasers. For several years he traveled around the country sailing and was consistently ranked in the IlCA North American Grand Prix. During his four years at UVM, he sailed for the Coed team which competes on the national level. As the Head Coach for the High School team this spring, he looks forward to working with each student and developing their abilities on and off the water.