About Us

Dr. Arthur H Sulzer, EdD.

MPSEC Co-Editor
Co-founder, MPSEC

The Honorable Arthur H. Sulzer EdD, a graduate of SUNY Maritime College and retired merchant marine officer with MEBA, he holds a USCG Master’s Unlimited ocean license and Third Assistant Engineer’s unlimited hp license (steam, motor, gas turbine).  He completed 30 years of active and reserve service with the U.S. Navy and retired with the rank of Captain.  He holds several advanced degrees, M.S. Transportation Management from SUNY Maritime College, MBA Finance, Hofstra University and an Ed. D. Higher Education from University of Pennsylvania.  A founding member of Maritime for Primary and Secondary Coalition (MPSEC) a group that connects K-12 educators across the country and Maritime Academy Charter School with 850 grade 1-12 students in Philadelphia.  In addition to his involvement in maritime education, he is a professional surveyor and consultant and owner of a marine equipment company in the Port of Philadelphia.

In 2012 he was appointed by President Obama to the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) Advisory Board where he continues to serve under President Trump.

Carleen Lyden Walker

MPSEC Co-Editor
Co-Founder & Chief Evolution Officer, NAMEPA

Carleen Lyden Walker is a marketing and communications professional in the commercial maritime industry with over 40 years of experience.  She is the Chief Evolution Officer for SHIPPINGInsight- the fleet optimization and innovation conference and exhibition, founder and CEO of Morgan Marketing & Communications, and Co-Founder/Executive Director of NAMEPA (North American Marine Environment Protection Association).

She is an IMO Maritime Ambassador. In 2010, she was awarded the Certificate of Merit by the United States Coast Guard and in 2014 a Public Service Commendation for her work on World Maritime Day and AMVER, respectively. She held a Captain’s license to 100 tons. 

Captain William Sabatini

Editorial Associate of Sail Training / Tall Ships
Executive Director and Fleet Captain, Flagship Niagara League

Captain William Sabatini grew up in southeastern Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, and so has been around water his entire life.  He began sailing tall ships in Newport, RI, before attending Tabor Academy, an academically rigorous high school in Marion, MA.  While at Tabor, Billy sailed for four years on the Schooner Tabor Boy; he also crewed on various other schooners during his summer breaks.  In the latter half of his senior year, he restored a 1939 Alden Coastwise Cruiser, Luau, which he sailed throughout New England after graduation.  The following year, he sailed Luau to Maine Maritime Academy, where he spent the next four years earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Small Vessel Operations, with a concentration in Sail Training.  While at Maine Maritime, Billy worked his way up to the position of Chief Mate of the Academy’s schooner Bowdoin, where he designed and implemented Bowdoin’s student run sail training program.  During his college career, he also assisted in the development of a supplemental seamanship program, applicable to both traditional and modern vessels, for students in all majors at the Academy. 

Billy began his time with the US Brig Niagara in 2005, as 3rd Mate, advancing to Chief Mate in 2008, Captain in 2014 and Executive Director/Fleet Captain in 2018.  During the winter months, he has served as Mate or Captain on a number of tall ships on every coast of the United States.  Over the last two plus decades, he has sailed the East coast from Nova Scotia to Venezuela, the West Coast from Alaska to Mexico, and the entire Great Lakes system, as well as crossing the Atlantic twice.

As Billy enters his seventeenth season with the Flagship Niagara League, and his fourth season as Executive Director/Fleet Captain, he is very much looking forward to the opportunity to share his passion for sailing and sail training with the crew and trainees of the Flagship Niagara League for years to come.

Billy lives in Erie, PA with his dogs Bruin and Queen Charlotte.

Eric R. Dawicki

Editorial Associate of Post-Secondary Education
President of Northeast Maritime Institute College of Maritime Science

One of the preeminent minds in maritime transportation policy, Mr. Dawicki’s humble beginnings have taken him from the United States Coast Guard Reserve and Merchant Marine Careers to heading up one of the largest privately held maritime education and training institutions in the United States and transitioning it into the first private maritime college in America. He is responsible for creating and developing the 25th largest ship registry in the world and is a former member of the United Nation’s World Maritime University’s Board of Governors as well a former Executive Governor of WMU. His desire is to see a world that realizes peace through trade and prosperity.

Renee A. Marazon

Editorial Associate Maritime Pedagogy
Distinguished Maritime Educator & Administrator

Renee Marazon has been an educator and teacher educator for over 40 years. She developed an educational approach to teaching the “whole child” across six domains of their development with an emphasis on 96 target objectives. Her philosophy of education, developed as the Marazon System, was embraced by the U.S. Air Force and schools across the country. She was one of several pioneers and leaders in K-12 maritime education from 2004 to the present. Using her philosophy of educating the “whole child” using best practices and integrating marine/maritime themes across the curriculum, Marazon became a leader in middle and high school maritime training and education.

Ms. Marazon is the driving force behind the development of The Maritime Academy of Toledo, a grade 5 through 12 college-prep and school-to-work program that integrates marine/maritime-based themes across traditional subject areas. From 2004 to 2014 she served as superintendent of The Maritime Academy. Under her leadership, in 2012, The Academy achieved a State of Ohio, Department of Education rating of Excellent. That same year, the Academy was named a “High Progress School of Honor.”

The mission of The Maritime Academy was to open young minds to endless job and higher education possibilities, with the specific mission to prepare students for opportunities in marine/maritime industries and college degree programs. Ms. Marazon established The Maritime Academy of Toledo as Ohio’s first and only Maritime Career Tech Education program, designing both the curriculum and the teacher licensure criteria. She retired June 30. 2015 from The Academy.

In 2010, Ms. Marazon was named CEO of The Maritime Academy of Toledo Foundation whose mission was to support K-12 marine/maritime programs across the country through teacher and administrator professional development opportunities. The Foundation focused on developing marine/maritime themed curriculum, workshops, and seminars for K through 12 students, teachers, and parents. Foundation activities included: Marine/Maritime K-12 Curriculum Development; K-12 teacher professional. The Foundation also focused on securing grants to secure funds in support of K-12 marine/maritime programs and teacher attendance at K-12 marine/maritime conferences.

Ms. Marazon received her Master of Education Degree from Bowling Green State University with a major in Career and Technology Education and emphasis on curriculum development. She earned a Bachelor of Education degree in French and English from Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Ohio.

Ted Davis

Editorial Associate of K-12 Marine Science Education
Distinguished Maritime & Marine Science Educator

Most Americans have only a superficial awareness of how important the ocean and aquatic systems are to their daily lives (and to all life on Earth). The ocean is a source of food and medicine, controls global climate, provides energy, supplies jobs, supports economies, and often is a romantic inspiration to the Art and Literary world. The importance of MPSEC’s Marine & Aquatic Science editorial section is to strengthen the nation’s awareness of oceanic & aquatic systems by focusing on both formal and informal education efforts. School curricula, starting in kindergarten, should expose students to ocean issues, preparing the next generation of ocean scientists, managers, educators, and leaders through diverse educational opportunities. Formal education curricula may only reach students for a limited time while informal education (such as Tall Ship Sail Training) is needed to foster lifelong learning.

As the associate editor, Mr. Davis’ primary responsibility is to explore current marine & aquatic research especially as related to “Blue” or “Brown” water Jobs” which are jobs on the ocean, inland waterways, and the Great Lakes. Routine tasks typically include conceptualizing and pitching stories, interviewing sources, writing and editing, selecting photos and art to accompany articles, and proofreading. The associate marine & aquatic editor will also manage social media accounts and repurpose/curate content.

Molly Dushay

Editorial Associate of K-12 Marine Science Education, MPSEC Secretariat
Education Director, NAMEPA & Secondary Science Teacher

Molly’s passion for the marine environment stems from her youth as the daughter of a lobster-fisherman. With her Bachelor of Science in Biology and MAT in Secondary Biology and General Science from Sacred Heart University, Molly is dedicated to both the marine environment and education. At NAMEPA, she supports education and outreach programming development and facilitation. Outside of NAMEPA, Molly is a public high school science teacher where she promotes diverse and inquiry-based opportunities for her students to explore and investigate the natural world.

Captain Aaron Singh

Editorial Associate of Vessel Operations
The Urban Assembly New York Harbor School Waterfront Director

Captain Aaron Singh has been sailing for the last 25 years on a wide variety of commercial passenger vessels. He is currently on the Board of Tall Ships of America and has received several awards through his work in education and sail training including: Sail Trainer of the Year, and two Sea Education awards for outstanding programs in marine education. His love for being on the water began aboard a Sea Scout ship sailing out of City Island in the Bronx, NY. Like many sailors before him, the volunteer program at South Street Seaport Museum introduced him to schooners and subsequently led him to command every vessel that has operated out of South Street Seaport from a 600 passenger high-speed ferry to a wooden tug boat to a Gloucester fishing schooner.

In 2010, Captain Singh joined the teaching staff at New York Harbor School on Governors Island and created a three-year New York State certified maritime career and technical education (CTE) program for Vessel Operations. The program offers hands-on, practical training in New York Harbor, one of the busiest harbors in the United States. Many students enter the workforce on commercial vessels or choose to attend a maritime college, often pursuing seagoing careers. In addition to his teaching duties, he serves as the school’s Waterfront Director overseeing marine operations on Governors Island and at the Brooklyn Navy Yard for a variety of historic and modern training vessels. When he’s not in the classroom you can find him hiking, biking, sailing and road-tripping with his amazing seagoing family.

Kris Von Wald, PhD

Editorial Associate of Tall Ships
Executive Director, Tall Ships America

Kris Von Wald joined Tall Ships America as Executive Director in January 2019. She offers a wealth of experience in organizational development, with a focus on strategic and business planning and leadership development. Kris has worked across the commercial, nonprofit, and public sectors in the United States and the United Kingdom, with specialist expertise in leading transformational change and experience in youth development and education. Growing up along the front range in Colorado fostered her keen interest in outdoor pursuits, and she feels fortunate to have the opportunity to marry her education and experience with her life-long interests. She has first-hand experience of the value of learning through outdoor and adventurous activity including a sailing adventure through Hurricane Island Outward Bound, as a leader on a Greenland expedition, and by sailing aboard Christian Radich. Kris’s goal is to build a business model for Tall Ships America that creates a sustainable future built on a solid past, resulting in more resources and opportunities for the entire tall ships community.

Joe Youcha

Editorial Associate of Small Boats
Director, Building To Teach

Joe Youcha developed and runs Building To Teach, a train the trainer program for hands-on math instructors. Building To Teach reintroduces the building process as a context for math instruction and brings more effective resources to young people who need math skills. Started with funding from the Office of Naval Research, and national in scope, the program utilizes all of Joe’s experiences as a wooden boat builder and non-profit executive. Joe also serves as Board Chair of the Teaching with Small Boats Alliance, a group of over 150 like-minded organizations serving their communities through the building and use of small boats.

Rik van Hemmen

Editorial Associate of Engineering Topics in Maritime
Martin & Ottaway, Inc.

Rik van Hemmen is a son of a son of a sailor with two daughters also employed in maritime. He is a Naval Architect and Marine Engineer who specializes in Forensic Engineering at Martin & Ottaway. In a younger life he also was a yacht designer. He has been involved in all aspects of maritime education since the 1980’s and focuses on the link between the commercial (and government) maritime world, educational effectiveness, and design. On a volunteer basis he has exercised many of those concepts as Co-Founder and President of Navesink Maritime Heritage Association. With MPSEC, Rik focuses on the interaction of maritime education with commercial maritime. Commercial maritime is a cooperative soup of many stakeholders and is traditionally referred to as the “Maritime Adventure”. He lives near the water in Fair Haven, NJ, is an avid sailor, and also is the proud owner of a solar powered electric drive hybrid catamaran.