Tutors, 2022
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Rick Rogers, IBC '16, Hawaii
Dr. Stephen Godfrey (IBC ’09 Tutor)
Ancient Seas, Calvert Cliffs & Miocene-Epoch Fossils
Stephen Godfrey is the Curator of Paleontology for the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, Maryland. Originally from Canada, Stephen received his Ph.D. from McGill University and from there, did dinosaur exhibit work in Alberta, Canada before moving to the Calvert Marine Museum in 1998. His work involves collecting, preserving, and interpreting the Miocene (approximately 25 to 5 million-year-old) fossils eroding from the cliffs along the western shore of Chesapeake Bay. Stephen authored, Paradigms on Pilgrimage, and edited The Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, USA, published by Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.
Read more about Stephen here:
Terri Kirby Hathaway
Mid-Atlantic Shells & Marine Life
Terri Hathaway has been the Marine Education Specialist for North Carolina Sea Grant since October 2003, sharing her knowledge of ocean sciences and aquatic environments with educators statewide. Prior to joining NC Sea Grant, Terri was the Education Curator at the NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island for 18.5 years. She is a co-author for North Carolina’s Amazing Coast featuring habitats, flora and fauna from our coastal area.
She received a BS degree in Marine Biology from UNC at Wilmington and an MAEd in Science Education from East Carolina University. Terri and her oceanographer husband, Kent, have been Outer Banks residents for over 30 years.
Tom Horton (IBC ’09 Tutor)
Disappearing Islands & Shorelines of Chesapeake Bay
A former Baltimore Sun reporter covering the Chesapeake Bay, Tom Horton is a prolific environmental author widely recognized as one of America’s foremost nature writers. His work has been published in National Geographic, The New York Times, Smithsonian, Rolling Stone, and more. Tom has authored eight books on the Chesapeake, partnered on Bay photo and essay books, and produced two hour-long TV documentaries on Bay blue crabs and on watermen. One of his best-known books, the award-winning, An Island Out of Time, documents the disappearing way of life of Smith Islanders. He currently teaches in the Environmental Studies Department at Salisbury University and writes the ‘Chesapeake Born’ column for the monthly Bay Journal.
Richard LaMotte (IBC ’09 Tutor)
Sea Glass Sources
A leading sea glass expert, Richard LaMotte has been at the forefront of sea glass research since the publication of his first book, Pure Sea Glass, in 2004, which still serves as a master reference book for many sea glass collectors. Richard co-founded and was a former President of the North American Sea Glass Association and specializes in identifying vessel sea glass sources. Sometime in 2020, he and his wife, Stephanie, plan to host sea glass lectures and beachcombing expeditions from their home on the Chesapeake Bay near Chestertown. Richard graduated from St. Andrews University (NC) and has worked for his family’s 100-year-old water analysis company for the past 35 years. SeaGlassJournal article
Dr. Deacon Ritterbush (IBC '09 Tutor)
The Archaeology of Beachcombing
Founder and coordinator of the International Beachcombing Conferences, Deacon Ritterbush is at the forefront of educating people on the beachcomb experience and coastal conservation issues. She lectures throughout North America, has published in national magazines, and authored the award-winning book,
Vol. I: A Beachcomber’s Odyssey: Treasures from a Collected Past. (Vol. 2 of the trilogy: Strands in the Sand, will be available for signed and numbered presale at IBC '20.) A Pacific Island development strategist, Deacon holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and an MA in Pacific Island Studies. Website
Lecturers, Field Trips 2021
Mike Callahan
Colonial Daze Potomac River
A participant in the inaugural IBC ’09, and tutor in subsequent IBCs, Mike Callahan is a naturalist and environmental educator by profession who serves as Chairman of the Southern Maryland Audubon Society's Raptor Conservation Committee. A consummate beachcomber and sea glass collector, Mike knows the best combing beaches throughout Southern Maryland's western shore.
Wiesy Lauffer
Sea Glass Drilling Workshop
Sea glass artist, Wiesy Lauffer, specializes in the creation of sea glass jewelry and Tiffany-style sea glass and stained glass panels. A longtime resident of USVI, Wiesy now resides in Lewes, Delaware where she sells her artworks in regional sea glass festivals and on her website.
Mary T McCarthy
Mud Mucking, Kent Island
Avid beachcomber and mudlarker (aka 'mud-mucker!'), Mary paddles her trusty kayak all over the US east coast hunting for sea glass, beach marbles and dumpsite treasures. A regular at sea glass festivals across the country, where she is both an educator and a judge for shard-of-the-year contests, Mary is also a freelance journalist and author of children’s beach books. Website
Lisa McCue
Corduroy at the Beach
Lisa McCue is a talented and prolific design artist, author and award-winning illustrator who has written and/or illustrated more than 175 books for children over the last 35 years. Included in her repertoire is the Corduroy Bear book series and Quiet Bunny. Her artwork also appears on a range of items, from fabrics and greeting cards to home décor and clothing. Website
Donna Starr
Decorated Coastal Keepsake Box
Donna Starr is a Iong-time IBC’er who has taught some of our most memorable and creative beach arts workshops. Through her company, As I Sea It, she creates and sells amazing lead-fused works of art made from random beach-found shells, sea glass, and pottery shards, much of it found on shorelines near her NC beach cottage.
Jane Wilson McWilliams
The History of Annapolis & Regional Settlement Patterns
Jane Wilson McWilliams has resided in the community of Bay Ridge since childhood. She attended Washington College in Chestertown as an English major with a minor in history. During her almost 20 years on the research staff of the Maryland State Archives, Jane contributed to the Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635–1789. A well-known local historian, Jane continues to do independent research for public and private clients across the country. Among her publications are Bay Ridge on the Chesapeake, co-authored in 1986 with Carol Cushard Patterson, and Annapolis, City on the Severn, the 2011 comprehensive history of Maryland’s capital city, from its settlement in 1650 to its historic preservation campaign of the late 20th century.
CONFERENCE DETAILS
IBC ARCHIVES
Listen to Hawaii Public Radio Interview with Deacon Ritterbush
ANNAPOLIS, MD.
David Harp (IBC '09 Tutor)
Disappearing Islands and Shorelines of Chesapeake Bay
A lifelong Marylander, David Harp operates an editorial photography and filmmaking business in Cambridge, Maryland. A graduate of Ohio University with a degree in English, Dave worked at the Baltimore Sun before establishing his own business in 1990. His magazine credits include New York Times, Smithsonian, Audubon and Coastal Living. Dave has produced many beautiful books of photographs, with essays by Tom Horton, including Water’s Way: Life Along the Chesapeake, The Great Marsh: An Intimate Journey into a Chesapeake Wetland and Choptank Odyssey. He has also co-produced, directed and filmed three documentary films. In 2004, Dave received the Andrew White Medal for his Chesapeake Bay photography, is a past president of the American Society of Media Photographers, and a past president of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy. David's Photo Website
Photo by Mark Swisher
Raymond and Jean Langston
Summer Sanctuary: Highland Beach
Ray and Jean Langston, married for 60 years, are long-time residents of the historic African American community of Highland Beach. Ray spent his childhood summers staying there with his grandmother who was a civil rights activist and one of the principals in a 1953 Supreme Court case desegregating Washington restaurants and stores. After retirement, Ray served as Highland Beach's mayor and co-authored a book, Highland Beach on the Chesapeake Bay. Ray and Jean were responsible for the acquisition of "Twin Oaks," the summer home built by Mayor Charles Douglass for his father Frederick Douglass. It is now the The Frederick Douglass Museum and Cultural Center. Jean is the curator.
Carol Cushard Patterson
Bay Ridge on the Chesapeake
Carol received her MA degree in English Literature from the University of Maryland. With Jane Wilson McWilliams, she co-authored, Bay Ridge on the Chesapeake, and gives presentations on the former Victorian resort to various heritage organizations. Carol has also published a volume of poetry and articles on Bay history, historic home restoration, and the tutoring of reading-challenged children. She and her husband, Noel, live in Bay Ridge where they raised two children and now enjoy three grandchildren
Art Instructors, 2021
A Sample of Publications by IBC '20 Tutors
"Thank you, Deacon, for all your work organizing the yearly Beachcombing Conference. It is so exciting to see old friends and make new ones, and I am always impressed by the field trips, speakers and lodging. It truly is like summer camp!"
Noni
Dr. Stephen Ritterbush,
Working Waterfronts
Stephen Ritterbush, with an an MA in Oceanography and a Ph.D. in International Economics, is the founder of Fairfax Partners, a Washington, D.C-based equity firm. A self-prolaimed, “water rat," Ritterbush spent his childhood exploring Annapolis-area waterways by boat. In 2014, he suffered a serious spinal injury that left him paralyzed. Fortunately, through Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating, (of which he is a board member), a non-profit that provides sailing experiences to veterans, underserved youth, and the physically disabled, Ritterbush is once again back on a boat.
