Herring Gut Learning Center Announces Sam Belknap as Executive Director

- Private group -
Thu, 01/26/2017 - 5:30am

Story Location:
59 Factory Road
Port Clyde, ME 04855
United States

Herring Gut Learning Center’s board and staff are pleased to announce Sam Belknap as Executive Director.  Sam has extensive experience working to support coastal communities in Maine and he is uniquely equipped to lead the organization in furthering its mission of educating students through hands-on study in aquaculture and marine science.  Board chair Peter Harris states, “Sam’s deep love for Maine’s coast and the kids who live here will help both our students and Herring Gut grow and succeed. We are very proud that he agreed to join our team."

 

Sam grew up in Midcoast Maine in the towns of Damariscotta and Bristol. He learned to lobster from his grandfather and father and grew up on the waters of Muscongus Bay. After graduating from Lincoln Academy in 2000, Sam succumbed to a youthful wanderlust and left Maine for Arizona and the west coast. Thankfully the salt water in his blood drew him back to Maine to pursue BA in Anthropology at the University of Maine. After graduating summa cum laude in 2007, Sam started the Masters program at UMaine’s renowned Climate Change Institute. After obtaining his masters and holding various jobs, including running his family’s lobster wharf in Round Pond Maine, Sam returned to pursue a PhD at UMaine as a National Science Foundation Research Fellow. He is currently finishing his doctoral work on the role of leadership in the success of Maine’s iconic lobster fishery.

           

Sam’s passion has always been Maine’s coastal communities, especially those where many people rely on the sea to make a living. He is incredibly excited to join the team at Herring Gut Learning Center, where he sees people helping the children who are at the core of these coastal communities. “Herring Gut has a special place in my heart,” Sam says, “Having struggled in traditional classroom settings, especially in high school, I know firsthand the difference that experiential learning and one-on-one time with exceptional educators can make. That’s why I am thrilled to support the great work that Ann, Alex, Heather and Liz are doing here for this region’s students”.

 

Founded in 1999, Herring Gut Learning Center is a non-profit education center in Port Clyde, Maine that partners with public schools to engage students and teachers in hands-on aquaculture and marine science programs, provides professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers, and offers a summer first work experience for young teens. For more information please visit www.herringgut.org.