Leadership

Tom McEwan, Director

Tom grew up in the D.C. area and is a true pioneer in the sports of whitewater canoeing and kayaking. He was one of the first to explore some of today’s most popular rapids on West Virginian, Canadian and Mexican rivers.

Tom has competed internationally on the U.S. Wild Water Team and with friends, was the first to run Great Falls on the Potomac River in 1975. Over the years, he has coached many of the nation’s top competitive athletes, including several Olympians, National Champions and U.S. National Team members. But he is most proud of the hundreds of recreational kayakers that he has introduced to the sport.

In 1998, Tom and several friends attempted a National Geographic-sponsored first descent of Tibet’s legendary Tsangpo River. You can read about this expedition in team member Wick Walker’s book, ‘Courting the Diamond Sow,’ published by National Geographic Adventure Press in 2000.

Sarah Park, Director at Large

Growing up in Zamibia, Africa, Sarah spent most of her childhood playing in and around the Zambezi River. She first sat in a kayak on this river at the age of 8. Since then, in the midst of traveling and living in different countries around the world, she discovered the Washington, D.C., area and the Potomac River. She quickly developed a passion for paddling Class IV and V whitewater in West Virginia, Canada, Colorado and Mexico.

When not away leading a trip or competing on the National Whitewater Slalom Circuit as one of the top U.S. paddlers, Sarah can be found enthusiastically sharing her knowledge of kayaking with groups of students on the Potomac River.