Meet The Team
Christopher Audet PE, LATC has been teaching PE and Outdoor education for the past 25 years in both Belfast and Camden. His goal is to help students have a voice and a choice in their learning and instil in them the tools to be life-long learners. When not teaching, he is a Master Maine Sea Kayaking Guide and a Registered Maine Recreation Guide. Chris is also an ACA certified Advanced Open Water Sea Kayak instructor and advanced white water instructor. He holds the British Canoe Union’s 4 star sea leader certification. -WFR certified; -Special Olympics certified track and field coach; -Former Manager of the Jackson Kayak Professional Exploration Team; -Current member of the P&H Custom Kayaks professional paddling team.He is also the lead singer in a Van Halen tribute band.
Genna Black has a BS in Marine Biology from Maine Maritime Academy and a MS in Sustainable Natural Resource Management from Unity College. She has been teaching in Maine for 6 years and before that worked at the Maine Department of Marine Resources in Lobster Science. Genna holds a passion for fisheries science, the lobster industry, and most things under the waves. She is very excited to be included in the mission on marine themed, cross disciplinary education!
clagerbom@rsu71.org
Charles H. Lagerbom received his MA in History and Archaeology from the University of Maine. He organized surveys of ship remains in Maine lakes, the 1779 Penobscot Expedition and the 17th century English galleon Angel Gabriel off Pemaquid. Two field seasons were spent in Antarctica with the University of Maine Quaternary Institute, now Climate Change Institute. He is author of Maine Whaling and Maine to Cape Horn: A Most Dangerous Journey and writes Half Seas Over: Interesting Research Related to Maritime Maine for The Camden Herald. For the Marine Institute, he teaches New England Maritime History and co-teaches Marine Studies and frequently writes or speaks on Antarctica, Cape Horn, Maine whaling and New England colonial and maritime history
Katie Naude has a BA in English from Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She spent childhood sailing Penobscot Bay with her family and exploring myriad islands. After college she moved to Islesboro where she taught English and Social Studies for ten years before moving to teach in the British Virgin Islands. She brings to the Marine Institute a love for the ocean, rural Maine, and maritime literature and history.
Elizabeth Small received her B.S. Degree in Business Education with a minor in Business Administration from Husson College, now Husson University. After teaching for a number of years, she received a Masters Degree in Business Administration also from Husson. For the past ten years Elizabeth has been the Technology Integrator for Belfast Area High School and manages the STEAM Lab. Since joining the staff at BAHS, Elizabeth has worked closely with the Science Department and is very passionate about the establishment of the Marine Institute. Elizabeth will work closely with the teachers and students to provide technology support for the Institute.
David Thomas has taught high school science in four public high schools in New York, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Maine for over 20 years. He holds a B.S. in limnology (the study of biological, chemical, and physical features of lakes and rivers) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.S. in science education from Cornell University. Dave worked for four years as a research technician in northern Wisconsin and Michigan studying ecological changes as a result of whole-lake fertilization and fish manipulation experiments. He has taught marine studies and environmental research courses at the high school as well as UMaine Hutchinson Center.
Born and raised in mid-coast Maine, Jess Woods graduated from Belfast Area High School in 1997. From there she moved to the city of Boston to pursue an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Sociology from Simmons College. After a few years as a professional in the field of Higher Education, she returned to Maine to pursue a Master's Degree in Counselor Education at the University of Maine. Jess spent the majority of her career as a School Counselor at Belfast Area High School and Islebsoro Central School, until she decided to launch her own post-secondary search consulting business, JessWoods Consulting, in 2019. JessWoods Consulting specialized in creating meaningful, personalized student-centered educational plans for students. In her career she has helped to send students to institutions close to home and most recently as far away as Scotland. Jess understands that each student and family have individual goals for post-secondary planning, and works to ensure the right fit is available for every student. In 2021 Jess decided to jump back into public education and embarked on a new journey in Secondary Administration, as the Assistant Principal at Belfast Area High School, a role she is finding her most challenging, and rewarding, yet.
Lindsey Schortz has been teaching at BCOPE, RSU 71’s alternative high school program, for the past five years. She has a BA in Biology from Colby College. After spending multiple summers hiking, biking, canoeing and sailing throughout Maine as a teen, she moved to Maine permanently twenty three years ago with her family. Prior to teaching, Lindsey owned a wholesale baking business in Belfast, Let Them Eat Cake. Her two daughters both graduated from Belfast Area High School. An enthusiastic gardener and coordinator of BCOPE’s garden program, Lindsey became enamored with aquaculture after reading, “Eat Like a Fish”, with one of her classes. She is looking forward to teaching and learning with students to farm both the land and the sea responsibly.