Meet Our Volunteers
PROGRAMS
BOAST Chair, Lynda Romeo
Bio coming soon!
BOAST First Mate, Position Available
If you are interested in this position contact boast@owsa.net
Email: boastfm@owsa.net
Boat Wrangler, Carisa Bohus
Carisa Bohus, (Kah reese sah Bow hooosh!) joined OWSA in 2010 and has been learning how to really feel the wind ever since. I appreciate the many interesting areas OWSA brings to the membership, like volunteering at the Boat Show, and Sail for the Cause, as well as taking OWSA classes and attending sailing community talks. I love the monthly meetings and have learned so much from all my sailing sisters. Being in the BOAT/BOAST program has been a great way to get more time on the water.
Some of the benefits of Wednesday Night Sails are meeting other OWSA members, the skippers in the area, the river, and all the different boats we have the pleasure of sailing on. I'm looking forward to a fantastic 2021 sailing season. Please don't hesitate to give me feedback on the WNS program. I want to meet you and hear about your adventures.
Fleet Manager, Morgan Senkal
Laura is also our commodore, but has stepped up into this position. She is having a lot of the deferred maintenance done on our little fleet, so they will be even better for the OWSA classes and the BOAST program.
Beven Peters, Wednesday Night Sail (WNS) Coordinator
I jumped on board literally in OWSA as Board Program Director in 2020 and ended up doing both Programs Director and WNS Coordinator that year. In the end I found I loved being the WNS Coordinator and have been doing it since. WNS is a great way to meet other OWSA members, sail on a variety of different boats and get introduced to the wonderful Portland sailing community.
Email: wns@owsa.net
Skipper Vetter, Neonta Bell
Email: skippervetter@owsa.net
EDUCATION
Race Captain, Stephanie Walker
Sailing/racing since 2015. I own a Hunter 30 sailboat. Skipper for WNS. 2020 Race Captain.
Email: racing@owsa.net
Class Registrar, Berry Kruijnin
I grew up around water in The Netherlands and have sailed my whole life. I learned to sail when I was 5 on a pond behind our house. From there I graduated to a lake and by the time I was 13 I had done my first 16-day off shore trip to Norway (from The Netherlands). I have sailed many nautical miles off shore on the North Sea, English Channel and Atlantic, to Scandinavia, England, France, and Spain. Logged over 15K nautical miles. I've owned and skippered 3 sail boats so far and co-skippered my 30-foot boat for 5 years on the ocean.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, I have racing experience as crew on the Columbia on a J30 and later in the Cal 20 fleet for about 12 years, as well as cruising in the San Juan Islands. At OWSA I've mostly participated in Wednesday night sail in the past throughout the years. I love being out on the water either on a sailboat or in a kayak. I've rejoined OWSA after a few years break and I'm looking forward to getting to know you and see some familiar faces!
Email: classregistrar@owsa.net
First Mate Coordinator, Colleen La Civita
Email: firstmate@owsa.net
Class Guppy, Liz Kelty
I bought a San Juan 24 with my Dad in 2016 and had never sailed before. My Dad grew up in the Bay area and grew up sailing in San Francisco Bay, but on a wood sailboat that stayed dry inside as long as a lightbulb stayed on. Needless to say it was a BIG learning curve for both of us. I signed up for OWSA and took classes with Portland Sailing Center and was hooked. I took a hiatus from OWSA for a couple years because I wanted to sail MY boat. After a few years I started sailing my boat less and less and didn't know anyone who could help me to get better at sailing, so I took ASA 101 through Passion Yachts. I had a new goal of wanting to sail my boat without my Dad, and was interested in learning more so I signed back up for OWSA and took Cool maneuvers and the Cruising class. I read in the class description for the cruising class that we were going to have the opportunity to charter a boat with the class at the end, but that wasn't the case. So the instructor (Carol Baker) felt so bad that I was expecting to go on a cruise that she sent my information along to some OWSA ladies that were going on the cruise. I got invited to join a boat of women I had never met, on a 41ft boat for 7 days... It was AMAZING! The skipper, Teresa, was racing an OWSA boat in the Ranger Nationals last summer and asked me to join, so that's how I met Gail. I was going on a lot of Wednesday Night Sails and one night the Skipper said he raced, so I told him to let me know if he needed more crew, I would like to try it out. I was able to race all summer and most of the winter series this year, and have learned a lot. OWSA has helped me meet so many people and network, that I have been able to do a lot of sailing in the last year. After being on so many boats and seeing all these "upgrades" out there, I found a 1986 Yankee 30 that I just bought with my Dad. I am currently studying with some OWSA ladies for my ASA 103 and 104 so I can charter!
MEMBERSHIP/SOCIAL
Volunteer Coordinator, Oshra Rapaport - Email: volunteer@owsa.net
Membership Chair, Lisa Pasquantonio
Lisa joined OWSA in 2017 and has participated in many events -- including, WNS, BOAST, and the San Juan Island Flotilla. She has also taken classes at the Willamette Sailing Club in 1987, 2016, and 2017. Lisa volunteers for many organizations including, OWSA, SMART Reading in kindergarten classes, camp for kids with heart disease, the American Heart Association, Friends of Tress, and many more! Lisa's an empty nester now with her son and daughter in college. She stays active by doing XC skiing, singing in choirs, hiking, biking, snowshoeing, dancing (Zumba, Hip-hop, Yosakoi, really ANY dancing), swimming, aqua aerobics, tae kwon do (blue belt, pre-pandemic, and rock-climbing (once upon a time)! Her most outdoorsy job was working as part of the Forest Service Spotted Owl Monitoring Crew. On the other hand, her most homebound job has been working in compliance for medical device companies. Just when you think Lisa couldn't be more interesting, she also speaks English, conversational French, some Japanese and Swahili, studied and forgot Latin, Spanish, Italian, Vietnamese, and Swedish!
Email: Membership@owsa.net
Boat Show Coordinator - Email: boatshows@owsa.net
Fireside Coordinator - Carisa Bohus - Email: fireside@owsa.net
Nauti Drinks Coordinator - Jasmine Stark
TECHNOLOGY
Communications Coordinator, Julie Durst
Email: communications@owsa.net
Webmaster, Judith Lebzelter
Judith always promised herself that she would get back to sailing which she fondly remembered from the Lake George, New York holidays of her childhood. Too much time passed, but then she found OWSA and BOAST, which was great for showing how to make it happen and to meet great people too! So now, she is trying to help out as webmaster. Let her know if you want anything posted or removed, find any problems or have any other ideas about the site.
Email: webmaster@owsa.net
Social Media Coordinator, Olivia Langley
My name is Olivia and I joined OWSA in the Fall of 2021. While much of my childhood was spent outdoors hiking or camping with family, I was not introduced to sailing until my early twenties by a close friend. I've always loved being near large bodies of water and became hooked on sailing after experiencing the sensation of flying across the water; it was exhilarating, beautiful (and just a tad scary) but all the more reason to learn!
I'm excited to serve OWSA as the Social Media Manager and play a role in documenting and sharing the amazing work we are doing. This is an organization that welcomes women at any skill level (proud beginner over here!) and provides multiple paths to learn and become involved. My hope is to capture what OWSA is all about through member stories, images, and videos both on and off the water.
Email: socialmedia@owsa.net
Technology Coordinator, Kathy Clevenger
I started sailing in 2019, taking ASA 101 and 103 classes with my then teenage son. It was a great chance to spend time together, until he left for college (go Beavers!) I joined OWSA to meet other sailors and improve my skills. As a member of Island Sailing, I have access to a boat, but don't need to maintain one:) Also now retired, I recently took on the volunteer role of Technology Coordinator for OWSA.
Email: tech@owsa.net
MARKETING
Merchandise Chair, Sally Dewitt
Hi I'm Sally. I've called Portland home for almost 4 years and have been spending that time figuring out what outdoor adventures Im into. I'm from Louisiana and lived in Texas for a decade before shipping out west. Growing up I swam competitively, taught lessons, life guarded, and stayed in and around the water - swimming, canoeing, tubing, skiing, everything. Moving to Portland and things to do on the water, sailing seemed like an out of reach sport to get into. Last summer I was introduced to sailing through a friend who suggested I check out OWSA. The sailing basics course this year was my introduction. The instructors and class were amazing and encouraged me to pursue sailing and get involved with OWSA! In my free time, you can find me hiking, skiing, relaxing around the water or trying to coax my cats into taking a walk.
Email: merchandise@owsa.net
FINANCE
Bookkeeper, Susan Day
Sue recently moved to Portland from Vashon Island, Washington. She's currently working as the Director of Finance and Administration at APANO (Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon). Sue grew up in the suburbs of Boston, MA and sailing on Cape Cod, went to colleges in Vermont, Arizona, and Massachusetts, and finally settled in the Pacific Northwest nearly 20 years ago. She has a background in nonprofit management and small business ownership and has not done nearly enough sailing recently!
Email: bookkeeper@owsa.net
