(he/him), Executive Director

Michael McAllister has been the executive director at SailMaine since 2016. He grew up in Biddeford, Maine and as a child was fortunate enough to receive a need-based scholarship to a learn to sail program. Those early experiences encouraged him to compete at the highest level in college, where he was an All-New England skipper at the University of Rhode Island. He continued his passion for sailing as a college coach at Columbia University in New York City. From there, he transitioned to practicing law. As an attorney, Michael worked tirelessly to advocate for at-risk youth in Maine as a junior defense attorney. His practice focused on ensuring kids had the resources and voice they needed to succeed. Prior to coming on as the Executive Director, Michael served on the Board of Directors at SailMaine and coached several high school teams at SailMaine.

When Michael isn’t hanging out with his wife Annya and their puppy Arthur, he is hanging with his daughter, racing slow keelboats like Rhodes 18+19, J24’s and etchells, and foiling his windsurfer in the back cove!

(he/him), Program Director

Some of you may know John from his days as a Frosty student at SailMaine where he learned to sail. Some of you may know John from his days as a Captain of the Portland High School sailing team. Some of you may know John from his time as a summer coach teaching everything from Opti Learn to Sail to 420 travel race team. John knows SailMaine in and out from 15 years of sailing and coaching in the program.

From Frosty to Junior Program Director, we can't wait to see John help push SailMaine into the next era!

John grew up on Long Island, taking the ferry to Portland HS and sailing practice. He currently lives in Portland and is finishing out his year as a high school math teacher in Gray-New Gloucester.

(he/him), Operations Manager

Ben has extensive non-profit leadership experience from his time as a board member and director at the Small Point Summer School and as an Upper School Administrator at Waynflete School. He has a passion for the outdoors and outdoor learning. Ben sometimes joins the Wednesday night J22 race series at SailMaine and on occasion sails Rhodes 19’s. He has also spent time working on a schooner and running the Race Committee Boat for Small Point Yacht Club.

Ben is looking forward to helping SailMaine take the next steps on systems and community engagement. He is very excited to be down on the waterfront and to meet all the folks in the SailMaine community. In his free time, Ben is typically chasing around his two little kids, Hank and Linus, with his wife Frances.

(he/him), Facilities and Maintenance Manager, High School Coach

Sam is the backbone of SailMaine.

(she/her), Development Director

Bio coming soon!

PRESIDENT

Chris has always sought creative ways for the public to access Casco Bay. Community sailing became a natural fit. Chris has served in many non-profit roles, including former president of Rippleffect and the USM foundation, and is a current PMA board member. Over the years Chris has enjoyed watching his kids grow up in SailMaine programs and leaving the nest to attend college at the University of Vermont, Wheaton and Boston University. When Chris isn’t volunteering with non-profits, he enjoys road-tripping with his wife Maggie in his Volkswagen Bus.

Secretary

As a lifelong sailor myself, it’s been gratifying to have my children grow up as sailors and racers. My oldest, Libby, was a skipper on the Southern Maine team in the early days (2002) of SailMaine, followed by her brother, Alan, and ten years later by brother Ben who was a founding member of the Yarmouth Sailing Team. I recently served as Parent Coordinator for Yarmouth for several years, and loved getting to know the high school sailors and coaches. I’m so proud of the work that SailMaine does, in giving access to the water to children and adults, hopefully building a lifelong passion. Jim and I continue to cruise and race our J40 in Maine waters, based at Portland Yacht Club, where I am a Past Commodore, and first female Commodore 2001-2002 in its 125 year history.

Mark Morrissette is a partner at North Atlantic Capital, a venture capital firm based in Portland, investing in high-growth technology companies. Mark is a graduate of Dartmouth College, and Harvard Business School. A father of three, Mark was indoctrinated into sailing, and SailMaine, by his children who all became passionate racers in high school. By providing access to the water to hundreds of kids every year, Mark has seen first-hand how SailMaine can have a major impact on Maine youth.

Matt is a multi award winning art director and designer with extensive experience in branding and creating engaging design for clients such as Jazz at Lincoln Center, The New York Public Library, The New York Times, HBO and the NFL. He moved from NYC to Portland, Maine so he can spend more time in a boat with his family and less time on the subway. He loves sailing, and wants everyone to experience the sense of wonder and possibility that it brings.Description goes here

A retail executive at L.L.Bean, Emily Carville is a lifelong sailor who believes strongly in the empowerment, leadership, and sense of adventure sailing engenders in kids and adults alike. As a junior sailing instructor during college, Emily began her passion for sailing education, which is what brought her to SailMaine as a Special Olympics sailing coach in 2005. Emily has served on the marketing committee for over 10 years and joined the board in 2012. Emily is a graduate of Princeton University, where she sailed on the women’s team for four years. Currently a resident of Freeport, she now takes her two young children sailing on a wooden dinghy her husband built for the kids when she is not out racing J/24s with the Sea Bags Women’s Sailing Team.

Treasurer

I love Sail Maine because I believe in the life lessons sailing teaches are invaluable to a person’s development. Though I don’t live close enough to participate, I love the community Sail Maine is building and the welcoming spirit. I’m very proud to be a small part of it.

Joe Henderson grew up outside Hartford, CT and is a 2010 graduate of Bowdoin College where he majored in Economics and crewed on the college dinghy and keelboat teams. Following Bowdoin, he worked briefly at LL Bean before relocating to Metrowest Boston for a finance/analytics role at an early stage startup. He is a 2018 graduate of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and is currently a Senior Vice President at Advantage Capital, a geographically-focused impact investment fund, where he manages funds focused on Ohio and Maine.

Joe, his wife, three children (4, 6, 7), and dog relocated to Yarmouth from Hanover, NH in July 2025. Outside of work he enjoys skiing, camping, canoeing, and is looking forward to spending much more time sailing after being landlocked in NH.

Vice President

Harry is a new resident of Portland having moved here from Charlestown, MA in 2025. He was a board member of Courageous Sailing in Charlestown. He is an avid competitive sailor, racing in high school, college and after college in many different types of one design boats. His triplet boys are also avid competitive high school sailors with two competing in the Spring at SailMaine and all three are on Nantucket's All Island Race Team through Nantucket Community Sailing. This is one of the main reasons for Harry to become more involved. His spare time is spent hiking, skiing and biking long distances on a mountain bike or road bike. Professionally Harry has worked in the finance and commercial real estate industries with a specialty in Sustainability and Energy Efficiency in commercial buildings and is looking forward to applying those skills to help SailMaine be successful in getting more kids and adults on the water here in Portland.

Originally from Manhattan, Susan moved to Cumberland from Boston in 2018 with her husband to begin her retirement years. Her time now is spent in a host of activities which include a significant amount of sailing, volunteering and fundraising for SailMaine, piano and vocal studies, and genealogy research.

Susan holds a master’s degree in strategic communication and spent her career successfully consulting for not-for-profits and small businesses. Her work focused on strategic planning, organizational growth, branding, and public relations and fundraising. She has also served on numerous boards including city government in Salt Lake City.

Susan lives in Cumberland with her retired physician husband and has two adult children in Salt Lake City along with 1.5 grandchildren.