Our Staff

Joel Labuzetta: Junior Program Director
Joel is in his third year as Director at SSA. Joel grew up in Rochester, NY where he sailed for his high school team. He continued to sail at the College of Charleston, where he graduated in 2007 with a BS in Psychology. During his Junior and Senior year, while Joel was Captain of the team, the Cougars won five national championships as well as the Fowle Trophy, which is awarded yearly to the best overall team in college sailing. Joel has been both a head coach and program director for several yacht clubs in the northeast, with a focus on 420s and Optis. He has also worked in Switzerland for two years doing research and marketing work for the engineering firm Creaholic SA.

Alicija Bulota: Harbor Rookies / Opti Beginner
Alicija is from Annapolis, where she sailed for Broadneck High School out of SSA. As a senior and starting A-Division crew, she helped her team go to both the Mallory Fleet Race Nationals and Baker Team Race Nationals and finish top 10 in both events. She is a rising sophomore at St. Mary's College of Maryland where she is a member of the varsity sailing team and earning a degree in Natural Science and a minor in Studio Art. This is Alicija's second summer at SSA.

Sam Elcik: Harbor Rookies / 420 Mates
Sam has grown up sailing in Annapolis, starting in Optis at the Annapolis Yacht Club and moving to 420s at the Severn Sailing Association. He raced competitively throughout high school at SSA while attending Archbishop Spalding. He previously worked at the Annapolis Sailing School for four years teaching all levels of sailing. He is currently working on a biochemistry degree and going into his junior year at the College of Charleston. This is Sam's second summer with SSA.

Melissa Trost: Head Instructor
Melissa grew up sailing on Lake Erie. She learned to sail and race with her family at the Erie Yacht Club on dinghies and keel boats. She took sailing lessons and Jr. raced for the Reyburn Sailing School at the Erie Yacht Club in Optis, FJs and 420s. From there Melissa went on to be an instructor at the same program. After working at Erie, she was off to college at the University of Pittsburgh, where she did no sailing but was a founding member of the co-ed and the women's water polo team. In college Melissa spent her summers instructing at multiple places in New York and spent a few summers at the San Francisco Yacht Club. She graduated from college not knowing what to do so besides teaching sailing so she went back to school and earned a Masters in Education. Melissa now lives here in Maryland and teaches 9th grade world history.

Arthur Blodgett: 420 Travel Team
Arthur is excited to be coaching the 420 Race team for a second year at SSA! Arthur has been sailing and racing since the early nineties, first in Maine, and then at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg FL. He graduated from Eckerd in 2009 with a major in history and was an ICSA All American Honorable Mention skipper his senior year. In addition to SSA, Arthur has Coached at Northwestern University, and HB Plant High School, coaching his teams to ICSA Team Race and ISSA Mallory nationals with these teams respectively. He races actively in Snipes, J24s and V15s.