Dawn Santamaria
Founder & Chairman
Dawn has over 25 years of business experience and has been co-owner of
Tallship Unicorn for 10 years. She has an extensive background in youth
sail training, operating a tall ship business, marketing, event planning
and public relations. A graduate of Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, an
all-women's College, and mother of 4 daughters, Dawn's personal passion
lies in leadership development of teenage girls and women. Sail training
has long been recognized as a character building experience that develops
confidence, self-esteem, responsibility and camaraderie. Dawn decided to
take the spirit of teamwork one step further by putting together a
structured program exclusively for young female sailors to work side by
side maneuvering her 100 ton tall ship teaching them a powerful lesson of
girls sticking together in support of one another. In 2005, she founded
Sisters Under Sail, a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization that has put aboard
nearly 300 teenage girls. Dawn also serves on the Alumnae Board of
Directors at Saint Mary's College.
Brynn Iversen
Treasurer
Brynn Iversen is a Manager of Government Affairs for the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) with a focus on state government relations. Brynn graduated from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. Her focus on Political Science and Women’s Studies in college led her to internships for campaigns, Congressional offices, grassroots organizations, and eventually led her to Washington. Along with her full time responsibilities at AF&PA, Brynn is attending The George Washington University’s School of Professional Studies Master in Political Management program. As the oldest daughter to Sisters Under Sail Founder, Dawn Santamaria, Brynn has been involved in the Organization from the beginning and carries the mission in her heart. She resides in Alexandria, Virginia.
Chelsea Iversen
Secretary
Chelsea began sailing aboard the Tallship Unicorn as a young teenager, applying firsthand the leadership and confidence developed on board to her life on land. Her shipboard experiences, and the dramatic transformations that resulted, eventually helped shape the Sisters Under Sail educational curriculum. Over the years, Chelsea served aboard as deckhand and as Sisters Under Sail on-board educational coordinator in 2006. Since earning her Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology of Global Development from Saint Mary’s College in May 2008, Chelsea has been working in Washington D.C. in the Criminal Justice division of FirstPic, Inc.
Ms. Roselie Bellanca Posselius
President, Detroit Actors Guild
Ms. Bellanca Posselius, a Saint Mary’s alumna and producer from the Detroit market, has years of experience in promotion, business and fund development, and marketing. The scope of her work ranges from sporting events to concerts to theater to film production. When Sisters Under Sail sails the Great Lakes, Roselie’s national contacts and knowledge of the Michigan market is a strength that she brings to the Board. Her daughter has also participated in the shipboard program; giving Roselie first-hand experience with the program philosophy, growth and success.
Pattie DiFazio
President, Vincent F. DiFazio Charitable Foundation Fund
Ms. DiFazio founded her Foundation on behalf of her husband who died on September 11, 2001. She sought to find a way to ease the initial financial burden that a family feels by the sudden and unexpected passing of a spouse. Her Foundation awards a designated amount to Hunterdon County, New Jersey families that are impacted by such a loss. Pattie has a teenage daughter who went through our Sisters Under Sail pilot program in 2004. Since her daughter’s shipboard experience, Pattie has supported Sisters Under Sail having first-hand knowledge as to how the leadership aspect of the program helped her daughter establish the confidence she so dearly needed after her father’s death and before starting high school.
Barb Henry
Barb’s introduction to Sisters Under Sail came during her 16-year tenure as Director of Alumnae Relations at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana, where she managed the Alumnae Association's leadership programs. Her passion for the mission has helped to put over 200 Saint Mary’s alumnae aboard the STV Unicorn to participate in various leadership programs. Barb brings a wealth of experience in program administration, fund development, event planning and marketing in the not-for-profit sector. She "believes in the mission of Sisters Under Sail and understand the transformative role that this unique leadership program plays in the personal development of teen-age girls. The 'Sisters' experience encourages girls to really get to know themselves. When a girl really understands who she is and what
she can do, she will make critical decisions and take action with confidence. Not just on the ship, but for the rest of her life." Barb lives in Granger, Indiana with her husband and twelve-year-old daughter.
Courtney Iversen
Courtney has been sailing aboard Unicorn for 10 years. As an 8th grader, she sailed aboard with Sisters Under Sail maiden voyage out of New York City. Since that time, she has grown with the program; adding value as a crew member, sail trainer and mentor to the girls and women we serve. Courtney offers a wealth of knowledge in terms of truly understanding the Sisters philosophy, approach and curriculum. She will be heading off to College in the fall to pursue a career in education.
Patricia Lock
President of Great Lakes Marketing Group
Patricia is proud to be a board member for Sisters Under Sail. She has worked with tall ships from around the United States and Europe to bring them to the Great Lakes for over eight years, promoting their missions of education, history and the environment. The Sisters program affords a life-changing experience for local youth in many of the Ports that host the visiting ships.
Susan Lutz Critelli, MA
Ms. Lutz-Critelli brings an educational background to the Board. Her career as a counselor has focused on at-risk and under-represented youth with a concentration on young girls within the public school system and private sector. Her grounded philosophy, approach, collaborative nature and passion for teaching young women to equip themselves with an arsenal of survival and leadership skills lends balance to the Board and strengthens the Sisters Under Sail curriculum.