2026 Friends Board of Directors

Leadership in Service to Maritime Heritage

Our Board of Directors brings together leaders in business, education, science, law, communications, boating and community service to guide the Friends and strengthen the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort.

Meet the Board

Click any board member’s profile to jump directly to their full biography.

Tom Kies

President

Publishing, communications and community leadership.

Brad Baker

Vice President

Boating education, sailing and marine-industry marketing.

Sara Shelp

Treasurer

Accounting, financial leadership and nonprofit service.

Nancy Tebeau

Secretary

Science, preservation and community engagement.

Liz Kopf

Advisor

Entrepreneurship, advocacy and community events.

Chris Brust

Member

Leadership, teamwork and Watercraft Center volunteer service.

Paul Crenshaw

Member

Law, governance and public service.

Michael Dykstra

Member

Scientific research, education and Museum volunteerism.

Rendon Nelson

Member

Board service in support of the Friends and Museum mission.

Randy Parker

Member

Higher education, engineering and executive leadership.

George Stanziale

Member

Urban design, planning and community development.

Board Member Profiles

Professional experience, community service and personal connections to the Museum’s mission.

Tom Kies

President

Tom brings more than three decades of experience in publishing, communications and community leadership to his involvement with the Friends. After working for newspapers and magazines in New York and New England, he relocated to Carteret County in 2006 as publisher of NCCOAST Communications. In 2011, he became Executive Director of the Downtown Morehead City Revitalization Association.

In 2016, Tom became President of the Carteret County Chamber of Commerce, serving until his retirement in November 2023. He served on numerous boards and committees, including the Economic Development Foundation, Public School Foundation, Carteret County Broadband Task Force, Downtown Morehead City Board, and advisory committees for the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary.

He also serves as President of the Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast. Tom is an accomplished crime novelist with five published mysteries, including an Edgar-nominated novel, and teaches creative writing at Carteret Community College. He lives in Pine Knoll Shores with his wife, Cindy.

Brad Baker

Vice President

A sailing and boating expert, Brad has more than 50 years of experience on and off the water. He has served as Program Supervisor for the Junior Sailing Program and previously worked as Head Instructor at ETYSA in New Bern.

His qualifications include a 100 Ton USCG Master’s License with Towing and Sailing Endorsements, US Sailing Level 3 Instructor certification and STEM certification. He is Head Boating Trainer at Freedom Boat Club and a National Safe Boating Council Certified Instructor.

Brad is also a veteran advertising professional with more than 40 years of marketing experience with marine-industry companies including MasterCraft, Wellcraft, Tracker, Cigarette, Indmar, Bombardier Sea-Doo, Boating Magazine and MarineMax.

Sara Shelp

Treasurer

Sara has been a Carteret County resident since 2015 and retired in 2024 after a 27-year career in accounting and financial leadership. Her experience spans public and corporate accounting, nonprofit organizations, technology and medical-device companies, manufacturers and small-business owners.

Sara serves on the Carteret Community College Business Administration and Accounting Programs Lay Advisory Committee and volunteers with Pony Patrol, a joint program of the National Park Service and the Foundation for Shackleford Horses.

She and her husband, Bill, live in Morehead City. She enjoys hiking on Shackleford Banks and riding her ElliptiGO around Morehead City.

Nancy Tebeau

Secretary

Nancy brings a diverse background in science, community engagement and preservation. Trained as a marine biologist and fish-disease specialist, she conducted research on the impacts of pollution and toxins on freshwater and saltwater environments.

She has also been a small-business owner and community advocate. Through her work with the Wake Forest Downtown Revitalization Corporation, she helped plan community events and supported small-business and economic development.

As a longtime volunteer with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and the North Carolina Maritime Museum, Nancy has combined her passion for science and preservation by digitizing and archiving historic photographic records. She and her husband now call Scallop Island home.

Liz Kopf

Advisor

Liz grew up visiting Beaufort and fell in love with the town early. After working as a lobbyist and political consultant in Raleigh and Washington, she moved to Beaufort to follow an entrepreneurial path.

She is the owner of Turner Street Market and Backstreet Pub and is passionate about community building. Liz serves on nonprofit boards and organizes distinctive events in Beaufort.

A longtime supporter of the Friends, she is interested in event planning and execution and in helping expand the Friends’ presence and visibility in the community.

Chris Brust

Member

Chris is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and served as captain of the 1982 NCAA Championship basketball team, bringing a lifelong foundation of leadership, teamwork and excellence to his service with the Friends.

After relocating to Beaufort in 2022, Chris became an active supporter and volunteer, particularly at the Watercraft Center. He believes the Museum plays a vital role in Beaufort’s past, present and future through educational programs that engage children and adults.

Professionally, Chris spent more than 30 years in the automotive industry, advancing into senior leadership roles. He and his wife, Mary Ellen Holleran, enjoy restoring coastal homes and supporting Friends events.

Paul Crenshaw

Member

Paul brings a strong background in public service, governance and law. His professional experience includes work with the Carteret County District Attorney’s Office and other legal and leadership roles.

He served approximately eight years as a board member of Fayetteville Urban Ministry and on the Paralegal Advisory Board at Methodist University, helping ensure the program’s American Bar Association accreditation. He also served two terms on the Cumberland County Alcohol Beverage Control Board, including one year as chairman.

Paul and his wife, Katie, relocated to Beaufort full time in 2023 and have become active through Beaufort Oars and engagement with the Maritime Center.

Michael Dykstra

Member

Michael was a research professor at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine from 1984 to 2014 and later worked at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. He is associated with the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology in Morehead City as an emeritus professor.

During his career, he directed a service laboratory, managed fiscal matters, supported research, published numerous scientific papers and wrote three textbooks about microscopy as well as chapters on medical and general mycology.

Michael moved to Beaufort in 2018 and became heavily involved in activities associated with the Maritime Museum.

Rendon Nelson

Member

Michael was a research professor at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine from 1984-2014. He then worked at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences from 2016-2019. He currently is associated with the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology in Morehead City as an emeritus professor.

During his career at NC State, he ran a service laboratory that contracted work from the pharmaceutical industry, where he evaluated animal sample from pre-clinical trials and wrote reports that brought funds into his laboratory for equipment upgrades from 1987-2014. He assisted people with their research, handled all fiscal matters for the laboratory, published numerous scientific papers, wrote and published three textbooks about microscopy, and wrote chapters on medical mycology and general mycology for several books. Starting in the 1980s he began devoting a significant amount of his time to a variety of volunteering efforts.

He moved to Beaufort in 2018 and subsequently became heavily involved in various activities associated with the Maritime Museum.

Randy Parker

Member

Randy retired from Guilford Technical Community College in 2019 as president after more than 40 years in community-college education. He also served as president of Vance-Granville Community College and held numerous leadership positions at Lenoir Community College.

His career also includes work as a professional engineer, farmer, warehouse shipping manager and retail manager. He holds three engineering degrees and a doctorate in Higher Education Community College Leadership from North Carolina State University.

A native of Craven County, Randy was born in New Bern and graduated from Havelock High School. In retirement he enjoys travel, road trips, theater and cooking.

George Stanziale

Member

George is an urban designer and landscape architect with more than 45 years of experience working nationally and internationally on complex development and planning projects. He holds degrees in architecture, landscape architecture and urban design.

A Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, George has held senior leadership roles at prominent design firms and serves as President of Stanziale Development Strategies, PC.

Since retiring to Beaufort, he has served on the Beaufort Planning Board and contributed to major local projects, including the Maritime Museum Master Plan and Gallants Channel Education Center.

Ex Officio Members

Organizational and Museum leaders who participate in support of board governance and collaboration.

Maria Vann

Director of Maritime Museums — Beaufort, Hatteras and Southport

Jamie Swindell

North Carolina Maritime Museum Site Manager — Beaufort

Susan Payson

Executive Director, Friends of the North Carolina Maritime Museum

Danielle Marshall

Director of Communications & Advancement, Friends of the North Carolina Maritime Museum

Serving the Museum and Our Maritime Community

The Board works with staff, members, volunteers and Museum leadership to advance education, preservation and community connection.

Contact the Friends Meet the Staff