STAFF

Jerry Slavens - Executive Director

Jerry has been actively involved with sailing for 50 years in a variety of ways at the Sheboygan Yacht Club. He started with the Sea Scout program in 1971, then began racing Lightnings in the 80's before moving on to power boats into the 90's, where he spent most of his time doing Race Committee work to support the community’s racing sailors. After many years enjoying the boating scene in town, Jerry is looking forward to spreading the word and moving the SEAS program into the future.

Tony Orlebeke - Fleet Manager

Tony comes from a long line of sailors in Sheboygan and grew up sailing and racing on Lake Michigan. With 46 combined Chicago and Bayview Mackinac Races under his belt, Tony has logged countless hours working on some of the best race boats on the lake. He has worked with the various sailing organizations on the Sheboygan Lakefront for the past 25 years. He worked on the media boat for the 2000 and 2003 America's Cups in Auckland, New Zealand and has been a staple of the experienced race committee team at Sail Sheboygan since it's inception. He continues to play an integral role in the upkeep and maintenance of the boats and docks that are used all summer long.

Juju Senfft - Adaptive Sailing Coach

Juju, who moved to Wisconsin from Niteroi, Brazil, began visiting Sheboygan as a competitor in match racing events in 2008. After spending long periods of time training with her team on Lake Michigan, she decided in 2016 that her next adventure lay in working with visually impaired sailors. Before, during and after her studies at the Universidade Salgado de Oliveira for a degree in Physical Education, she sailed in World Match Racing Championships around the globe. Her lifelong passion for racing sailboats, which began at the age of 3, brings a unique skillset to the SEAS Staff.

Whitney Kent - Youth Sailing Program Director

Whitney grew up sailing at South Shore Yacht Club in Milwaukee, where she learned to love spending time on Lake Michigan. After teaching sailing as Head Instructor in SYSC's Junior Organization for several years, she moved on to become a sailor and captain of the sailing team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After spending two summers in Sheboygan, she has developed a passion for getting the community on the water and is excited to lead the Community Boating program in addition to her role as Program Director at SYSC.

Trista Koehn - Administrative Assistant

Trista is a lifelong resident of Sheboygan spent her childhood playing in Lake Michigan as well as along its shore. She has a bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management and has spent her career gaining a diverse portfolio of knowledge and experience beyond the Human Resources field. She is looking forward to learning to sail!

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Eric Zufelt- Chairman

Denise Cornell- Treasurer

Jason Bemis- Secretary

Leslie Kohler