Effective May 11 2010, Mr. Rafe Parker assumed the position of BSF Executive Director. Rafe Parker has been involved with BSF, in a lesser role, from the start. While serving as an International Adviser to the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI), he worked with BSF’s founders when the concept was still being shaped and implemented. More recently, he was appointed to the Board as a Director and subsequently has been serving on the Executive Committee.
Rafe brings a depth of experience in managing and leading a tall ship programme that is hard to find in the world of education-under-sail. Following 20 years of running Outward Bound programmes from Wales to Africa and from Africa to the rugged cruising waters off the coast of Maine, Rafe was appointed President of Sea Education Association (SEA) in 1982, based in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
For the next 20 years, under his leadership, SEA grew from a one-ship programme to an interdisciplinary educational institution with three ocean-going sailing research vessels (one has subsequently been sold). Operating in the Atlantic and Pacific, SEA enjoyed the recognition and support of over 150 colleges and universities and graduated over 6,000 undergraduates, teachers and high school students. Mr. Parker was also instrumental in successfully guiding the Sailing School Vessel Act through Congressional legislation and acquiring major funding from the National Science Foundation. He retired from SEA in June 2002 to assist his wife in cultivating and marketing medicinal plants on their farm in the Pacific Northwest. As President Emeritus, Rafe continues to assist SEA in their fundraising and recruiting initiatives.
Rafe is a former Advisor to the American Sail Training Association (ASTA) and he currently assists the Ocean Classroom Foundation in its fundraising efforts. He is a founding Trustee and subsequent Chairman of the National Maritime Alliance. In 1997, he received the National Walter Cronkite Award for his contribution to maritime education throughout the US, and in 2004, he was awarded the ASTA Lifetime Achievement Award.
Welcome back to Bermuda Rafe!