To contact any of our staff or volunteers, please email us at info@uslhs.org or call Headquarters at (415) 362-7255
Staff:
Jeff Gales - Executive Director
Using his background in journalism and nonprofit (museum) management, Jeff enjoys his work as the U.S. Lighthouse Society's executive director, a position he has held for almost 20 years. Born and raised in Southern California, Jeff has resided on the west coast for most of his life and became interested in lighthouses after working and actually living at the Point Arena Light Station in Mendocino County. Outside of work, Jeff enjoys travel, gardening, cooking and finding new places to explore with his little buddy Augie Doggie (named after Augustin Fresnel of course).
Jeremy d'Entremont - Historian
Jeremy is the USLHS historian and podcast host. He has been photographing and writing about lighthouses for four decades. He's the author of more than 20 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history, and he has appeared on Public Television and other national TV and radio. He is a past president of the American Lighthouse Foundation, founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and vice president of Friends of Flying Santa.
Richard Gales
Richard wears many hats at the U.S. Lighthouse Society, drawing upon his experience in IT management and production for almost everything he does. Prior to the Society, Richard worked in Los Angeles in TV & Film production and furthered his experience in the corporate world as a project manager. Web design, marketing, graphic design, IT, customer service, database management and communications are just some of the things Richard contributes to the U.S. Lighthouse Society. When he is not at work, he enjoys cooking, sports, classic rock and animals of all kinds.
Cassandra Rowland
Starting to work at the U.S. Lighthouse Society as a teenager, Cassandra has taken over a variety of departments including USLHS vacation rentals, customer service, database management and IT, and works directly with the Society's Executive Director on special projects. Recently, Cassandra achieved a BS in Business Administration, and she has used that knowledge to help further the Society's marketing and gift shop strategies. Outside of work Cassandra loves to dance, travel, and try new and unique culinary experiences.
Ralph Krugler
Ralph is the historian for Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse in Florida, and also the lodge host at the lighthouse. He has assisted with the uploading of photos, documents, drawings, and more to our J. Candace Clifford Research Catalog as well as producing the "Lighthouses News of the Week" and various social media projects.
Mel Carter
Mel is the keeper and property manager for the Point Wilson Lightstation and works to educate the public about this light station's heritage. She absolutely loves learning about lighthouses in general and hosts events to raise awareness about this important preservation project. Using her expert skills in customer service, Mel greets guests from all over the world. Mel is a "doer" and loves being able to be part of something so purpose driven and important.
Katherine Klint
Katherine "Kat" was born in Calgary, Canada and moved to Colo in High School. She received her associates degree and started her career in the dental field. Kat loved the business side of dentistry, began to manage dental practices and went back to college to study business, accounting and marketing. After 20 years in the dental field, decided to start her own accounting practice and has been loving it ever since. In her spare time, Katherine enjoys her pets, volunteering for local non-profits, antiquing, camping, clamming and spending time with friends and family.
Cheryl Shelton-Roberts
Cheryl Shelton-Roberts is a historian, author, and former teacher. Along with her husband Bruce, she has authored several books on lighthouses in North Carolina. She has conducted extensive research to document North Carolina lighthouse history, and co-founded the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society which is one of the foremost lighthouse preservation groups in the country. Cheryl was also instrumental in the battle to save and relocate the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse to its new location and very active with the restoration of North Carolina’s Bodie Island Lighthouse.
Erik Nelson
Erik has been working with USLHS since the early 2000's, providing technology support. He's proud to support the mission of USLHS, and enjoys visiting lighthouses in California, and his home state of Michigan. He enjoys hiking, bicycling, backpacking, and watching his kids perform and play in their various music and sports activities. His favorite lighthouse is the Muskegon Pier Light, in Muskegon, Michigan. His Dad was from Muskegon, and he has memories of visiting family there as a kid, and seeing the light standing tall, beaming out across Lake Michigan.
Milca Touceda
Morissa Knudsen
Born and raised in Southern CA, Morissa moved to the Pacific Northwest later in life and had a successful career in law as a paralegal. Energetic and active by nature, Morissa took over the Society's fulfillment department, works tirelessly on memberships and database management, customer service, and has even utilised her creative skills with interior design projects for the Society's vacation rentals. Living close to headquarters, Morissa is a valuable asset, and she has become the Society's de facto ambassador with the local community. Outside of work Morissa enjoys travel, gardening and flea market finds.
Lori Alfarone
Growing up in the midwest, Lori originally came to the Pacific Northwest at a very young age to be an au pair in Jefferson County. It was during her first year in that job that she met her future husband, and they decided to buy land and build a house in Kitsap County, about 15 minutes from Point No Point. With a background in purchasing and retail sales, Lori came to work part time for the USLHS performing administrative duties which she excels at, while she continues to work part time as a nanny and operating a housekeeping company in her spare time! Outside work Lori loves to cook, travel and take care of her family.
Administrative Volunteers:
Jerry & Marjie Rowland
Jerry, with a background as a career Navy officer, and Marjie, with a background as a career civil servant who managed hundreds of men at the Navy Ship Building Yard in Bremerton, together have become an important part of U.S. Lighthouse Society operations. Focusing their experience on creating and leading Society Lighthouse Tours, they expertly manage the entire tour department which involves training, planning, finance, project management, marketing and customer service. As if that was not enough, Marjie and Jerry help the USLHS administratively and gladly share their business acumen and experience to assist everyone at headquarters. Jerry is considered the Society's resident handyman, and there is no project too big or small he won't tackle. Marjie has been known to steam clean the office carpets as well as give her advice on vacation rental decor and management. Both continue to exceed our expectations as they help the U.S. Lighthouse Society achieve its goal of preserving America's lighthouses.
Dick & Evelyn Richardson
David Zapatka
David Zapatka is a six-time television Emmy winning cameraman for news and sports on both the local and national levels. He is also a lifelong still photographer and lighthouse preservationist. His original Stars & Lights project began in 2013, and he continues capturing lighthouses nationally in the dark of night. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife, Lisa.
Darlene Chisholm
Mary Borkowski
Linda Rosenbloom
A retired journalist and communications professional, Linda Chiavaroli creates social media posts for USLHS. She serves on the board of trustees of the senior community in Los Angeles where she lives and, with her husband, runs lectures series there. She also does social media for the Los Angeles Dance Foundation and is a volunteer docent at the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens.
Thomas Tag
Tom is President of Great Lakes Lighthouse Research in Chicago, Illinois where he specializes in research on the technical aspects of lighthouses and lighthouse illumination.
Mr. Tag worked for NCR Corporation for 33 years where he managed the development of the maintenance planning and resource planning cost analysis tools and at AT&T Corporation, where he managed various research and development groups responsible for the Support Sentinel call tracking system.
For the last twenty-two years Tom has devoted his efforts to lighthouses. He has written four lighthouse books and numerous technical articles on lighthouse illumination. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors and as the Technical Advisor to the United States Lighthouse Society, is Chairman of the American Lighthouse Council Artifact Committee, is a member of the Optics Work Group of the World Lighthouse Society, has acted as a consultant for maritime museums, and made numerous presentations about lighthouse illumination and research to various groups.
Kenya Almond
Michelle Jewell Shaw
Michelle has co-hosted well over 100 episodes of the USLHS podcast, "Light Hearted." She is a middle school teacher in New Hampshire and has served as the chairperson of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses.
Cindy Johnson
Cindy has co-hosted well over 100 episodes of the USLHS podcast "Light Hearted." She has been the copy editor for three books published by the USLHS, as well as for articles in the Society's quarterly journal. Cindy is also an award-winning volunteer for Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses in New Hampshire.
Skip & Marylee Sherwood
Skip & Mary Lee Sherwood, both retired educators, have been volunteering for the Society since 2006. This includes 8 years working at Point No Point where they helped create and lead many Society tours. Since moving to Bonney Lake, Washington in 2016, they have continued to oversee the popular Lighthouse Passport Stamp program.
Skip & Mary Lee Sherwood, have helped to expand the USLHS Passport Program for the last 12 years. Skip, with the able assistance of Scott and Diane Walbert, are responsible for keeping the information about where and when over 700 stamps are currently available. They are assisted by a team of dedicated volunteers from around the county who contact all participating locations every year to keep the website fresh. Mary Lee is the Passport Inspector responsible for verifying passports submitted for the various awards. This requires her to make sure that all stamps and photos are from qualified locations. Since the inception of the Passport Club she has examined over 1,500 passports for the more than 800 members of the Hall of Fame. Another important member of the team is Mary Borkowski who has been responsible for the design of several hundred of the stamps that are now participating locations.
The stamp program is what it is today thanks to the efforts of all of these volunteers.
Mary Borkowski - Ann Arbor, MI
Marge Czop - Region (MI & ON))
Yvette Dills - Region (NC, SC & GA)
Nicole Grashik - Region (MI)
Judy Grigg - Region (MI & OR)
Art Kidwell - Region (CA & WA)
Wanda Mayo - Region (FL, AL, MS)
Sharon Mills - Region (OH, PA, ME, NY)
Sue Moffit - Region (MN, WI, TX & LA)
Scott & Diane Walbert - Region (MA, NH, CT, RI, VT, NJ, HI, AK, NY)
Marion Zabot - Region (VA, WV, DE & MD)