California Is Well Represented on the US Sailing Board of Directors
US Sailing has named five new members to their board of directors. They were officially elected on Friday, October 14, 2022, at US Sailing’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. All current adult and family members were entitled to vote online. Members also voted in person at the annual meeting. West Coast sailors are well represented on the board.
The newly elected and re-elected members of US Sailing’s board are incumbent Henry Brauer (Marblehead, MA), incumbent Stan Honey (Palo Alto, CA) and newcomer Marie Rogers (Los Angeles, CA). Sheila Tolle (La Jolla, CA) was selected by the nominating committee to serve as Independent Director, and Pamela Healy (Tiburon, CA) was elected Sailor Athlete Director.
Honey, Rogers, Tolle and Healy will serve a four-year term. Brauer will serve a three-year term.
New US Sailing Board Members
Notably, Marie Rogers is the first Black sailor to serve on the US Sailing board. She’s a past commodore of the Los Angeles Yacht Club and an advocate for increasing diversity in the sport of sailing. We profiled her in Sightings in the November and December 2021 issues of Latitude 38.
“Our nominating committee made it a priority to continue our effort for bringing a diverse perspective to the board and provided us with incredible new board members,” said board president Rich Jepsen, himself a West Coast sailor, out of Alameda. Latitude’s publisher John Arndt interviewed Jepsen for a Good Jibes podcast released on January 4, 2022.
Sheila Tolle was selected as Independent Director, a US Olympic and Paralympic Committee-mandated position. The role brings an outside perspective to the board. Tolle comes to US Sailing from USRowing, where she has served as a longtime referee and board member.
Pamela Healy, 1992 Olympic bronze medalist and 1991 world champion in the 470, will serve as the Sailor Athlete Director. The USOPC and the Amateur Sports Act mandate the Sailor Athlete Director. The position serves as the voice of active racing sailors in the US. To be elected, they must be registered as 10-year or 10-year-plus athletes. These seats are voted upon by their peers in a process handled by the Sailor Athlete Council. Moe Roddy interviewed Pam Healy for a Good Jibes podcast released on January 25, 2022.