Our Staff
The Adult Enrichment programs at Whitehead Light Station will have a staff of three, including a cook, a captain, and an assistant captain. All three members of the staff are trained in first aid and are expert boat handlers. Together they will oversee all aspects of life at Whitehead Light Station and will live at the Station and be available at all times. During the off-season questions regarding the Whitehead Light Station should be addressed to Ben or Emily Swan, directors of Pine Island Camp, the parent organization of the Whitehead Light Station. Jon Weislogel (at right in the photo above) will serve as WLS Captain and his wife Anne Stires (at left in photo, with son Eben), will serve as head cook. Together, with the help of an assistant, they will manage the day-to-day operation of Whitehead Light Station.
Captain: Jon Weislogel has worked for the past 8 years for Bittersweet Landing Boatyard in South Bristol, Maine, primarily as a rigger and wood worker, but he also installs all types of systems and delivers boats up and down the coast. Jon has also worked for sailmaker Nathaniel Wilson and has worked on sails for a number of historic vessels, including the U.S.S. Constitution, and a replica of a Viking knarr. Jon graduated from Bates College in 1994 with a B.A. in Architectural History and Studio Art. He spends his free time working on their 1790’s farmhouse, sailing, and expanding his knowledge of maritime history.
Chef: After graduating in 1989 from Hamilton College with a B.A. in Biology and English, Anne Stires taught both outdoor education (the Tanglewood Learning Center and the Chewonki Foundation) and in the classroom (Maine public schools and the Bank Street School in Riverside, NY). She recently completed her M.A. in Education at Antioch New England Graduate School. She has been the director of the Pine Island Camp Whitehead Island program for the past six summers. Anne has long been interested in food and cooking. She was cook for the Pine Island Camp Whitehead Island program when she was in high school, and later became the baker and then chef at the Rogue River Cafe in Damariscotta, Maine. Anne’s interest in using organic, locally grown ingredients and Slow Food Principals has grown, and she has presented a number of workshops to children and adults, most recently working with Focus on Agriculture in Rural Maine Schools (F.A.R.M.S.). For the past five years Anne and Jon have been partners in L’Acadie Catering. They have a son, Eben, born in 2006 and they live in Walpole, Maine.
Executive Director: Ben Swan serves as Executive Director of the Whitehead Light Station programs. Ben has been director of Pine Island Camp, a non-profit organization and the parent organization of WLS, since 1990. He is the third generation of his family to serve as director of Pine Island Camp, which was founded in 1902. Ben is a former English teacher and holds a B.A. in English from Washington and Lee University and an M.A. in English from the University of Virginia. He has been a frequent visitor to and steward of Whitehead Island since 1958. He lives with his wife Emily and their three children in Brunswick, Maine.
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