BIR Board meetings are typically held at 7:15pm on the 4th Wednesday of each month. Any BIR member with interest is welcome to attend. See your iCrew Attendance Plan or email admin@bainbridgerowing.
BIR is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of a minimum of seven and a maximum of seventeen, voted on by the membership. The Board exercises all the powers of the Corporation according to the BIR Bylaws.
Although all directors are expected to take a broad view of the organization, at least one-third of serving Directors represent Masters (members beyond high school age), and at least one-third represent Juniors and include one Junior rower (a member enrolled in the high school rowing program). Up to two “at large” Directors may be appointed by the Board.
Directors serve a term of two years, without limit to the number of terms served. Terms are staggered so that approximately one-half of the Directors stand for election at every annual meeting. Our custom has been to prepare a slate of candidates well ahead of the annual meeting. Candidate Directors are interviewed and recommended by a separate nominating committee appointed by the Board.
In addition to our monthly meetings, BIR invites our members to join our BIR Annual Meeting (typically held in March). This meeting serves many purposes, several of which are mandated by our BIR Bylaws:
· We review the Financial Report presented by our BIR Treasurer.
· We vote on our Board of Directors Slate
· We review the challenges and successes of the previous year.
· We vote on our BIR Volunteer of the year
· We connect with, and support each other, because as we all know, we’re stronger…and happier together!
In order to vote at our Annual Meeting, you will need to pay your Annual Dues. Our Annual Dues play a critical role in “keeping BIR afloat” by substantially covering ongoing expenses like:
- USRowing organizational membership
- Administrative costs including administrative salaries and software
- Office and storage rent
So whether you have a Junior rower, or are an Adult rower, Pay Your Dues, Cast Your Vote…And Keep BIR Afloat. Parents, can log onto iCrew and pay your dues by clicking the “My Payments” tab today. Other Adults, join the Adult Members 2023 team and then click the “My Payments” tab.
2024-2025 Board Members
Jill Bamburg, President
Jill has rowed with BIR for about the last 6-7 years and has settled in as a mid-morning sculler. In her retirement, she now claims to be a “triathlete,” combining rowing with pickleball and golf to keep herself active. On the board, she is something of a “minister without portfolio,” trying to be useful without having a regular set of responsibilities. To date, she has led one round of strategic planning (during COVID) and the task force on implementing the Safe Sport program at BIR.
Before she discovered rowing, she spent (too) much of her time working. Her last gig was as co-founder and faculty of the Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI), the first sustainable MBA program in the country.
She is married to Nani Baran, a psychotherapist, and lives in Indianola. Together, they have four adult children, none of whom row. No grandkids yet, but hope springs eternal.
Kathy Kalstrup, Vice President
Photos and bio to come.
Stacy Nordgren, Secretary
Bio to come.
Scott Roesch – Treasurer
Scott’s journey in rowing began as a freshman at the University of Washington. After a long break he returned to the sport at BIR in 2021 and loves being part of a rowing community which has enriched his life and that of two rowing sons. Scott brings management and operational experience in the media-tech industry to the BIR board. Currently Head of Content for Fire TV Channels at Amazon, he has also held senior roles in programming, business development, marketing, and management with IMDb, Kindle, Participant Media, Comedy Central, MTV Networks, AtomFilms, Shockwave.com, and Starwave Corp. He holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson and a BA in English from UW. Scott and his wife, Pondra Perkins, live on Bainbridge and have three children, Landon, Theo, and Olivia.
Jennifer Ames-Karreman – Development Officer
Jennifer Ames-Karreman has been on the BIR Board for ten years: two years as Board Secretary, two years as President of the Board, and her last six-years focused on building the Development Committee that serves operational funding and the capital campaign. She and her family have lived on Bainbridge Island for 33 years.
Jennifer was a Starbucks executive and worked there for 28 years. She now runs her own consulting business. Jennifer is a nationally and internationally known speaker on the subjects of organizational culture and customer connection. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications/Advertising from the University of Washington and also earned an advanced degree certificate from the UW Business School.
Overall, she’s known for being a highly collaborative leader who works well with diverse groups of people at all levels globally. Her career highlights include significant contributions toward the startup of Starbucks retail business and non-retail businesses, growth initiatives, and the communications of Starbucks values and business practices. She was part of the team that crafted Starbucks’ mission and principles early on and has led projects that span 42 countries.
Jennifer and her husband Frank love to travel and explore the world with their two adult daughters Nancy and Anneke. Scuba adventures, hiking, and growing organic veggies in their garden are activities the family love to do together. Jennifer and Frank helped chaperone and cook for hundreds of high school rowers while their daughter Anneke rowed for BIR between 2012 and 2016.
Gabriela Pinto – Development Chair/Capital Campaign
Gabriela attended the University of Texas at Austin where she served as a Lock for the Longhorns’ Women’s Rugby team for four years. As a lifelong athlete in rugby, volleyball, shot put and powerlifting, she credits her time in sports as the catalyst for her passion of all things teamwork and community building. After moving to Bainbridge Island in 2022, Gabriela tried rowing for the first time ever in March of 2023, as a member of the coldest Learn to Row class in BIR history. Even in frigid temperatures, she fell in love with the sport right away and was racing in her very first Master’s regatta by June of that same year.
As a career Development Director for nonprofits focused on breaking down barriers of access for children and families, Gabriela is excited to use her fundraising background to support board initiatives around donor stewardship, corporate sponsorships and community engagement.
Gabriela lives on Bainbridge Island with her partner William, their two sons Viggo and Jack, and Clutch – their rowdy family pup. In her spare time, she’s likely volunteering for other local nonprofits, finding ways to compete and win, or listening to epic audiobooks while cleaning the house.
Kim Dalan, Adult Program Liason
Despite attending UW for undergrad, Kim only got around to a learn to row program at the ripe old age of 30. Stints at Lake Washington Rowing Club and Lake Union Crew inspired a new passion for being cold and wet among friends. After moving to Bainbridge in 2020, she inevitably found her way to the boathouse and was quickly talked into rowing competitively. Kim is now a proud pansweptual rower who can be found bouncing around any BIR practice that doesn’t conflict with after school activities.
Andrew Block, Junior Parent Board Liason Co-Chair
Andrew grew up just outside of DC in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He received a degree in Political Science from the University of Maryland, and obtained his J.D. from Emory University School of Law. He was in private practice in Atlanta for many years with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough before going in-house with a healthcare technology company. While in Atlanta, he served on the Board of CURE Childhood Cancer, took up photography as a hobby, and was a part of the running community.
Andrew, his wife Michelle, and three children, Liam, Rory Sophia, and Fionn relocated to the west coast and Bainbridge Island in 2017 when Andrew joined the Amazon legal department. Recently, Andrew joined Expedia Group’s legal team.
The family has always loved both the water and the mountains. This move brought them closer to both and in their free time they are outside. This past year Liam has followed his mother, who was a coxswain for Emory University, and he is currently coxswain for the novice boys. Fionn and Andrew play as much tennis as possible. Rory divides her time between academic, musical, and athletic pursuits.
Andrew continues to develop his photographic skills with the beautiful Pacific Northwest as the backdrop for family and nature photography. BIR has added sports photography to this endeavor, as well as brought him back to the sport of rowing, which he enjoyed while his brother was a lightweight rower at the University of Michigan.
Joanie Ransom, Junior Parent Board Liason Co-Chair
Joanie is a Seattle native, she was born in Seattle and grew up with her five sisters on Mercer Island. As a youth, Joanie spent many summer months working in her fathers’s salmon processing plant in Alaska. Joanie’s family also spent several wonderful summers at their beach cabin on the southend of Bainbridge. She received a degree in Business from the University of Puget Sound where she was a member of the Varsity Soccer, Ski and Tennis teams.
Joanie and her husband Bill moved to Bainbridge in 2001 and both work in the Real Estate industry. They love the small community feel of Bainbridge, the easy connection to the outdoors and the safe environment Bainbridge has provided their three children as they have grown up. Two of their children, Max & Hayley, currently row with BIR on the Varsity Boys & Girls teams.
During her free time, Joanie can be found doing most anything outdoors; swimming, paddleboarding, playing pickleball, skiing, biking, hiking..maybe even rowing someday!
Ben Drury – Safety Officer
Ben is a lifelong athlete who thought the rowing genes that run in the family had skipped him. Ben’s paternal grandfather rowed stroke in the Harvard men’s 8 in the late ‘30’s, it’s quite possible that Washington’s boys in the boat got the better of him and his crimson crew. Ben’s daughter proudly rowed for BIR as a Jr lightweight for 4 years and represented the club at Jr Nationals 3 times. Inspired by the family success and eager to find community and a new challenge, he joined a BIR learn to row class in June of ‘22. Since that time he’s been “all in” rowing early mornings in the rain, sculling with the mid-morning group, and spending evenings in Eagle Harbor seeking swing. His BIR rowing highlight so far was racing in the ‘24 Opening Day/Windermere Cup regatta as a member of the BIR men’s 8 crew. Grandad would be proud.
When he is not rowing Ben is a husband, father, brother, and son. A Bainbridge resident for the past 23 years he now runs an AirBnB with his wife Brooke. Ben loves photography, travel, just about any water sport, and spending time outdoors.
Ben attended the University of Vermont where he earned a BA and later earned an MBA in sustainable business from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute. He spent 20+ years working in the outdoor industry. For Ben success comes from being brave, kind, and by learning from his mistakes. He plans to bring the same approach to his new role as BIR’s Safety Officer.
Celia Clark
Celia graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with degrees in physical geography and environmental science. Upon graduation, she temporarily satiated her wanderlust by sailing on a 36’ boat for two years throughout the South Pacific. She returned to work at Oceanographic Services, Inc. as a cartographer and research scientist. Celia moved to Bainbridge Island with her husband Craig and two young children in 1991, excited to have discovered a strong community on a beautiful island.
Craig & Celia own West Sound Properties, Johansson Clark Real Estate. Celia’s main responsibility is renovating distressed properties. The Clarks spend most of their free time maintaining their fleet of old boats and exploring the Salish Sea.
The energy and camaraderie of BIR is contagious and the opportunity to row on Eagle Harbor as a master rower is a delightful experience. Celia joined the BIR Board of Directors in 2019. This is an exciting time for BIR and Celia wants to be involved as the collaborative rowing community strives to build a rowing center to serve Bainbridge Island at large and inclusive of all of the high school athletes through to masters rowers of all ages, including those masters rowing in their 8th decade of life.
Grace Payne, BIR Youth Representative
Gracie is currently a coxswain on the Varsity Girls team at BIR. She grew up on the island and is now a senior at Bainbridge High School. She has been on the team for 5 years and has loved every second of it. Though crew is her all-time favorite activity, Gracie also enjoys working at First Years Childcare Center and spending time with her family and friends. Gracie is honored to be this year’s Junior Board Representative and work with the amazing adults that do such incredible work.
Brandon Fleet – Equipment Committee Chair
Sheelagh Carleton – Community Engagement & Scholarships
Sheelagh and her family of 6 moved to the island in 2018 from Portland Oregon. Though she and her husband are NorCal natives, their 4 kids grew up in the beautiful PNW. They all love the outdoors and enjoy exploring new places. Together they traveled to all 48 continental US states over the past 4 years.
Currently, Sheelagh is the Pre-K director and lead teacher at Saint Cecilia Catholic School, where she also teaches Early Education Spanish and is the ASB advisor. She is a family advocate, building relationships with families as well as with the students. She is fluent in Spanish, which she uses today to build relationships with families at Saint Cecilia and to facilitate bilingual parenting peer groups through BYS. Just this summer, she chaperoned a group of high school students through a 10 day hands-on cultural experience with the wonderful community on Ometepe Island through BOSIA, the Bainbridge Ometepe Sister Island Association.
With her daughter Adeline and son Jonah both rowing for the BIR junior team, she decided to join the board as a way to be more deeply rooted in the rowing community. She is enjoying cheering her kids on, watching as they grow their love for this awesome sport, biding her time until she can carve out space to return to rowing herself. She was a rower in college at UCSB, but is also deeply rooted in her love for swimming & waterpolo. She has coached several sports over the years including rowing, swimming & diving, volleyball, track & field, and waterpolo. She is looking forward to working with the board at BIR
John Foy – Facilities Chair
John was born and raised in Miami, Florida, went to college in New England, graduate school in Michigan, then worked in Cincinnati, Baltimore, Bethesda, and Atlanta before moving to Bainbridge Island in 1998. A graduate of Yale University, John has a Ph.D. in computer science and an M.D. from the University of Michigan.
After some initial work in internal medicine and oncology, he spent most of his career working on electronic medical records: in a cancer center in Baltimore, at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, and then at commercial firms in Atlanta and Seattle, retiring from GE Healthcare in 2012.
At NIH, John managed the information technology department of a research hospital, supporting physicians and nurses in the conduct of clinical trials in a patient care environment. In commercial firms, John was a product manager for physician-oriented software, including management of product development teams across sites in the U.S. and India. In retirement, he does some consulting, is an avid reader on current events, and frequently drives his wife, Paula, on her rounds as a visiting nurse for hospice and home care.
John began rowing as a freshman lightweight at Yale and resumed when he discovered the newly founded BIR in 2001. He served on the Board and as President in 2002-2003, and subsequently in various roles (including maintaining the website, photography, public relations, launch fueling), and recently as a Board member again.
John and Paula have a son, a software engineer in Seattle, and two daughters, one a jewelry artist and college instructor in Seattle, the other a Special Agent in Diplomatic Security for the U.S. Department of State, currently serving in Moscow, Russia. Their younger daughter rowed for BIR in its early days when she was at BHS, and also coxed her father’s boat of masters men.
John rowed with three other BIR “old guys” at the Head of the Charles in 2003 and continues rowing in the “veteran masters” category.
Kris Kutchera – Past President
Kris grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she spent long summers on the water sailing and canoeing. Dreaming of becoming a marine biologist, she moved to the West Coast, where she ultimately pursued a career in information technology after realizing she had no patience for the slow pace of research.
Kris is now retired as vice president of information technology at Alaska Airlines, where she led the team recognized for its award-winning mobile applications, web site, loyalty program and industry-leading airport automation for 10 years. Prior to joining Alaska Airlines, she served as the top information technology executive at F5 Networks, Fluke and Washington Natural Gas (now Puget Sound Energy).
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an executive MBA from the University of Washington Foster School of Business. She is passionate about equality and education and she serves on the Board of Technology Access Foundation (TAF) to help low income kids of color realize their potential through STEM education and connections to industry professionals.
Kris moved to Bainbridge Island in 1994 and spent the first 21 years raising her two sons and commuting for work. Since retirement, she is thoroughly enjoying island life and reconnecting with her love of the water. With a little encouragement from some friends at BIR, she took a Learn to Row class and she is now an avid mid-morning master sculler. She joined the BIR Board of Directors and was elected Board Secretary in 2019
BIR Board Meeting Minutes
Click to View Past BIR Board Meeting Minutes
