Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum welcomes four new staff members

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md., has announced four recent additions to its staff.

Joining the team are Barry Raymond as Assistant Guest Relations Manager, Laurel Seeman as Programs Administrative Assistant, Tom Shephard as Charity Boat Donation Program Associate, and Taylor Williams as Shipwright Educator.

A current Easton resident who grew up in Annapolis, Barry Raymond will assist with day-to-day operations of CBMM’s Welcome Center and Museum Store.

Raymond holds a Bachelor of Science in business management from Salisbury University, and has previously worked as an IT recruiter, new home sales manager, and bartender. He first connected with the Chesapeake Bay as a child while sailing and racing his family’s S2 30 sailboat, and has volunteered for CASA of the Mid-Shore.

Laurel Seeman will provide CBMM’s education department with administrative support for programming and volunteer events. A Grasonville resident originally from Columbus, Ohio, she earned a degree from Eastern Michigan University, and has work experience in art galleries, libraries, and as a museum docent.

Seeman has done volunteer work for the Literacy Council of Anne Arundel County, the Junior League, Girl Scouts, and at Bacon’s Castle. She and her family moved to Maryland when she was 12, and her connection to the Bay came from crewing with her siblings on their father’s boat.

Tom Shephard will be working with the Charity Boat Donations Program, which accepts and sells all manner of craft year-round to support the children and adults served by CBMM’s education, curatorial, and boatbuilding programs.

Shephard joins CBMM after a career spent in the manufacturing sector. A New Jersey native, he’s attended CBMM’s Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival for a number of years, which help lead to his desire to re-locate, and has done volunteer work for the Traditional Small Craft Association, Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River Association, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through the endangered Swamp Pink program.

Taylor Williams is also joining CBMM’s education department and will be responsible for coordinating the Rising Tide Program. The program teaches students basic boatbuilding and woodworking skills in an effort inspire participants to develop a sense of self-confidence and pride and facilitate mentorships that provide guidance and support.

Williams comes to CBMM after spending the past five years managing a marina in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he also headed up boatbuilding, and boat repair and restoration operations. A native of Winchester, Va., he attended Old Dominion University and holds a Bachelor of Science in recreation and tourism management.

Williams grew up sailing and fishing the Chesapeake Bay on weekends with his father, and has a love for deadrise workboats, skipjacks and buyboats.

Established in 1965, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is a world-class maritime museum dedicated to preserving and exploring the history, environment and people of the entire Chesapeake Bay, with the values of relevancy, authenticity, and stewardship guiding its mission. Serving nearly 80,000 guests each year, CBMM’s campus includes a floating fleet of historic boats and 12 exhibition buildings, situated along the Miles River and St. Michaels’ harbor. For more information, visit cbmm.org.

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~ Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

All photos contributed