Our Staff

The Adult Enrichment programs at Whitehead Light Station will have a staff of three in addition to the course instructor. At least one member of the staff is trained in first aid and at least two 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 Swan, director of Pine Island Camp, the parent organization of the Whitehead Light Station at benswan@pineisland.org.

Gigi Lirot, Island Manager  New to the Whitehead Light Station family this year, Gigi's varied skills and expertise are well suited to the Island Manager role. A United States Coast Guard licensed Master Captain, with sailing experience throughout the Atlantic and Caribbean waters, Gigi also holds a private pilot single engine land and sea certificate and is an avid scuba diver. If concurring land and sea is not enough, Gigi's interests also include cooking, dancing, camping and travel. When she is not busy with her many adventures, Gigi utilizes her Masters Degree in Management of Information Systems, working as an independent consultant in Boston. She can also be found relaxing at her childhood home, a small hobby farm in northeast Connecticut. We are thrilled that Gigi has accepted the role of Island Manager this year.

Mary Malecek Podevin, Chef  We are grateful that Mary has returned to Whitehead Light Station in 2011 to do what she likes most, cooking for people. A co-founder of Cueillette, Cuisine et Compagnie, a foraging group which thrives in Avignon, France, where she has lived since her early twenties, Mary's love of cooking is directly connected to the things she values: the abundance of good things, direct contacts with growers and wine-makers, and time spent around the table.

Mary's interest in food originated at home, with her mother, who was a resourceful cook for her family of six children, and was further stimulated by both the excellent cooks she met in southern France and a former biology teacher and third-generation forager, who taught her about nature's bounty. These experiences have added up to an abiding interest in cooking and a well-developed craft. When she is not in the kitchen or the garden, or spending time with her grown children, Mary works as a conference interpreter and translator in France. We are glad she is with us again this year.

Matthew Wall, Captain  Matthew Wall returns to Whitehead Light Station in 2011 for his second year as Captain. Matthew has been an avid sailor since he first capsized a Hobie 16 in Bear Lake, Idaho. He learned to sail by racing 110s, 210s, Vipers, catamarans, and J boats along the New England coast. Later he delivered boats, crewed for 'round-the-world cruisers, and skippered for numerous island-hopping trips in the Caribbean. Matthew currently volunteers with the MIT Nautical Association as a Learn-to-Sail instructor and leader in the blue water sailing program, helping to introduce over 1,000 people each year to sailing. Matthew is a United States Coast Guard licensed Master Captain with Wilderness First Responder certification. A mechanical engineer by trade, Matthew has taught classes at MIT and UCLA. We are grateful that Matthew has agreed to captain our guests this year. They are in his very capable hands.

Ben Swan, 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.