With a twelve-fold increase in the frequency of our exhibitions this summer, compared to 2021, the question arises of how to manage that growth. A partial answer to that question is Natalie Corkhill, our new Community Engagement Coordinator. We foresaw the need to increase our volunteer headcount as early as last year and spent seven weeks this spring, sifting through a score of candidates before a lucky referral led us to Natalie. Natalie will be helping to manage the expanded corps of volunteers who will be staffing those events.

Born and raised in Alameda, Natalie has the perfect combination of interest, experience, gregariousness, and passion to wring the most out of this new role. To begin with, she is a water-child through and through. Natalie was encouraged to sail by her grandfather, who had been a Navy fighter pilot in Vietnam, while her father had sailed out of Naval Air Station, Alameda. Natalie started sailing in summer camp, between 6th and 7th grade, and by 8th grade had joined Encinal Yacht Club’s high school sailing team, racing on FJ’s to represent her school. She sailed throughout high school, noting that her non-sailing high school friends “didn’t get it” when she tried to explain exciting moments from weekend regattas. She also notes the common misperception that you have to be wealthy to sail, as clubs like Encinal provide ample opportunities for anyone to get out on the water, including scholarships for those with limited financial means.

After high school, Natalie headed to college at San Francisco State, where she thought she would follow her mother’s footsteps as a microbiologist but switched to oceanography and meteorology. She says she loved it, as she learned about the processes around how weather and ocean cycles are formed and how data about climate history is extracted. She continued sailing through college, and in her last year became a U.S. Sailing Level 1 instructor. After earning her Bachelor of Science, Natalie set out to explore the world, with travels to New Zealand and Hong Kong and a move to Portland. Not surprisingly, she kept sailing, joining the Oregon Women’s Sailing Association (OWSA), where she was assigned to a Ranger 22. Unsure of her skills, she quickly determined that she was at an instructor level for the group. Her work in Oregon was at Lam Research, in supply chain management, which she liked, although she eventually missed her friends and California and returned to the Bay Area.

SCUBA and freediving have become a second major influence in Natalie’s life, following her SCUBA certification last year in Oahu. Asked about experiences that have stood out for her, she recalls underwater encounters with manta rays, eels, and lobsters while diving in Mexico. With sailing, she remembers an exhilarating ride across “The Slot” with a spinnaker on a 420. She summarizes that her main influence is the ocean, commenting how unique it is compared to our land-based life. She is a living example of how people care once they connect. We are delighted to have her on the team and look forward to working together.

Boats approach the starting line during the 2022 edition of the MEXORC in Banderas Bay, Mexico. Race starts are filled with questions, such as How long 'til the gun?, Where's the competition?, and How far are we from the line?, as gestured by the standing bowman on the right. Having good answers to these questions is fundamental to success.