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Our Team

Dedicated to:

Building Boats,

Nurturing Lives,

Helping Others

MATTHEW JACOBS
Executive Director

Matthew Jacobs brings over 15 years of experience in historic preservation, traditional trades, education, and community engagement to the Carpenter’s Boat Shop. As Director of Preservation, Education and Youth Engagement for the National Park Service, he has led programs that connect young people with craftsmanship, stewardship, and the building trades, training more than 1,500 young people and introducing hundreds of students to outdoor and hands-on learning.

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CHELSEA FISHER
Apprenticeship Program Director

Born in Texas and raised in rural Wisconsin, Chelsea did not discover sailing or wooden boats until 2007 when she happened upon a tall ship festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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Email Chelsea

DAN ASHER
Fleet & Facilities Manager

Born in Worcester, MA and raised in a Soviet Jewish immigrant family in New York City, Dan fell in love with the Northeast bioregion spending his adolescent summers at Camp Thoreau in Thetford, Vermont.

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DANIELLE FILOSA
Development & Marketing Coordinator

Danielle has been residing in the midcoast since 2020. She left the hustle and bustle of the city, in search of peace and community in Maine. Since her move, she has co-founded an inclusive arts collective for adults with and without disabilities called Double House Arts Collective in Portland and became the first Director of Belonging at Inn Along the Way in Damariscotta.

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SAMMY LOPER
Wooden Boat Building Instructor

Born in Central Florida to an Architect and a Montessori School Educator, Sammy learned early the importance of working with your hands, building connections, and moving at your own pace. Eager to pick up any skill they could, Sammy explored art and craft all the way through college, attending the Maryland Institute College of Art.

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SOZO PUMPHREY
Wooden Boat Building Instructor

Born in Connersville, Indiana, and the oldest of seven siblings, Sozo grew up with a deep curiosity and a love for tinkering outdoors. After graduating high school early, Sozo explored a variety of roles before returning to a lifelong interest in hands-on work and discovering a true passion for carpentry in 2020.

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MADISON HUMMER
Cook & House Manager

Born and raised in a small town nestled in the Shenandoah Valley, VA, Madison very early on learned how important it is to share good food with loved ones and neighbors. From sharing ripe juicy tomatoes from their garden to hosting large dinner parties with neighbors, Madison has always thought of food as something to be shared and cherished with others.

Click Here to Read the Full Bio

Board of Directors

RUSTY KENDALL
President

Rusty is the CFO of Charleston based Sherman Financial Group. Before moving to Charleston and joining Sherman in 2008.

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KAREN FILLER
Vice-President

Karen moved to Maine in 1999 with her husband Matt from Simsbury, Connecticut.

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KEITH ROWAN
Treasurer

Keith’s exposure to CBS goes back to its beginnings with his grandfather’s admiration of Bobby in the pulpit all around the central coast of Maine.

Click Here to Read the Full Bio

PHYLLIS IVES
Secretary

Phyllis Ives has deep family roots in Pemaquid (her ancestors built the red and white farmhouses at the Boat Shop) and was first invited onto the Board in 2002 by Ruth Ives.

Click Here to Read the Full Bio

Todd Azadian

Todd and his wife Vickie retired to South Bristol, ME, where he enjoys his time farming oysters with a group of friends on The Damariscotta, pulling his lobster traps, working one day a week at a lobster wharf, and building Adirondack chairs as an FOB at the Boat Shop.

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SHAWN CHANDO

Shawn has been a dedicated member of The Carpenter’s Boat Shop community since first attending a summer workcamp in 1989. A volunteer carpenter since 2017, he brings military service, financial expertise as a Goldman Sachs executive, and a lifelong commitment to mentoring youth, craftsmanship, and community service.

Click Here to Read the Full Bio

ED HAMILTON

In 1972, Ed sailed from England to Tortola, British Virgin Islands, eventually starting his own Bareboat Charter Company which grew to a fleet of 55 boats before it was sold.

Click Here to Read the Full Bio

Marfie Lavendier

Marfie became familiar with the Boat Shop when her son, Ethan, became an apprentice in 2008-9. Her husband, Joe, followed in Ethan’s footsteps and was an apprentice in 2012-13.

Click Here to Read the Full Bio

DAVID LEVESQUE

David Levesque is the owner of Levesque Law which has offices in Damariscotta and Bath.

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PETER MCNAUGHTON

Peter McNaughton was born and raised in South Africa.

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RICK MILLER

Richard (Rick) Miller is recently retired as a Professor and Dean of Faculty...

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Chris Mitchell

Chris Mitchell is a North Carolina native who relocated to New England with his wife, Cara Richardson, a Maine native. His proudest educational endeavors are studying under Rev. Bobby Ives at the Boat Shop.

Click Here to Read the Full Bio
Tom Renyi

Tom Renyi

Tom served as Chairman of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation and its predecessor institution, The Bank of New York Company, for more than a decade until his retirement on July 31, 2008. He is a member of the Board of Overseers of Rutgers University and the Boards of Trustees of the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York.

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CHRIS ROARK

Chris brings more than 40 years of experience in engineering, technology, and entrepreneurship to the Carpenter’s Boat Shop. A dedicated volunteer, he is passionate about experiential learning and lifelong personal growth; contributing thoughtful leadership, practical problem-solving, and a spirit of service to the organization.

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JIM ROWAN

"Arrived in Maine at age eight or so with my family renting a run-down cottage in New Harbor which we ended up buying, met Bobby through my father, then begged my way onto the Board fifty years later until term limited off last year. Lucky for me that I am back again at my personal holy ground.”

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BRAD TANNEBRING

Following a 41 year career with GE Aviation, Brad and his wife Deb retired to Pemaquid Falls in the fall of 2019.

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Matthew Jacobs

Executive Director

Matthew Jacobs brings over 15 years of experience in historic preservation, traditional trades, education, and community engagement to the Carpenter’s Boat Shop. As Director of Preservation, Education and Youth Engagement for the National Park Service, he has led programs that connect young people with craftsmanship, stewardship, and the building trades, training more than 1,500 young people and introducing hundreds of students to outdoor and hands-on learning.

The son of a builder, Matt learned carpentry from his father and has spent his career working with wood, historic buildings, and skilled craftspeople. A trained architect with a degree from the Rhode Island School of Design, he has worked on the preservation and restoration of numerous National Park Service historic properties and national treasures, bringing together traditional craftsmanship, education, and stewardship to help preserve these places for future generations. His work has included historic presidential homes, maritime resources, and many other nationally significant natural, cultural, and historical sites across the country.

Matt describes himself as more of a bridge builder than a boat builder—someone who enjoys bringing people, skills, generations, and communities together. That spirit aligns closely with the Boat Shop’s mission of building boats, nurturing lives, and helping others.

A veteran of the U.S. Army and a practicing Quaker, Matt brings a deep commitment to service, community, craftsmanship, and stewardship. He and his wife, Allyson, are raising their four children as Quakers.

Matt looks forward to taking the helm of the Carpenter’s Boat Shop and helping to nurture and sustain its tradition of craftsmanship, community, and personal growth.

Chelsea Fisher

Apprenticeship Program Director

Born in Texas and raised in rural Wisconsin, Chelsea did not discover sailing or wooden boats until 2007 when she happened upon a tall ship festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia. After taking her first voyage down the coast on the Sloop Providence, there was no turning back. In 2009, she began working on the Sloop Clearwater in the Hudson River Valley of New York as a winter maintenance apprentice and one year later, came to the Carpenter’s Boatshop as a boat building apprentice. She has continued to work for both organizations periodically over the years teaching sailing, fixing and maintaining engines, building and restoring large and small wooden boats, and teaching basic woodworking classes. In January of 2022 she acquired a USCG 100 ton Inland Masters license and put it to work driving the Madaket, an old wooden ferry boat built in 1910, around Humboldt Bay on the Northern California coast. After a year out west, she is pleased to be back east and at the Carpenter’s Boat Shop in a new role on the beautiful Pemaquid Peninsula!

Dan Asher

Fleet and Facilities Manager

Born in Worcester, MA and raised in a Soviet Jewish immigrant family in New York City, Dan fell in love with the Northeast bioregion spending his adolescent summers at Camp Thoreau in Thetford, Vermont. The seeds of a passion for boats and being on the water were sown there over countless summer days white water kayaking on the Connecticut River. After graduating from Brooklyn Technical High School, Dan completed a degree in History at the University of Vermont before finding his way into working at various experiential education and wilderness guiding programs. Through these experiences and time spent traveling in Mexico and Central America, Dan became interested in individual and community self-sufficiency through traditional hand crafts, and sustainable ways of building and living. These interests led him to The Carpenter’s Boatshop, where he was an Apprentice and then Journeyperson Instructor from 2014-2016. Dan then completed a green woodworking internship at Country Workshops in Marshall, NC. For the next few years, Dan returned seasonally to NYC to work with high school students on a historic preservation carpentry crew for the National Parks Service of New York Harbor. This was followed by work as a restoration carpenter for the Gannon & Benjamin Marine Railway in Vineyard Haven, MA. Preferring to travel and work seasonal jobs, Dan has spent the last few years driving his old Volvo 240 Wagon between his community in the northeast and the Longleaf pine forests of north Florida. He is excited to return to the Carpenter’s Boatshop with these new skills and experiences and take on the challenge and responsibilities of the Fleet and Facilities position.

Danielle Filosa

Events & Promotion Coordinator

Danielle has been residing in the midcoast since 2020. She left the hustle and bustle of the city, in search of peace and community in Maine. Since her move, she has co-founded an inclusive arts collective for adults with and without disabilities called Double House Arts Collective in Portland and became the first Director of Belonging at Inn Along the Way in Damariscotta. Outside of her non-profit work she is a freelance Production Designer in the film industry. All her work leads to a common theme, collaboration and community. She cares deeply towards bringing people together, helping those around her, and making an idea become a reality. The Carpenter’s Boat Shop is a beloved place for many near and far and she is honored to help move it forward.

Sammy Loper

Born in Central Florida to an Architect and a Montessori School Educator, Sammy learned early the importance of working with your hands, building connections, and moving at your own pace. Eager to pick up any skill they could, Sammy explored art and craft all the way through college, attending the Maryland Institute College of Art.

For the past thirteen years Sammy has made a home in Portland, Oregon where they have been spending their time building synthesizers, exploring the pacific NW, and growing a small construction business. Following a new year’s resolution to explore one craft per year, they taught themselves how to make clothing and quilts, stained glass, throw pottery on a wheel, fix an old truck engine, build wooden furniture, and anything else they could get their hands on.

In 2024, chasing a dream to bend wood, Sammy was an apprentice at the Carpenter’s Boat Shop and fell in love with the unique craft of boat building. After a year back in Oregon, teaching boat building in Portland Public Schools, Sammy is excited to be making the big trek back to mid coast Maine to continue to share their love of craft.

Sozo Pumphrey

Wooden Boat Building Instructor

Born in Connersville, Indiana, and the oldest of seven siblings, Sozo grew up with a deep curiosity and a love for tinkering outdoors. After graduating high school early, Sozo explored a variety of roles— from nannying in New York to working as a barista and bartender-before returning to a lifelong interest in hands-on work and discovering a true passion for carpentry in 2020.

Sozo apprenticed at the Carpenter’s Boat Shop in the spring of 2022 and went on to earn a technical certification in carpentry. From there, Sozo joined Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding in Thomaston, Maine, focusing on custom furniture, yacht work, and some composite projects.

Outside the shop, Sozo enjoys hiking, cooking, and reading on the rocks
by the sea. Excited to return to the Boat Shop as an instructor, Sozo looks forward to sharing skills, stories, and connection with the community.

Madison Hummer
House Manager

Born and raised in a small town nestled in the Shenandoah Valley, VA, Madison very early on learned how important it is to share good food with loved ones and neighbors, nourishing those around us. From sharing ripe juicy tomatoes from their garden to hosting large dinner parties with neighbors, Madison has always thought of food as something to be shared and cherished with others.

Most of Madison’s childhood was spent outdoors hiking with her dad, kayaking and swimming in the local river, and daydreaming about mythical adventures. This love for the outdoors later led her to working for Appalachian Conservation Corps shortly after graduating college, being a part of an all women’s saw crew, clearing invasives and ensuring that trails were kept accessible. This crew lived together in tents for three months, sharing meals and learning how to be in community with each other in nature. Post ACC Madison went onto working for a local arborist in Staunton, VA where she learned more about trees, pruning, planting and removal methods. On the weekends she worked at a french bakery making pastries and getting to know the local community. Eventually this path led to her becoming an apprentice at the Boat Shop in 2025, combining her love of nature, community, working with her hands, and making delicious meals.

RUSTY KENDALL

President

Rusty is the CFO of Charleston based Sherman Financial Group. Before moving to Charleston and joining Sherman in 2008, Rusty was at a Boston based investment manager focused on private investments and at Bank of America Securities. Additionally, Rusty worked as a Legislative Assistant in the United States Senate. Mr. Kendall has a BA from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. Rusty currently serves on the Boards of Credit One Bank, Porter-Gaud School, New England Ski Museum and the Christmas Cove Improvement Association. Rusty and his wife Alice have 4 children and live in South Bristol, ME and Sullivans Island, SC.

KAREN FILLER

Vice-President

Karen moved to Maine in 1999 with her husband Matt from Simsbury, Connecticut. She was a vice president at MassMutual Life Insurance Company where she worked in the Compliance Division until 2000. In addition, she mediated disputes for the company.

Karen serves on the Boards of Skidompha Library, the Lincoln Home, Coastal Kids Preschool, Mobius, and the Carpenters Boat Shop. She has volunteered her services over the years to Rotary and Habitat for Humanity.

Karen and Matt live in Walpole and are the parents of four sons and are grandparents to ten.

KEITH ROWAN

Treasurer

Keith’s exposure to CBS goes back to its beginnings with his grandfather’s admiration of Bobby in the pulpit all around the central coast of Maine. When CBS began, Grandpa could not stay away from the spiritual and CBS “cool factor” only Bobby could deliver – and young Keith was his willing Uber. Years later, with Keith’s Uncle Jim, a long-lost mahogany runabout Grandpa acquired for his sons new in 1951 was found – and restored by CBS. Old “AR” lives in South Bristol today. Keith is a motorhead-handyman-framer-stage-techy type who finished college with a degree in economics and finance – and then became a commercial banker – in order to meet Bonnie. To diversify, he exited to the construction disciplines of the lighting world, and for almost 33 years now, has been working on mostly commercial projects of every size. He currently works for the world’s largest LED lighting manufacturer calling on architects and engineers. Keith has held GC licenses in several western states and has always been enamored with building, restoring or fixing things with a variety of modern and vintage tools. Antique structures and motorized antiques, including the floating kind, have a particular affection. He has participated in multiple new construction and remodel projects over the years – many of them were separate from his formal career work. Keith and Bonnie are restoring a 1903 porch wrapped cape in New Harbor where they stretch to spend more time with every passing year. To keep up with his uncle’s lead – he built his first boat when he was 19 – a larger version of “The River Queen” from the July 1967 Boys Life magazine. The difference was – Keith had power tools.

PHYLLIS IVES

Secretary

Phyllis Ives has deep family roots in Pemaquid (her ancestors built the red and white farmhouses at the Boat Shop) and was first invited onto the Board in 2002 by Ruth Ives. After a hiatus, she returned in 2021. She retired from a career of strategic planning and capital campaign counseling. Three miles from the Boat Shop, she lives with her husband Bobby in close range of family, including five grandchildren.

Todd Azadian

Todd grew up in the suburbs outside Boston and attended Tufts University. Upon graduation, he set out to explore a few countries in Asia before settling in Hong Kong. His early career included working for a local consulting firm helping US and European multinationals form joint ventures in China and Malaysia. He then joined a German, Japanese firm in the garment industry. He returned to the US to graduate from the Darden School of Business in Charlottesville, VA, and then returned to Asia with Carrier Corporation and Lucent Technologies. Eager to leave corporate life, he helped found a software start-up in the toy industry while starting a family in Hong Kong. When that business was sold, he returned to the US and settled in Westport, CT, where he met his wife, Vickie, helped raise their three children, and started and sold a franchise business. Todd and Vickie retired to South Bristol, ME, where he enjoys his time farming oysters with a group of friends on The Damariscotta, pulling his lobster traps, working one day a week at a lobster wharf, and building Adirondack chairs as an FOB at the Boat Shop. 

Shawn Chando

Shawn has been part of The Carpenter’s Boat Shop community for more than three decades. He first attended the organization’s summer workcamp as a high school freshman in 1989 and returned each summer through 1992. Those formative experiences, combined with helping his father build the family home as a youth, instilled a lifelong appreciation for craftsmanship, service, and community.

After reconnecting with The Carpenter’s Boat Shop through a 2015 workcamp reunion, Shawn returned as a volunteer carpenter in 2017, mentoring youth and helping lead construction projects during annual workcamps. Since then, he has remained a dedicated volunteer, returning each year whenever possible.
Shawn earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Virginia Tech and an MBA from Centenary University. He served on active duty in the U.S. Army with the 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment at Fort Riley, Kansas, followed by service in the Army National Guard. He later joined Goldman Sachs, where he serves as Vice President, Executive Wealth, bringing more than two decades of experience in financial advisory services.

Shawn and his wife, Heather, live in Marietta, Georgia, with their daughter, Freya. He is passionate about advancing The Carpenter’s Boat Shop’s mission of nurturing lives through boatbuilding, community, seamanship, and service, and is committed to ensuring future generations experience the same sense of purpose and belonging that has shaped his own life.

ED HAMILTON

In 1972, Ed sailed from England to Tortola, British Virgin Islands, eventually starting his own Bareboat Charter Company which grew to a fleet of 55 boats before it was sold. In 1982, he moved to Maine and with his wife Barbara, started Ed Hamilton & Co, booking yacht charter vacations all over the world. By the time they sold the company and retired, it was the largest independent charter brokerage in the industry. The Carpenter’s Boat Shop is a wonderful outlet for Ed’s retirement years, helping an organization that truly changes lives.

Marfie Lavendier

Marfie grew up in central Connecticut and spent her summers on Long Island Sound, where she developed a love for sailing. After college, she became an elementary school teacher and taught for 37 years. The last 31 years were at Renbrook School in West Hartford, CT, where she taught second grade, was a reading specialist for seven years, and then finished her career teaching fourth grade. While at Renbrook, she served as head of the Green Committee and served on the Compensation and Professional Development Committees. She also served on the Board of Barnes nature center in Bristol, CT, for three years. Marfie became familiar with the Boat Shop when her son, Ethan, became an apprentice in 2008-9. Her husband, Joe, followed in Ethan’s footsteps and was an apprentice in 2012-13. They bought a house in Newcastle during the summer of 2013 and officially made the move to Maine. They have since moved to Damariscotta. Marfie volunteers at Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust and occasionally drives for FISH. Marfie and Joe have two sons who both live in Maine, plus two grandchildren and two step-grandchildren. Marfie is incredibly thankful for the Boat Shop community and the positive impact it has had on her family.

DAVID LEVESQUE

David Levesque is the owner of Levesque Law which has offices in Damariscotta and Bath. Levesque Law is a general civil law practice with concentrations in real estate, business, and estate planning matters. In addition to his business/political science undergraduate degree from the University of Maine at Farmington, David holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern Maine, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Maine School of Law. David is a former President of the Maine State Bar Association, the Lincoln County Bar Association, and the University of Southern Maine Alumni Association, and a former Chair of the University of Maine at Farmington Board of Visitors. He also served as the Director and a Council member of the American Bar Association’s Solo, Small Firm, General Practice Division. David grew up in a family engaged in commercial fishing, boat building, marine construction, and transportation. Originally from Ellsworth, Maine, David now resides in Newcastle, Maine with his wife, Susan and their three sons, Luke, Austin, and Joseph.

PETER MCCNAUGHTON

Treasurer

Peter McNaughton was born and raised in South Africa. He served as a naval officer for 10 years, representing the South African Navy in offshore and transatlantic sailboat races. After several years captaining boats in the Caribbean and along the east coast of the US he settled in Maine. He owned a manufacturing business for over twenty years before becoming a broker with Drum & Drum Real Estate in Damariscotta, where he has been for 8 years. Peter served as treasurer on the board of Salt Bay Chamberfest for two terms. He is currently treasurer of The Carpenter’s Boat Shop where he happily combines his interest in supporting local nonprofits with his favorite pastime, best articulated by Kenneth Graham in Wind in the Willows: “…there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

RICK MILLER

Rick Miller recently retired as Professor and Dean of Faculty at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine, where he taught courses in Terrestrial Navigation (Coastal Piloting), Celestial Navigation, Seamanship, Electronic Navigation, Meteorology, and Marine Weather Routing. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Springfield College and a Master of Science in Education from Capella University.

With over 40 years of experience, Rick has successfully combined his passion for sailing with his career as an educator, sailing aboard numerous training vessels and spending many years with the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School. In 2008, he served as Master aboard the schooner Bowdoin for a training expedition to the Arctic along Greenland’s west coast.

Rick continues to pursue his love of the sea, sailing annually as Master with the Sea Education Association (SEA) on voyages across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Following his retirement, he now enjoys a more traditional captain’s schedule with SEA.

In 2023, Rick joined The Carpenter’s Boat Shop Board of Directors, where he chairs the Program Committee and actively participates in the Facilities group. He and his wife Cathy reside in Camden, ME, while their two daughters live and work nearby in mid-coast Maine.

Chris Mitchell

Chris Mitchell is a North Carolina native who relocated to New England with his wife, Cara Richardson, a Maine native. They now live in Greenland, NH, and Round Pond, ME. Chris studied Religion and Sociology at Duke, a Master of Theology in Ethics, and a Master of Public Health in Health Services, both from Boston University. His proudest educational endeavors are studying under Rev. Bobby Ives at the Boat Shop, where he achieved a grade of 92% during three attempts to build a Monhegan skiff. Chris has focused his career on educating and simplifying complex topics and translating subjects like health care policy in state government, marketing communications for providers and consumers, and theology and spirituality. He has served on various boards and committees, including village and regional government, professional, denominational, and health care. When not managing their family fleet of a Robalo 247, a fixed keel Rhodes 19, two Monhegan skiffs, and other less seaworthy craft, you can find him most often in his workshop, building with wood and tinkering with projects and repairs. Or in the garden, encouraging his cuttings, plantings, and other living things, including human beings, to grow and survive the unpredictable seasons of our lives.

Tom Renyi

Tom Renyi

Tom Renyi served as Chairman of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation and its predecessor institution. The Bank of New York Company, Inc. for more than a decade until his retirement on July 31, 2008.

At the time of his retirement, he was Executive Chairman of The Bank of New York Mellon, overseeing the global integration of the people, technology and capabilities of The Bank of New York and Mellon Financial, which merge in July 2007. Prior to the merger, Tom served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for the Bank of New York Company, Inc. successfully directing that company’s transformation from a traditional commercial bank to a global leader in securities servicing for issuers, investors and financial intermediaries. After becoming Chief Executive Officer in 1997, he accelerated The Bank of New York’s strategic evolution through more than 80 acquisitions.

Tom’s career at The Bank of New York Mellon and its predecessor company has spanned almost four decades and Included key leadership roles in securities servicing, credit policy, capital markets, and domestic and international banking. In 1989, he headed the transition team responsible for integrating the Irving Trust Company into The Bank of New York. It was the largest merger in the U.S. banking industry at the time and gave the Bank an expanded presence in international markets and critical scale in its securities management businesses.

In 1992, Tom was named President of The Bank of New York and elected to its Board of Directors. In 1997, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of The Bank of New York Company, Inc. and was elected Chairman of the Board the following year.

Tom graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in Business Administration in 1967 and an MBA in 1968. He served as a First Lieutenant in Military Intelligence with the U.S. Army in Vietnam.

Tom served on the Board of Directors of The Hartford Financial Service Group, Inc., Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. and Royal Bank of Canada. He is a past chairman of The Financial Services Roundtable.

He is a member of the Board of Overseers of Rutgers University and the Boards of Trustees of the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York. He is also a member of Lincoln Center’s Directors Emeriti Council.

Chris Roark

Chris brings decades of hands-on learning, innovation, and leadership to the Boat Shop. Moving from Boulder, Colorado in 2018 to be closer to family, he’s a resident of Pemaquid and has volunteered with the organization since taking Bobby Ives’ skiff building class in 2025.

Chris’s Outward Bound trip in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains after high school shaped his belief in learning through challenge and discovery. After earning a degree in Physics from the University of Colorado, that time of exploration and hands-on learning continued in various adventures and was fueled by his curiosity about the world and how things work.

His career in engineering and technology began with developing advanced atmospheric research systems for the National Center for Atmospheric Research where he gained extensive international field engineering and project management experience. Ater gaining entrepreneurial experience as VP at a start-up, he then co-founder of Intrado, a pioneering E911 software company, recognized among Inc. magazine’s fastest growing companies, and which transformed public safety emergency communications. He later started Blue Water Design, LLC and developed the communications protocol that became world-wide standard for flood-warning telemetry networks.

Now retired, Chris enjoys fishing, hiking adventures with his wife and has experience navigating challenging offshore sailing passages. He brings to the Boat Shop a deep appreciation for experiential education, practical problem-solving, and the belief that some of life’s most valuable lessons are learned beyond the classroom.

Jim Rowan

One of five brothers, Jim was raised in Princeton, NJ and went to public and private schools in the area. He graduated from the Lawrenceville School and have a B.A. in Economics and M.B.A. in Finance from Cornell University. He lives in Chevy Chase, MD with his wife Emily of over 40 years, and they have raised two daughters in the Washington, D.C. area. They have four grandchildren and are blessed to have all of them living nearby. Jim also serves on the Board of the Farnsworth Art Museum where he is currently Treasurer, Chair of the Finance Committee, and a member of the Executive Committee.

Jim spent a career in finance–seven years with ITT Corporation based in London and New York and over 30 years in investment banking, mostly with Legg Mason and Stifel Nicolaus; for the last nine years he has been a Partner with Parchman, Vaughan & Company based in Baltimore.

Jim’s family bought a cottage in New Harbor in the mid ‘60s and still own two properties there. He and Emily and have a home in South Bristol which they have owned since 2000. Maine has become increasingly their center of gravity for their family.

BRAD TANNERBRING

Following a 41 year career with GE Aviation, Brad and his wife Deb retired to Pemaquid Falls in the fall of 2019. They feel very blessed to have landed on the Pemaquid peninsula for their next chapter and to have become part of the CBS and local community – even more so since their three daughters and their families also reside now reside in midcoast Maine. An avid hiker, boater and one who cherishes any time spent outdoors, he also enjoys woodworking and home renovation projects. Since first touring the Boatshop in 2018 during a house-hunting trip, Brad has been a believer in the CBS mission, supporter of their programs, through FOB fundraising crafts to facilities and grounds-keeping support. He’s especially grateful for the many wonderful connections made and experiences shared there, not to mention skills and insights gained while working along side Bobby Ives and the talented FOB team during the recent Peapod build and ongoing restoration projects. Besides enjoying time with the FOBs and Apprentices, Brad can often be found volunteering with Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust and with the Old Bristol Historical Society. Brad looks forward to expanding his involvement as part of the facilities subcommittee to help ensure a sound infrastructure to support the program’s needs and possibly develop opportunities for FOBs and Apprentices to collaborate and mentor/skill build on a number of projects. He is also excited to support Alicia’s objectives of evolving the Apprentice program to include additional time, adventure, and skill/team-building on the water with the newly acquired pulling boat.