sitesALIVE Foundation - Board of Trustees

Board of Trustees - Rafe Parker

Rafe Parker was born in England and graduated from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst with a Bachelor of Science degree and commissioned in 1961 into the British Army.

In 1964, following his term of service in the British Army, Rafe joined the Outward Bound movement to which he was dedicated for the next 18 years. He helped establish and operate the Outward Bound School in Central Africa. In 1968 Rafe moved to the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School off the coast of Maine where, as Program Director, he worked for the following ten years developing the school’s programs throughout the Eastern seaboard from Maine to the Florida Keys. In 1978, Rafe was appointed Director of the Southwest Outward Bound School based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and for the next four years organized and ran Outward Bound Programs from the Grand Canyon to the Himalayas.

In 1982, Rafe assumed the position of Executive Director of Sea Education Association in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Under Rafe’s leadership, SEA has grown from a 1-ship organization to a multi-disciplined educational institution with 3 ships enjoying the recognition and support by over 150 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. He was instrumental in successfully guiding the Sailing School Vessel Act through Congressional legislation and its subsequent promulgation by the U.S. Coast Guard. Named President of SEA in 1993, Rafe continues to be responsible to the Board of Trustees for the safety, quality, and efficiency of SEA’s operations and educational programs.

Rafe is currently serving as a member on the Secretary of the Interior’s Commission on Maritime Preservation and Education and a member of the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School’s Program and Safety Committee. He also serves as a member of the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute’s International Advisory Board. He was a founding Trustee and subsequently Chairman of the National Maritime Alliance in the U.S. In 1997 Rafe received the Walter Cronkite Award for his contribution to maritime education throughout the United States.

Rich Wilson | Fred Fantini | Rafe Parker | Andrea Walgren