Meet Our 2016 Tango 2 Leadership Team!
Beta Eaton, Program Director, Captain of I Am Free
Growing up in coastal Maine, Beta learned how to sail in unpredictable winds and chilly temperatures for most of the year! For a total of six months throughout high school and college, she made a change in latitudes, sailing and studying oceanography from St. Maarten to Jamaica. In the summer of 2012, Beta arrived in Tortola for her first summer of Sail Caribbean. Fresh off her first year as a science teacher, Beta put her sailing skills and marine science background to work as a captain for three programs: two on our Foxtrot adventure and one on our Charlie adventure. In 2013, she returned as Program Director of Bravo & Charlie. After two summers away from the BVI, where she spent time in New England and Philadelphia working on her teaching skills and gaining valuable professional experience, Beta has returned this summer as the Program Director for Tango and Sail Caribbean’s Community Service Coordinator.
Kyra Benforte, Mate of I Am Free
Kyra grew up in New York City and currently attends the University of Richmond in Virginia. She joined us a student on the Bravo, Delta, and Foxtrot adventures. Kyra won the award for “Most Likely to Break Into Dance!” at the ending ceremony of her Delta adventure. She has sailed extensively throughout the BVI and Italy, and is an expert snorkeler!
Ciarán Gibbons, Mate of I Am Free
Ciarán is currently studying Outdoor Adventure Management in Dublin, Ireland. He has a wide range of experience in the outdoor industry from kayaking to windsurfing to hiking, but his real passion is sailing! He spent the summer of 2015 working with Cal Adventures in Berkeley as a sailing instructor and has a lot of youth camp experience in a wide range of sports. He is always looking for a new adventure – having skydived, bungee jumped and cliff dived to name a few! – and is very excited to be part of the Sail Caribbean team this summer!
Courtney Sarik, Mate of I Am Free
As a true outdoor adventurist, Courtney joins us for her very first year! She grew up in Northern Virginia and graduated from George Mason University in 2013 with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Intelligence Analysis. Courtney fell in love with sailing when her twin brother (also a new team member!) took her on a sailboat for a stormy, thrilling sailing experience for the first time back in 2010. It hooked her on sailing and she has been teaching it every summer since. Her true love for the outdoors and inspiring and teaching youth is what has brought Courtney to us. Ever since she could walk, her feet were on skis and snow, and she is fond of experience teaching skiing in Killington, Vermont over the past few years. The most rewarding part of teaching is seeing the same passion and excitement she has shine in her students. On days off, she’ll go sailing, kayaking, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, swimming, skiing…you name it, she’ll try it!
