Board of Directors

Read our Board of Directors Handbook

Officers

Julian Thomka-Gazdik, President

As a long-time supporter of rowing, Julian looks forward to helping further build the club and welcome more people of all ages and abilities to the Maine Coast Rowing Association.  Julian rowed at Kent School, Brown University and the Palm Beach Rowing Association before taking a break to pursue his career passions in banking, real estate and design. He recently returned to the sport, taking up sculling through the MCRA summer learn-to-row program and joining the Masters Team to compete in regional regattas. Just as there has been rowing on the Androscoggin for well over 100 years, Julian’s family has been rowing for almost that long.  He was introduced to the sport through his father, who rowed in Hungary on the Danube. Julian & his wife Heather live in Brunswick with their two young sons, who they hope will be future MCRA rowers as well.

Anne Henshaw, Vice President

Anne Henshaw comes from a philanthropic and academic background with expertise in global climate change, social justice, and conservation issues. She has a passion for leveraging resources from public and private sectors in support of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.  She served as the Director of the Coastal Studies Center and an Assistant Professor in Anthropology at Bowdoin College from 1998-2007 and has spent the last 15 years working as a Programme Officer with Oak Foundation in their Environment Programme. She is now leading a new fund focused on the Arctic. Anne started rowing with MCRA in 2017 and participates in the Masters program.

Genny Lemoine, Secretary

Genny LeMoine is an archaeologist and anthropologist studying the prehistory and history of Arctic peoples. She moved to Maine in 1995, and the following year was appointed as curator of The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum at Bowdoin College where she continues to develop exhibits on subjects ranging from the expeditions of Robert E. Peary and Donald B. MacMillan to contemporary Inuit art. Genny took the first learn to row class offered by MCRA in 2011 and has been rowing ever since, joining the board in 2024.

Bill Jackman, Treasurer

Bill grew up in Seattle, rowing for seven years at Green Lake Crew and the University of Washington, and recently got back into the sport at MCRA. His older son is on the junior team–go Coast!

 

Board Members

Scott Bailey

Scott Bailey has been an integral part of our organization since its inception in 2011. A former college rower, Scott now enjoys primarily single sculling, though he occasionally participates in sweep boat races. As the former President of MCRA, Scott has overseen the organization’s growth from its very beginning. He is deeply committed to rowing and strongly believes it offers a unique blend of fitness, friendship, and competition to the greater Brunswick community. Scott, his wife Suzanne, and their five children reside in Brunswick. Among his many accomplishments, Scott is particularly proud of his stepson Fletcher, who, through the MCRA Youth Team, raced in the Head of the Charles twice during his time at MCRA. Scott’s dedication to his family and the sport of rowing is evident in all aspects of his life.

Angus Burke

Angus Burke is an MCRA alum, having joined the Juniors Team in 2021 and continuing with the sport in college. Today Angus studies Political Science at McGill University in Montreal, QC (Canada), where he still draws from the skills he learned at MCRA as a member of the world class McGill Rowing Team.Angus is currently working with the MCRA Board to help create a vibrant alumni network for all Juniors and past MCRA participants. When he’s not studying or rowing, you can find him hiking, boating, and traveling the world, and we’re lucky he returns home to Maine every summer “because that’s where the boating happens.”

Kristen Irvin

Kristen has many years of experience in nonprofit program development and coordination. She currently assists in the design and administration of American Farmland Trust’s grantmaking programs, with a keen focus on creating accessible and simple application processes for farmers and ranchers, offering lots of direct support with proposal development and award follow-up. She has organized conferences, trainings, and fundraisers for nonprofit organizations and community groups, and has primarily worked with farmers and farm service providers after earning a MS from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University. She served as a founding board member for The Livestock Institute of Southern New England from 2014-2017. Growing up in Frederick County, Virginia, she didn’t know what rowing was until she saw a photo of a crew team on a pamphlet at a college fair during high school. She ended up going to a college that also didn’t have rowing, so she forgot about it until she moved to New England. At age 38, she finally learned to row at Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club in Springfield, MA, in 2022, and then joined Maine Coast Rowing Association when she relocated to Maine in 2024. Kristen assists MCRA in organizing the club’s annual Cow Island regatta and helps steer the MCRA Programming Committee. She rows (poorly but enthusiastically) with the masters, and wants to encourage you to try rowing, too.

Meg McCroskey Blum

Meg McCroskey Blum is new to the sport of rowing, starting in summer 2024 with MCRA’s Learn to Row classes and progressing to join the Masters Team. Even though it took her until her 40s to join the sport, she’s been in love with rowing since she was in her early 20s and attended the Henley Regatta. When she’s not *still* learning how to properly row, Meg is a professional writer & marketer who enjoys all outdoor and water activities as well as spending time with her two daughters, three dogs and eight chickens.

Doug Welling

Doug started rowing at Bates College in Lewiston, ME. He rowed for four years at Bates and the University of Otago, New Zealand prior to starting his coaching career. Doug has coached rowing at Middlebury College, the University of California Santa Barbara, and is currently the head coach at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME.   During the summer months, Doug has coached with the US Junior National Team, Maine Coast Rowing Association, and the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. He was named Northeast Regional Coach of the Year in 2022 and National ACRA Coach of the Year in 2023. His personal endurance journey has twice included the Ironman World Championships and most recently, the 100-mile Crazy Mountain Ultra run in Montana. Doug loves the magic of rowing into Merrymeeting Bay, and all time spent outdoors, especially when shared with his family.