Co-Chairs

Maddie is an experienced rower and coach from a family of rowers.  She has been at the Head of the Charles every year and always right there to lend a hand.  Maddie joined the Launch Team officially in 2024 and we are so glad to have her.  She currently coaches at Gordon College.

Joe joined the team in 2023. He is a big fan of the Harvard Radcliff Crew and will find a way to help anywhere needed.  Hailing from Saratoga New York, Joe is our current long distant relationship, but we are making it work!  Joe is no stranger to rowing and managing regattas.  He has assisted in managing many local regattas in the New York area before joining the HOCR team.  If you got an email from the Launch Committee, it likely came from Joe.

Kara White is an experienced rowing coach and Head of the Charles volunteer. She has jumped in to the Launch Committee with both feet and is quickly learning everything she needs to know.  Her “Can-Do” attitude has propelled the committee forward throughout the off season to get everything ready for this year’s regatta.  She has coached in Shrewsbury, MA and the mid-west.

George Hickey has been involved with the Head of the Charles Regatta for over 30 years. As a volunteer with the Emergency Services Committee, he used his American Red Cross experience to recruit and train all the lifeguards for the first Safety Launches in 1991.

In 2011, he moved from co-chairing Emergency Services to co-chairing the Launch Committee. Hint: If the answer to your question is written on your name tag, please don’t ask…

This is James’ 6th year with Head Of the Charles and his 5th as co-chair.

James has a background in IT, Event Management, and also served 4 years as an EMT and doing search and rescue in the US Coast Guard. He is also working on starting a coffeehouse and office-coffee delivery business. Hint: Don’t order Decaf…Ever!

Bruce has been a 3-day launch driver in the Basin and at the Finish Line for 3 years and is now contributing as a Launch Committee Co-Chair.

Bruce retired from IT at a small bank in Marblehead and has been a passionate recreational sailor/powerboater for most of his (long) life. He rowed at Exeter and Cornell back in the 60’s and was in the bow-seat of an Italian-rigged Exeter cox’d 4 that finished second in the 1964 Prince Phillip Cup at Henley.  Bruce manages the training for the Launch Committee, manages the MIT dock, rigs the buoys and anchors, and works tireless to ensure a successful weekend.  Hint: Just complete your training modules…now!

Gone, but not forgotten.  Mark has been promoted to the Head  of the Charles Race Committee and continues to lead Launches in a management support role. Mark is an all around go-getter. He is a veteran Rowing Coach and is experienced in IT, always contributing to the Launch Committee. Mark has added many improvements to our online training modules and is locally hosting them. In 2023 he retired as Launch Co-Chair emeritus to join the Regatta Race Committee.

Adam volunteered for the Launch Committee for several years, most of them as a co-chair.  He loves working on and around boats. If he can’t fix it, it’s Really broken.  Adam can do and will do just about anything.  In fact, he has done most everything.  He has been a builder, a boat transporter, a chef, a mortgage broker, a humanitarian, artist, hair stylist, small business enterpreneur and in 2015 he re-discovered the neighborhood known as Jamaica Plain, naming it Plain Jamaica.

Richard is a veteran Launch Committee volunteer who Co-Chaired the Launch Committee for two years.  Little else is known about him as he is quiet and keeps to himself, but (hint) Don’t EVER call him Rickey…ever.