GROW BOSTON Staff

Alice began rowing at Amherst College in 1996 and fell in love with the sport. She worked in graduate school admissions and received her MBA from Boston College before working with G-ROW, and has found that coaching has been the most gratifying job yet, as it allows her to instill the same love of rowing in her athletes.

Having first volunteered with G-ROW at the Timilty Middle School, Alice is thrilled to be more involved in such a great program and is in her third year with G-ROW. During her first two years as the Academic Coordinator, Alice enjoyed working with the girls to build their confidence in school and help them view academics as an opportunity for success and an area in which they can take risks and really excel. She believes G-ROW provides a supportive environment in which girls can do this, and is very excited to work with the girls, their parents, and the schools. You can email Alice at alice@growboston.org

Ellie began her rowing career as a freshman at Northfield Mount Hermon. A sport without competitive running? Ellie was hooked. She spent 4 wonderful high school years rowing on the Connecticut River only to end up a few hours downstream at Trinity College in Hartford, CT.

At Trinity Ellie medaled at the ECACs and won gold at both the New England Championships and the NCAA Division III Championships. While in the Bantam varsity boat, Ellie helped the crew post a 40-4 dual record, including a season best of 15-0 in 2008. In the summer of 2008 Ellie traveled with her team to the UK where they competed and captured gold in the Henley Women’s Regatta Senior Eight Event (Jefferies Cup.) Some of Ellie’s most cherished rowing accomplishments include: winning the Head of the Charles Women’s Collegiate 4 and 8 events, as well as serving her team as captain her senior year.

Ellie graduated from Trinity with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations. During her junior year Ellie spent the fall semester abroad with NYU in Ghana.

Ellie is beyond excited to be working with the G-Row program as a Novice Coach and Volunteer Coordinator. She spent the summer of 2010 teaching youth learn to row at CRI and was thrilled to share her love of the sport with hundreds of novice rowers. Ellie has been able to continue sharing her passion for the sport by reaching out to girls all over Boston public schools through the G-Row program.

Bruce Smith
Executive Director, Community Rowing, Inc. (CRI)

Bruce Smith, the Executive Director of Community Rowing, provides logistical and facilities direction to G-ROW, and helps to ensure that G-ROW is a welcome and integrated part of CRI’s program offerings.

Bruce works on daily management and long-term growth opportunities for CRI. As the link between the CRI Board of Directors, the membership, and the staff, Bruce manages CRI personnel on a daily basis to implement CRI’s positive vision, and he develops long-term resources and growth opportunities for rowing in Boston.

Holly Metcalf
Executive Director, Row As One Institute

Holly Metcalf, the Executive Director and founder of Row As One, contributes program planning and design, and is a trainer and advisor for the G-ROW coaching staff.

Holly has been involved with rowing as an athlete and coach for almost twenty years. As an athlete, Holly was a six-time national/Olympic team member, bringing home the Olympic gold in 1984, as well as three silver and one bronze World championships medals between 1981 and 1987. She has coached at the national team level and collegiate and community levels. In 1990, Holly joined Project TEAMWORK, a Reebok-sponsored human rights speaking team. Holly made presentations to 100,000 students during her 3 ½ years as a member of Project TEAMWORK using rowing as her metaphor for the unity of people's mental and physical power. As a result of the positive response to her message, Holly began to address the sexist, elitist, racist reputation that rowing has had in the past by founding Row As One in 1994. Holly has completed her Masters and Certificate of Advanced Study from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, in Risk and Prevention and Human Development and Psychology. She is presently writing a book about rowing, being a female athlete, and how keeping a journal since age sixteen helped her achieve Olympic victory in 1984.


				Staff
				Alice Taggart Varsity Coach & Program Director Alice began rowing at Amherst College in 1996 and fell in love with the sport. She worked in graduate school admissions and received her MBA from Boston College before working with G-ROW, and has found that coaching has been the most gratifying job yet, as it allows her to instill the same love of rowing in her athletes. Having first volunteered with G-ROW at the Timilty Middle School, Alice is thrilled to be more involved in such a great program and is in her third year with G-ROW. During her first two years as the Academic Coordinator, Alice enjoyed working with the girls to build their confidence in school and help them view academics as an opportunity for success and an area in which they can take risks and really excel. She believes G-ROW provides a supportive environment in which girls can do this, and is very excited to work with the girls, their parents, and the schools. You can email Alice at alice@growboston.org Ellie Wierzbowski Novice Coach & Volunteer Coordinator Ellie began her rowing career as a freshman at Northfield Mount Hermon. A sport without competitive running? Ellie was hooked. She spent 4 wonderful high school years rowing on the Connecticut River only to end up a few hours downstream at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. At Trinity Ellie medaled at the ECACs and won gold at both the New England Championships and the NCAA Division III Championships. While in the Bantam varsity boat, Ellie helped the crew post a 40-4 dual record, including a season best of 15-0 in 2008. In the summer of 2008 Ellie traveled with her team to the UK where they competed and captured gold in the Henley Women’s Regatta Senior Eight Event (Jefferies Cup.) Some of Ellie’s most cherished rowing accomplishments include: winning the Head of the Charles Women’s Collegiate 4 and 8 events, as well as serving her team as captain her senior year. Ellie graduated from Trinity with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations. During her junior year Ellie spent the fall semester abroad with NYU in Ghana. Ellie is beyond excited to be working with the G-Row program as a Novice Coach and Volunteer Coordinator. She spent the summer of 2010 teaching youth learn to row at CRI and was thrilled to share her love of the sport with hundreds of novice rowers. Ellie has been able to continue sharing her passion for the sport by reaching out to girls all over Boston public schools through the G-Row program. Kristen Wolsieffer Novice Coach & Academic Coordinator Kristen’s love for the sport of rowing began right before she entered middle school, as a coxswain for her mother in the master’s program of Cape Cod Rowing. As she got older she learned to row in middle school programs on Lake Wequaquet in Centerville, MA. She got to row competitively in high school with Cape Cod Rowing as well as during her freshman year at Marist College. Kristen has continued to row during the summers on Cape Cod and is excited to be a part of rowing culture on the Charles River. Having gotten to race in the Head of the Charles for several years, Kristen has always thrived on the vibrant atmosphere around rowing in Boston. Kristen has a passion for working with children, especially adolescents. She has internship experience working in supervised visits with foster children and their biological parents. For a semester in college, she was an intern at the Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie, assisting the staff in supervising at-risk adolescent boys from the ages of 11-17. She has gotten the opportunity to tutor children within the schools of Poughkeepsie both in the classroom and out. This past summer Kristen had a wonderful experience coaching for a high school summer rowing program out of Cape Cod Rowing. Working with the girls of G-Row is a thrilling opportunity for Kristen and she is extremely happy to be a part of the positive energy G-Row emanates! Ellen Minzner Director of Outreach, Community Rowing, Inc. (CRI) Bruce Smith Executive Director, Community Rowing, Inc. (CRI) Bruce Smith, the Executive Director of Community Rowing, provides logistical and facilities direction to G-ROW, and helps to ensure that G-ROW is a welcome and integrated part of CRI’s program offerings. Bruce works on daily management and long-term growth opportunities for CRI. As the link between the CRI Board of Directors, the membership, and the staff, Bruce manages CRI personnel on a daily basis to implement CRI’s positive vision, and he develops long-term resources and growth opportunities for rowing in Boston. Holly Metcalf Executive Director, Row As One Institute Holly Metcalf, the Executive Director and founder of Row As One, contributes program planning and design, and is a trainer and advisor for the G-ROW coaching staff. Holly has been involved with rowing as an athlete and coach for almost twenty years. As an athlete, Holly was a six-time national/Olympic team member, bringing home the Olympic gold in 1984, as well as three silver and one bronze World championships medals between 1981 and 1987. She has coached at the national team level and collegiate and community levels. In 1990, Holly joined Project TEAMWORK, a Reebok-sponsored human rights speaking team. Holly made presentations to 100,000 students during her 3 ½ years as a member of Project TEAMWORK using rowing as her metaphor for the unity of people's mental and physical power. As a result of the positive response to her message, Holly began to address the sexist, elitist, racist reputation that rowing has had in the past by founding Row As One in 1994. Holly has completed her Masters and Certificate of Advanced Study from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, in Risk and Prevention and Human Development and Psychology. She is presently writing a book about rowing, being a female athlete, and how keeping a journal since age sixteen helped her achieve Olympic victory in 1984.