OPEN WATER ROWING CENTER STAFF

Dan Alexander - Manager

Dan grew up in the South Bay, sailing out of the former Palo Alto yacht harbor, graduated from U.C. Berkeley in the turbulent 60s, and received his J.D. from the University of San Francisco Law School. Dan learned to row at the Bair Island Aquatic Center in Redwood City, where he has managed the novice adult crews, taught sweep rowing and sculling and sits on the board of directors. A practicing lawyer for over 25 years, Dan brings his customer service and planning skills to OWRC to continue the tradition of providing a superior experience for experienced and novice scullers alike. Dan lives in Palo Alto with his wifer Genie, and has three adult children. Dan hopes to get out on the water often as well!

[Our previous manager, Dan Thatcher, is now focused on selling Maas boats]

Jennifer Fuller - Assistant Manager

Jen started her rowing career with Los Gatos Rowing Club as a Junior. After being accepted to the University of Oregon, she spent three years on the Club Sports Crew team, a student-run organization heavily focused on competing at the PAC-10 level. She is now studying to be an EMT with hopes of entering that field within the year. Aside from helping at OWRC, she is the novice women’s coach for the Palo Alto Rowing Club Junior team. Before coaching for PARC, Jen coached master’s Learn-to-Row classes with both the Los Gatos Rowing Club, and Oregon Association of Rowers. She continues to row today and continues to learn new things about the world of rowing.

Ellen Braithwaite - Director of Rowing

Sculling captivated Ellen in 1994 when she was working in the office of a sculling center in Vermont. She discovered OWRC when she was looking for a place to row during visits to California, began working here in the fall of 1999 as weekend dock manager and ended up as the general manager. A frequent competitor in both flat water and open water events, Ellen's latest accomplishments include a successful completion of the Catalina Crossing in a new Maas double with OWRC's Jon Farmer. After several tours of duty as manager she is trying to get back to doing some real rowing herself.

Mary Elizabeth Stone - Boathouse Supervisor

OWRC is delighted to have Mary Elizabeth (Liz), known internationally in the world of masters rowing, as head of maintenance. She cares meticulously for the boat she owns with two others, and that care is now lavished on the club boats. Because she has joined the staff, OWRC is able to offer a maintenance package to private shell owners.Liz, who sports a t-shirt declaring her an outrageous older woman, is also a fierce competitor and a source of inspiration to us all.

Stefan Benton - Coach

Stefan rowed for two years at St. Ignatious in San Francisco and then on Varsity Lightweight crew at UC Santa Barbara for 4 years. During that time the UC lightweight crew competed twice in lightweight national championships. He attended national lightweight development camp in 1989 and won a gold that year in the lightweight double in the Olympic Festival. Stefan started coaching at OWRC in 1986 and managed the operation from 1994 through 1996. He has competed in and frequently won many open water races since 1995, including four Catalina races and has won the men's double division of Catalina twice. He now coaches part-time at OWRC while working as a counselor and, as of last year, starting his own counseling practice.

Chris Dadd - Coach

Chris rowed in the men's lightweight boat at Humbolt from 1978 to 1983. After taking a break, he started again at Lake Merritt Rowing Club in Oakland. He began sculling nine years ago and a couple of years after that, entered his first open water race in a double. He now competes on open water in doubles or singles, and on flat water in anything he can get into.

He coaches part time at OWRC and recently completed his masters degree in Human Physiology at Cal State Hayward. In his spare time he has enjoyed turning rowers into lab rats in support of his thesis at Hayward. Chris is also the Head Program and Men's coach for the Berkeley High School Crew.

Julie Moore - Coach [shown here with Sasha, one of the dock dogs]

Julie learned most of her rowing in Cambridge, England, initially as a sweep rower and later as a sculler. She played an active role at the Cambridge City Boat Club as the Womens Captain from 1993-1995. Competitively, she has raced in the UK and Europe in a lightweight double, winning at Womens Henley, the World Masters, the International Regatta in Ghent and achieving fourth place for three years at the UK National Championships. As a coach, she trained with the Amateur Rowing Association in the UK and coached university crews for a number of years. Since moving to Marin in 1999, she has started to venture out into open water and to compete locally. She has now joined our coaching staff.

Melinda Thomas - Coach

Melinda rowed on varsity women's crew for two years at UC Berkeley. In June, 1985, shortly after she graduated, Melinda started working at OWRC. She was instrumental in developing OWRC from the 4 -shells-on-the-beach stage to its current size of 125 shells in two boathouses. After leaving in 1988, Melinda went on to Harvard Business School, organizing and rowing on their club crew for the two years she was there. She now works deep in the heart of Silicon Valley, rows sweep on occasion out of the California Rowing Club and coaches at OWRC part time.

Michael Konrad - Webmaster

Michael is a retired biochemist who is trying to learn a little marine biology, and rowing a shell is about as close to the water as you can get without swimming. He aspires to be an author and illustrator, but at present his work is exclusive to the OWRC site and www.scienceisart.com.