Organizational Structure

Community Boating is a public not-for-profit 501(c)3 corporation. The organization is overseen by a Board of Directors, elected by our Corporation, a subset of about 150 members who through their volunteerism show special concern with the future of the organization and with the preservation and utilization of Boston’s natural resources. The Board’s primary functions are to approve an annual budget, set policies, advise management, serve as community liaison and to spearhead specific committees and fundraising efforts. Meetings are held on a regular basis and are open to all CBI members who wish to attend.

Join the Corporation

Membership in the Corporation shall be open to all persons at least twenty-one years of age who express and demonstrate an interest in furthering the purposes of Community Boating, Inc., apply in writing to the Secretary of the Board of Directors, and are accepted by a vote of the majority of the Directors entitled to vote. Membership in the Corporation shall not be denied to any individual on the basis of race, sex, creed or national origin.

As evangelists of CBI’s vision and mission, members of the corporation should actively promote the organization in their personal and professional lives while also contributing their time, talent, and/or treasure. Expressing and demonstrating interest in furthering the purposes of Community Boating can be demonstrated by:

• Acting as ambassadors and advocates of CBI with the goal of identifying and nurturing potential applicants to Corporation membership who can bring external insight and expertise
• Leveraging connections, networks and resources to develop collective action to achieve CBI’s mission
• Making personally meaningful donations to CBI each year
• Demonstrating a commitment to our community and mission by participating actively in CBI’s programs, activities, and volunteer opportunities
• Participating in the Annual Meeting of the Corporation to elect members to the Board of Directors
• Keeping apprised of programmatic and strategic changes and updates to CBI’s programs, activities, subcommittees, and volunteer opportunities

Corporation Member Application Process

1. Email the Corporation Secretary at [email protected] expressing interest and reasons for wanting to join the Corporation; the Secretary will send a description of Corporation member expectations
2. Two members of the Nominating Committee will reach out to schedule an interview
3. The full Nominating Committee will meet to decide whether or not to recommend the candidate to the Board
4. Nominating Committee Chair presents candidates to the Board for a vote, with or without the committee’s recommendation

2024 Annual Meeting of the Corporation of Community Boating Inc.

Meet Our Board

Nick Miller (2026)

President

Nick joined community boating in 2020, seeking a fun, outdoor activity during the pandemic. “A boat is a boat,” he was heard to say. “CBI dock staff and volunteers make this place special.”  He began leading rigging and shore school classes in 2022 and loved it. He joined the Budget and Finance committee in December, 2022 and was elected to the Board in 2023. A resident of Cambridge, Nick is founder and managing director of the consulting firm, Clarity Advantage, providing strategy implementation and training services to the banking industry.

Karyn Brudnicki (2025)

Vice-President

Deb Boudreau (2025)

Treasurer

Deb learned to sail at Community Boating in the late 1970s and in the 1980s took a gamble to purchase a Lifetime membership initially created to kick-start a Community Boating Endowment Fund. It was a smart buy as Deb has been sailing on the Charles River continuously since that life membership purchase. She enjoys giving back to Community Boating as a member of the Budget and Finance Committee, participating in CBI events and work parties and as a volunteer faculty – currently teaching Mainsail and Jib classes. She has taken out many members for their first sailing experience or their first sailboat race. Deb has a background in finance and accounting having worked in audit, accounting, and financial reporting and analysis for the insurance and financial services industry. In her non-sailing activities, she enjoys horseback riding and travel, especially week-long riding holidays in places such as: Iceland, Wales, Ireland, Spain, and hopefully a “bucket list” African safari equestrian adventure.

Catherine Rockett (2027)

Secretary

Several capsizes and lost cell phones during the Junior Program did not dissuade Catherine from becoming an avid sailor, and she went on to teach in the Junior Program and occasionally in the Adult and Universal Access Programs. At CBI, Catherine sails the full fleet and participates in blind sailing. She also sails intercoastal and offshore trips in the US and in the Bahamas, races with various fleets, and volunteers as a deckhand on an 1812 privateer ship.

On land, she participates in the Budget and Finance Committee and on the Strategic Planning Committee. Catherine wholeheartedly embraces CBI’s mission of Sailing for All and strives to ensure that all sailors are empowered to excel at CBI. Unfortunately, amateur sailing is not Catherine’s full-time career. She is a lawyer and a management consultant for private and public equity REITs. Law school sparked a passion for maritime law, and she researches and lectures on various admiralty topics.

Duane Farrar (2025)

Director At Large

Duane, a first term Board member, is a three-time World Sailing Blind Fleet Racing Champion. He was first introduced to sailing right here at CBI in September of 1996 when he participated in a four-day, learn-to-sail program for blind and visually-impaired adults. He has been a CBI Adult Program sailor, volunteer and voting member of the Corporation ever since (honestly, he just refuses to leave.) He also uses our Universal Access Program (UAP,) which was created in 2007. Duane serves on the Budget & Finance, Nominating, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Committees.

Duane has degrees in Computer Information Systems and Management from Bentley College (now University) and a Certificate in Web Application Development from Boston University. He worked for many years as a Programmer/Analyst, Applications Developer and Software Consultant for a variety of corporations and government agencies. He also serves on the Board of and is the Treasurer for another local nonprofit, Boston Blind Sailing.

Duane lives upstream from Boston along the Charles River with his wife Elizabeth, whom he met at CBI, and twin teenage children, both of whom have participated in CBI’s Junior Program. His son Payton is a Junior Program Instructor-In-Training (IIT) and is a recipient of the Jessica Lee Elwell Scholarship.

Adam Bickelman (2026)

Director At Large

Adam Bickelman serves as the Vice President, Corporate Communications for EF Education First (EF), which is among the largest international education companies.  He has worked for EF for 11 years, holding several roles related to strategic communications, public relations, marketing and events.  Prior to EF, Adam worked as the Director of the Corporate and Nonprofit practices at Schneider Associates, a Boston-based integrated marketing and communications firm.  Before that, he served as the Director of Communications for MassDevelopment, the Commonwealth’s quasi-public economic development authority.  For the past 10 years, Adam has overseen EF’s partnership with Community Boating focused on supporting the Universal Access Program via the creation of a dedicated UAP Endowment Fund.  He holds a B.A. from Colby College and resides in Milton, Mass.

Cole Constantineau (2026)

Director At Large

Upon moving back to Boston for an engineering job in 2011 at Helbling, a Swiss-based engineering services company, Cole was lucky to have a window with a view of the Charles River, and even luckier to give in to the pull of learning how to sail. From this first contact, Cole’s involvement in the volunteering and sailing world has only deepened, as have lifelong friendships.

Inspired by CBI’s ethos as a volunteer, Cole served for over 10 years as the Tiller Club steward at CBI, spent 4 years mentoring (weekly) a team of high school entrepreneurs through BUILD, and currently serves on the technical committee of the Viper 640 one design class.

Cole continues to competitively race sailboats at every chance he gets (Viper 640, Rhodes 19’s, Tech dinghies, lasers, Melges 24’s, E-Scows, you name it…), and lately has been open to offshore sailing provided the boat is fast and the crew is fun and competent.

In his professional life, Cole continues to work for the same company, albeit without a river view. In the position of Partner and Team Leader, he continues to develop medical and biotechnology products for clients worldwide.

Charlie Marts (2027)

Director At Large

Abdiel Ramirez (2027)

Director At Large