Board of Directors

Sail Sand Point’s Board of Directors is responsible for ensuring that SSP fulfills its mission, as well as helping SSP achieve its goals while making a positive impact in our community and paving the way for our future.

The Board determines policies, procedures, and regulations for SSP; ensures sufficient funds to finance SSP and its programs; and monitors organization performance.

Community is at the heart of Sail Sand Point, and the Board of Directors members are part of the SSP community. They volunteer countless hours of their time, skills, and expertise to cultivating and maintaining the programs and community at SSP.

They also always welcome ideas, thoughts, and suggestions from SSP’s constituents. Please feel free to contact the Board of Directors via email at board@sailsandpoint.org.

Board of Directors meetings are generally held monthly at Sail Sand Point. If you are interested in attending a board meeting, please fill out the Board Meeting Request Form.

Sail Sand Point is looking for new board members! Please see the job description here, and view the application here. Please submit completed applications to info@sailsandpoint.org.

Current Directors

Wayne Wager

President

Wayne served on the Sail Sand Point Board from 2005-2007 and recently re-joined the board in 2015. Wayne is a native of Seattle and has sailed all his life. He enjoys racing, cruising and chartering in interesting places around the world. Wayne also enjoys swimming, scuba diving and skiing. Wayne has been active in venture capital investing and the management of early-stage companies.

Thandi Onami

Vice President

Thandi is a recent transplant to the Pacific Northwest region, having moved to Seattle from Washington, DC in late 2014. She learned to sail several years ago as a member of the NIH Sailing Association in Selby Bay, just south of Annapolis, Maryland. Through the years she has sailed with friends on the Eastern Shore, the Caribbean, and Greece, and she enjoys swimming, snorkeling and scuba. As a scientist, she is passionate about engaging youth in learning about the marine environment and environmental stewardship. Thandi received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Princeton University, and her Ph.D in Biology/ Cellular and Molecular Immunology, from the University of California, San Diego. Thandi joined the board of Sail Sand Point in 2016.

Felix Klebe

Secretary

Felix Klebe grew up near Albany, New York and first learned to sail on a Sunfish during family vacations to Nantucket. He has lived in the Midwest for the last 30 years while raising a family, windsurfing, kayaking, and occasional small boat sailing and scuba diving. Felix relocated to Seattle in 2016 and enjoyed learning how to sail a Hobie 16 through the adult sailing class at Sail Sand Point. His wife Laura grew up sailing small boats on Lake Erie’s Presque Isle Bay, and looks forward to becoming a more active sailor. Felix is the Director of Product Marketing at Impinj, Inc, has previously served on several non-profit boards in Columbus, Ohio, and also enjoys skiing.

Andy MacDonald

Treasurer

Andy MacDonald is a lifelong Seattle resident and learned to sail in small boats on Lake Washington as a teenager. He has long since graduated to primarily keelboat sailing and for many years has been sailing in the San Juan’s, Canadian Gulf Islands, and beyond. After learning the art and joy of sailboat cruising in the Puget Sound, he has had the opportunity to see many parts of the world from the deck of a sailboat. In addition to an intrinsic love for sailing, Andy has enjoyed introducing his three sons and many other people to the sport over the years. Andy has a substantial amount of for-profit and nonprofit governance, management, and financial expertise, which we can draw on as a member of the SSP Board of Directors. He looks forward to helping Sail Sand Point continue to grow as a treasured community resource over the coming years.

Ned Backus

Pictured with Guide Dog Puppy Dickens

Ned grew up in Seattle and started sailing penguins as a junior member at the Leschi CYC. This was followed by many humbling years as crew and skipper of various International 14’s. During the 1990’s he circumnavigated aboard a Cal 39 with his wife Carol and their two children who subsequently were instructors at SSP. Recently he and Carol have completed a 10 year voyage aboard their Outbound 44 Frannie B, from Seattle to the Caribbean via Mexico, South America, Bermuda, Azores, Scotland, Russia, Portugal, Cape Verdes and finally the Caribbean for the winter of 2023. While home Ned is an avid gardener and bicyclist. Ned and Carol have the distinction of being members of the SSP Founding Families. He hopes to continue to share his love of sailing in the future by assisting SSP’s continued growth and security for future generations.

Will blakemore

Will grew up here in Seattle racing keelboats out of Shilshole and cruising the Salish Sea with his family. He has been a member of Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle for over 30 years, having owned and actively raced a J24 in the Seattle fleet. Will has been hanging around SSP since about 2012 when his two kids started participating in SSP programs, having started racing Optis in SPOT, then FJs, Lasers and C420s in SPYS and High School Sailing programs. Will and his wife Pamela live in Bothell and enjoy cruising their family boat into the San Juan Islands and waters north. In the winter Will and family spend a lot of time in the mountains alpine skiing. Will studied Electrical Engineering at Seattle Pacific University and designs electronics in his spare time to offset the costs of his sailing & skiing habits. Will joined the SSP Board in January of 2024, is passionate about sharing his love for sailing and is excited to help further SSP’s mission.

Travis Harth

Growing up in Alaska, Travis spent lot of time on and around all types of watercraft. Now back in Seattle full time after stints in Alaska and Montana, he joins Sail Sand Point’s Board after his involvement with Leadership Tomorrow, which partnered him with SSP to select a web based volunteer tracking program. Travis is the Director of Special Projects with Sellen, a local General Contractor. He has a college-aged daughter who keeps him active, including getting ready for her upcoming transition to college, playing with her Bernese Mountain Dog (Bridger) and trying to stay ahead of her on the hills when snowboarding. She was exposed to sailing through SSP and together they have crewed multiple races and sailed from Roche Harbor to Elliot Bay. He looks forward to more sailing adventures with her. Currently a co-chair of the Facilities Committee, Travis looks forward to helping SSP any way he can through his appointment to the board dating back to 2016.

Kelly Pratt

Kelly grew up in Arizona, but spent summers on Catalina Island where she learned to sail all types of small boats, but especially fell in love with sailing catamarans. After college, she and her husband lived in San Diego, where they spent weekends sailing around a teal green Nacra I-20, even one time sailing it out to Catalina and camping on the tarp. She has two small boys who she will enroll in sailing classes as soon as they are old enough, but in the meantime she and her husband are getting teaching them to love the water through weekend charters out around Puget Sound. Kelly is a Project Executive with DPR Construction, a General Contractor. She became involved in the SSP community through the facilities committee and is excited about helping SSP grow and accomplish its mission.

Cristina "Tina" Rodriguez

Cristina Rodriguez was born and raised in the Philippines and now calls the Pacific Northwest home. Her husband, 2 children and dog have enjoyed participating in Sail Sand Point programs year after year. When not working as a medical oncologist, she is often with her family at Magnuson Park. She joined the Sail Sand Point Board in 2023.

ryan rosenberg

Ryan grew up in South Africa, spending most of his free time on or in the water. Before he was even a teen his grandfather taught me to sail a Sunfish, followed by his father teaching him to sail Lasers and Hobie 16’s off the beaches of Cape Town. He crewed a Fireball for his South African college team while studying product design and then after moving to Seattle, got back into sailing Lasers and keelboats while working for several technology startups and starting a few small businesses focused on real-estate. It sounds like he knows what he’s doing but he really doesn’t and is still learning a lot, however sailing has provided him with the crucial skills and confidence to manage and ultimately enjoy many of the challenges life has thrown at him. He recently joined SSP to continue his sailing adventures, racing Lasers again; and is excited to be part of the wonderful SSP community, eager to help the organization flourish so others may have the opportunity to learn and enjoy sailing as he has.him

Tommy Stewart

Tommy started as a young sailor at Sail Sand Point when he was 7 years old. At 14, he began teaching sailing as an assistant instructor at SSP, and continued teaching for the next ten summers, moving his way up to the position of Program Director. In 2012 Tommy was given the US Sailing Outstanding Director of a Seasonal Program Award, an award that he credits to the amazing staff that he had that year. Tommy is passionate about community sailing, and the power that sailing has to instill confidence, independence, teamwork, and respect for nature. Tommy is a graduate of the University of Washington where he majored in Biology and sailed for the UW sailing team.

Our Founding Families

Jon and Marcy Edwards co-founded Sail Sand Point in 1998. Jon was SSP’s first president and has served several terms on the board. Sailing is a shared passion of Jon and Marcy’s, and they continue to love working with children at Sail Sand Point.

Sail Sand Point would not be where it is today without the significant contributions of its Board of Directors, past and present, and its Founding Families. Thank you!

The Stewart Family

The Montes Family

The Yerxa Family

The Hubbard Family

The Edwards Family

The Backus Family

The Blackner Family

The Mantz Family

The Lafitte Family