Our Staff and CREW

Bill Foster, Executive Director and Director of Educational Programs

Bill grew up in Ithaca and earned a BS in Environmental Engineering, Cornell '87. After 16 years working in water resource management with the US EPA and several not-for-profits, he is now focused on community-driven environmental education.

Astrid Jirka, Director of Tourism and OutreachAstrid has diverse experience in eco-tourism, international education, yoga instruction, conservation, entrepeneurship, and the Finger Lakes region hospitality industry. She is a graduate of Cornell Univ…

Astrid Jirka, Director of Tourism and Outreach

Astrid has diverse experience in eco-tourism, international education, conservation, entrepeneurship, and the Finger Lakes region hospitality industry. She is a graduate of Cornell University, majoring in Anthropology and Natural Resource Management and a yoga instructor too.

Mike Willard, Master Captain

Mike Willard, Master Captain

Mike loves being on the water! He’s spent the bulk of his career working on boats - in Florida and the Finger Lakes. He’s a captain and a carpenter and the father of two young girls.

Narrators and CrewEvery year we welcome a small handful of local residents to become crew on our boat. They are also the narrators for our eco-cruises. Full of knowledge about the local area through years of walking the gorges, searching for fossils…

Narrators and Crew

Every year we welcome a small handful of local residents to become crew on our boat. They are also the narrators for our eco-cruises and the educators for our Floating Classroom cruises. Full of knowledge about the local area through years of walking the gorges, searching for fossils, studying local history, identifying wildlife and specializing in certain aspects of our region’s unique geology, culture and history, they make our cruises unique and memorable.

Youth Crew

Our Youth Crew are local high school student who are learning about the work that we do while also lending a hand in our educational programs by teaching the kids that we work with about our local lake ecology!
Learn more here.

Watershed Interns

With a wealth of knowledge and interest in fields ranging from the environmental sciences and management to environmental justice and education, our watershed interns spend the summer working with us and partner organizations to gain more expertise in their future careers.
Learn more here.ships


Captain Paul FlaggPaul holds a US Coast Guard 100 Ton Licensed Master's license and has extensive boating experience on Cayuga Lake. He is a member of the US Power Squadron (USPS), a boating safety and education organization, has taught every USPS C…

Captain Paul Flagg

Paul holds a US Coast Guard 100 Ton Licensed Master's license and has extensive boating experience on Cayuga Lake. He is a member of the US Power Squadron (USPS), a boating safety and education organization, has taught every USPS Course from Basic Boating through Celestial Navigation, and is a USPS Certified Coastal Navigator.

Captain Stephanie Gray

From the windy waves of the Pacific Ocean to the more peaceful waters of Cayuga, Stephanie has captained and crewed on a variety of ships ranging from Oceanographic Research Vessels on the high seas to tugboats on the Hudson River. She’s been working on the water for nearly 30 years. Sign up for Captain Steph’s annual knot tying cruise this summer on board the Teal!

Captain Alan Green

Alan has captained on various boats in the Finger Lakes for the last 20 years. He’s also a Quartermaster for the US Coast Guard and was the Director of Development at Binghamton University Maritime College. He’s now happily retired and spending as much time as he can on boats!


our Board of directors

We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and are governed by a Board of Directors.
We are almost always looking for new board members!  Find out more about joining our board.

current Board Members

  • Chair: Paul Flagg (Ship's captain, Engineer, retired)

  • Vice Chair: Lynn Leopold (Intermunicipal Organization Liaison)

  • Secretary: Thomas Vawter (Wells College, Emeritus)

  • Carole Erslev (Dryden Central School District, retired)

  • Laura Falk (Owner of EFL! Experience the Finger Lakes)

  • Steve Kress (Cornell University, retired; ornithologist)

  • Auguste DuPlan (Cayuga Medical Center Psychologist and avid boater)

  • Michelle Hallock (Tompkins Financial)

  • Ronald Van Ormer (Cornell University, retired)