2026 applications are now OPEN
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Patrick Powers Founder & President
Colonel (Retired) Patrick Powers served over 27 years in U.S. Army Special Operations as a "Green Beret." His distinguished military career included tours in Korea, Bosnia, Germany, Iraq, and Afghanistan. In 2014, he founded Gold Star Sailing as a special program uniquely created for Gold Star teenagers, emphasizing leadership, teamwork, and adventure. Through his work, Colonel Powers discovered that great healing takes place during Gold Star Sailing camps, providing comfort and growth for participants . His passion for sailing began in childhood, but he started racing competitively in 2001. Over the years, Patrick has built a strong reputation on the East Coast, specializing in one-design keel boats. His offshore racing accomplishments include a victory in the 2024 Finisterre Division of the Newport to Bermuda Race, participation in the 2025 Marblehead-Halifax race, numerous Chicago-Mackinac races, and a variety of other long-distance events. He and his wife reside in Annapolis, Maryland, with their two children, both of whom share a passion for sailing.
P. Gardner Howe
Vice Admiral P. Gardner Howe III retired from the U.S. Navy in 2019 after a 35-year career in the Naval Special Warfare and joint Special Operations communities. A passionate sailor, he is now focused on bringing the educational, personal and leader development opportunities found in sailing and sail training to people of all ages. Gardner is a member of the New York Yacht Club. He and his wife Erin reside in Newport, Rhode Island.
Patrica A. O'Donnell
Patricia A. O'Donnell is a life-long competitive sailor, starting as a child in Larchmont, NY. She has raced dinghies, one-design keelboats and racer/cruisers in team, "around the buoy" and long-distance races nationally and internationally. While she still competes when she can, she's now more active in regatta management, including race committee, primarily in her home waters around Newport. She is a World Sailing International Judge. She was a US SAILING certified National Umpire for many years.
Patricia is a member of Larchmont (NY) Yacht Club, New York Yacht Club, Ida Lewis YC (Newport, RI) and Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. Off the water, Patricia is a Supervisor Analyst with Morgan Stanley & Co.'s Asia Pacific Equity Research Department.
Her involvement in Gold Star Sailing honors her late father, LCDR James J. O'Donnell (USN), and acknowledges the healing and opportunities sailing has provided to her and her Gold Star mother and sisters over the decades.
Rebecca Baldeosingh
Rebecca Baldeosingh was a military child, a Marine spouse, and is now a Gold Star Widow to Sergeant Juan Carlos Baldeosingh. Rebecca lives near Camp Lejeune, North Carolina where she served as a Key Volunteer and Family Readiness Officer for the North Carolina National Guard. In these roles she provided training for spouses, coordinated between service members and families, and was a critical communications conduit for the command.
As a Gold Star Widow, Rebecca is now an even stronger and more vital leader. She continues to serve as an advisor to the command as a community outreach spokesperson, public speaker, and she is as a mentor to both Gold Star families and uniformed service personnel.
Rebecca has three daughters: Isabella, Kylie, and Emily who all benefitted from attending Gold Star Sailing camps. They each took something different away from camp each year that continues to aid them in their lives and navigate their individual grief journeys.
Rebecca embraces the Gold Star Sailing mission and plans to continue to serve as an advocate for Gold Star families and to honor the legacy of their fallen loved one. They shall never be forgotten.
Don Santa
Donald Santa is a retired attorney and executive with over 35 years’ experience dealing with matters at the intersection of law, public policy and business imperatives affecting the energy industry. He served in multiple roles in connection with the US natural gas and electric power industries, including as member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, staff to a congressional committee, industry trade association leader, corporate legal and executive positions and outside counsel.
In addition to serving on the board of Gold Star Sailing, Don is a member of the board of Chesapeake Region Accessible Sailing. His experience on nonprofit boards also includes prior service on the boards of the Arundel Rivers Federation and St. Anne’s School of Annapolis.
He is an active Annapolis racing sailor. Don is a member of the Annapolis Yacht Club and is the captain of J/105 Fleet 3 in Annapolis.
Don is an alumnus of the Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and the Columbia University School of Law. He and his family reside in Edgewater, Maryland.
Newport Team
Wes Marshall - Deputy Director
Wes Marshall has been an avid sailor for thirty years. He has over 8,000 miles of ocean and blue water racing and cruising experience. He has raced large and small boats in the eastern US for many years with a focus on one-design keelboats. Wes has youth counseling experience with after school enrichment programs, the Boy Scouts of America, coaching lacrosse, the All-American Soap Box Derby, and the Gold Star Teen Sailing Adventure. He holds numerous outdoor certifications including USCG certified Captain, and Wilderness First Aid. Professionally, Wes worked as a trial lawyer until 2012 when he was appointed to the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Richard F. Keene, BG (retired) Operations Director
BG Ret. Keene was and continues to be an instrumental and key Gold Star Sailing ke leader. BG Ret. Keene most recently served as the Assistant to the Vice Commander, United States Special Operations Command, before retiring in January 2014. Responsible for representing the command to the Joint Staff, Service Staffs, Office of the Secretary of Defense and other governmental agencies in the National Capitol Region. BG (ret), Keene enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1971 and was commissioned in the Army National Guard commissioned in 1985. He commanded units at every grade level and deployed several times from 2004 – 2014 for Special Operations missions in the Horn of Africa, U.S. Special Operations Command, Special Operations Command South and Colombia. He actively supports several charities including Give to the World, The Gold Star Sailing and the North Smithfield High School Class of 1971 Scholarship Fund.
Sharon McGinnis - Coordinator
Sharon McGinnis - Coordinator
Sharon is a former U. S. Army Officer stationed at Fort Hood and Fort Bragg with an overseas tour in Bosnia to support Operation Joint Guard.
She is currently Vice President of Client Services for a Health Information Technology Company in Boston. Sharon is responsible for United States based customers providing customized education and collaboration to improve hospital quality and patient outcomes. She previously held hospital leadership roles at Duke University Health System and Atrium Health. Sharon holds a BSN in Nursing from Lewis University and an MHA from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine. She is a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt. She is a community volunteer for Newport VFW Post 406, Gold Star Sailing, Habitat for Humanity and an active member of Newport Yacht Club. She has made her home in Rhode Island and is a proud Mom to her son Ian who is also a sailor.
Florida Team
David Rulien - Deputy Director
David Rulien - Deputy Director
David Rulien - Deputy Director
JD Rulien - Operations Director
David Rulien - Deputy Director
David Rulien - Deputy Director
JD Rulien is a veteran of U.S. Air Force Special Operations as a Special Tactics Officer (STO). JD has served tours in Japan, Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Niger. Prior to joining the service at the US Air Force Academy, JD was a competitive sailor throughout childhood and was instrumental in bringing Gold Star Sailing to Ft. Lauderdale. JD holds a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and works for NextEra Energy. He resides in Jupiter, FL with his incredible wife and three daughters.
Beth Rielly - Senior Coordinator
Beth Rielly - Senior Coordinator
Beth Rielly - Senior Coordinator
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Peter Commette - Sailing Director
Beth Rielly - Senior Coordinator
Beth Rielly - Senior Coordinator
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