The World Ocean School is an internationally focused nonprofit, nonsectarian organization dedicated to providing challenging educational programs aboard the schooner Roseway.

World Ocean School Board of Directors

Pamela Jones Cunningham. Pamela’s career  began in 1975 at an investment counseling company, John Blewer Inc. in New York City, where she was assistant to the president and ran the foreign trade desk. Pamela left the world of finance to work for two years on the editorial staff of House Beautiful.   In 1979 she joined the Communications Division of Newsweek.  During the next eight years she developed and ran the magazine’s Corporate Contributions Program, managed the Special Events Department reporting directly to Katharine Graham, top-edited the weekly behind- the-scenes publication N/W reporting directly to the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, and was Director of Newsweek’s  Public Relations and Crisis Management Department. In 1987 Pamela founded Jones & Owens, a marketing and public relations company.  Clients included Tissot Watch Company, Sam Lord’s Castle in Barbados, Marriott’s Harbour Resort in Bermuda, Omega Watch Company, Biras Creek in Virgin Gorda, Domecq Wines of Spain, Pony Sneakers, Newsweek International and The New York Post.  After 5 years, Jones & Owens was acquired by Partners and Shevack.  While in New York City, Pamela served on the Council for the New York Philharmonic and the Junior Committee for the Metropolitan Museum.  Since she moved to Connecticut she served on the Darien Arts Council Board of Directors for three years, and on the Board of Directors for Shakespeare on the Sound for 6 years, two of which she served as President. Pamela is now retired after 20 years in the publishing and marketing industries and lives in Essex, CT with her husband Tod as well as having a home in St. Croix, USVI.

John Killoran, M.Ed. John retired in July of 2011 as an Associate Fellow and as the Director of the Teaching Research Institute (TRI) at Western Oregon University. He worked at TRI since 1998 and has had an extensive and varied career in education, grants management, scholarly publications and administration generating over 80 million dollars in extramural funding throughout his career. John continues to work at the Institute in a part-time capacity. Prior to coming to Oregon, he was the coordinator of Early Childhood Special Education with the Utah State Office of Education and the project director of multiple projects focusing on the inclusion of young children with disabilities in naturally occurring and inclusive community settings. During his 34 year career, he has been a paraprofessional, a teacher, a principal, a state agency program director, and a national technical assistance provider. In each, he has been involved with services for young children with disabilities, including those who are deaf-blind and their families. John lives in Monmouth Oregon and is married to Paddi Davies. They have two daughters, two sons and four grandchildren, with a fifth grandchild arriving soon.  He is an avid scuba diver, cyclist, runner and triathlete; having run forty-one marathons and having recently completed the Cozumel Ironman in celebration of his 60^th birthday.

Chet Kitchings. Chet is now retired, having been President of Coca-Cola of Southeastern New England, a family business in New London, Connecticut. Currently he is Foundation Manager of the Chester Kitchings Family Foundation. He is a graduate of Colgate University and the University of Virginia School of Law. Between Colgate and Virginia, Chet served as a Communication Officer on the U.S.S. Gunston Hall enduring two tours in Vietnam. Prior to Coca-Cola, and after law school, he served in the Honors Program of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Chet is a member of the Connecticut, Virginia and District of Columbia Bar Associations. Currently Chet is a Vice Chairman of Mystic Seaport, and a member of the Finance Committee of Lawrence and Memorial Hospital, having served as a Trustee and Treasurer. He also has served on various civic boards in Essex, Connecticut where he had been consecutively Chairman of the local boards of education and finance. A member of the New York and Essex Yacht Clubs, Chet is the owner of a Bullseye named “Owl” and a Grand Banks Eastbay 43 named “Adagio.” Chet, who lives in Essex, Connecticut with his spouse Suzanne, has three grown children, two in the Boston area and one in Essex, and two grandchildren in Essex.

William (Bill) H. Lynn. Bill is a Partner and Chief Marketing Officer at the Rockhopper Group, proprietors of performance outdoor apparel brands Atlantis WeatherGear and Cloudveil Mountain Works. In reviving Atlantis, a storied but lately dormant sailing apparel brand, Rockhopper have quickly reestablished it as America’s fastest‐growing brand of apparel for sailing and the coastal lifestyle. Cloudveil Mountain Works, a more recent addition to the portfolio, is a mountain-oriented performance apparel brand. Bill’s sailing career has been similarly successful with multiple world and national championships to his credit.  He was an All-American at Tufts University, and he currently sails as helmsman/tactician with several Grand Prix IRC programs, while also supporting the burgeoning sailing careers of his kids. He is a member of Eastern, American and New York Yacht Clubs, and serves on the boards of the New York Yacht Club and Pleon Yacht Club, the oldest junior yacht club in the country and the only club run entirely by junior sailors. He is married to Sarah, has three children and lives in Marblehead, MA.

Stephen Norcia. Steve co-founded and now runs Topsail Group, a boutique consulting firm. Prior, Steve was in advertising working globally with large companies like IBM, Coca-Cola, SONY, Citibank, Digital Equipment, Miller Beer, Heineken, Lexmark, and Compaq. He has led large advertising organizations including, McCann-Erickson NY, Atlanta and Milwaukee, Earle Palmer Brown North and Doyle Dane Bernbach NY. Steve is an educator and was an Adjunct Professor at both Fordham and Iona Colleges for 10 years; he is on Board of the Marketing School at University of Connecticut.  Steve is, or has been, on the Boards of the Executive Forum, Bedform, SpiralFrog, Advertising Educational Foundation, Old Lyme Country Club and the Essex Yacht Club. He is also a member of the American Yacht Club and the New York Yacht Club because Steve loves being on the water. He is proud to have served as an officer in the 101st Airborne Division. He lives in Old Saybrook, CT with his wife; they have two sons and a daughter.

Amanda J Pullen, PhD. Dr. Amanda Pullen has extensive experience in designing and implementing innovative strategies for academic medical institutions, including medical education and research, international collaborations, marketing and public relations in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors of the healthcare industry.  At Strategy Implemented, Amanda leads client engagements and provides strategic, operational and business planning consulting services to clients looking to develop new initiatives and programs. Amanda’s recent engagements include providing strategic and operational direction in the design and implementation of international strategies for national agencies responsible for setting the assessment standards for physician education and training. Dr. Pullen also developed international strategies for a number of academic healthcare centers with ties to the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Prior to joining Strategy Implemented, Amanda worked as a Director at Huron Consulting Group and held several positions at Harvard Medical School including Executive Director of the Giovanni Armenise-Harvard Foundation and Vice President of Communications for Harvard Medical International. Amanda also served as the Executive Director of the European Advisory Board for Project HOPE, and had roles in research, marketing and communications with Glaxo Pharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for launching the first UK team in the pharmaceutical industry to be dedicated to building relationships with British National Health Service management teams. Amanda and her husband Bob Crone have homes in Boston, Massachusetts and Christiansted, St Croix.

Thomas A. Whidden. Tom  joined North Sails in 1986 and became President/CEO of North Marine Group when it was established ten years later. A graduate of Colby College in Waterville, Maine, Whidden has earned many accolades throughout his sailing career including the “Carl Nelson Award” from Colby College for Athletic Achievement After College in 1989 and the University Club “Man of the Year” award in 1987. In 2006, Tom received the prestigious “A Life for Sailing” Award at the Trofeo Zegna Regatta in Portofino, Italy, which is given biennially to a person who has devoted their life and career to sailing. Whidden’s leadership in the design and manufacturing of superb, technologically advanced sails at North Sails is significant. Since Whidden became president, every America’s Cup winner since 1992 and every Volvo Ocean Race winner since 1993 has raced with North sails. Whidden, who began sailing at age ten at the Cedar Point Yacht Club in Westport, Connecticut, is one of the most experienced America’s Cup sailors in the world. He has raced as tactician in five America’s Cup series races and has won the America’s Cup three times (1980, 1987 and 1988.) Along with Conner, Whidden was given a key to New York City from Mayor Ed Koch in 1987 after bringing the America’s Cup back to the United States from Australia. Whidden was inducted into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame in 2004 .He has won the Bermuda Race (Class A) five times and has won his class at Miami SORC five times and twice overall. Along with being an accomplished sailor, he is the publisher and co-author of two books: The Art & Science of Sails and Championship Tactics. Tom and his wife Betsy live in Essex, Connecticut.

Mark Zook. Mark is President/CEO of Maps Credit Union, a $400 million dollar financial institution headquartered in Salem, Oregon.  In his role at Maps, he is also the President of MSA, the holding company for Maps Credit Union’s seven subsidiary entities.  In his tenure with MSA, Mark has led initiatives to form and/or acquire subsidiaries in the areas of technology, insurance, mortgage lending, business lending, registered investment advisory services, wireless services and mobile banking. Mark is currently on the Boards of the National Association of Credit Union Service Organizations (NACUSO), Ongoing Operations, the CU Insurance Alliance, and the Willamette Business Group. He holds an MBA from Southern Oregon University and a Masters in Educational Leadership from the University of Oregon.  Prior to working in financial services, Mark was an Adjunct Professor of American Political History for the Mt. Angel Seminary.  Over the last two decades, Mark has served on the Boards of several non-profit organizations focused on enhancing educational opportunities for children.  He lives in Salem, Oregon