Dean learned to sail at the age of 19 in Watch Hill, RI, and the sport quickly became his passion. After some success racing at his local yacht club, Dean embarked on a six-year effort to qualify for the 2000 US Olympic Sailing Team. Dean and his teammates finished second at the US Olympic Trials, narrowly missing a spot on the Sydney Olympic Team. Along the way, Dean has become a six-time national and North American champion and was a member of the US National Sailing Team for three years, from 1998-2000.

In addition to demanding world-class sailing skills, the Olympic experience required extensive organization and communication skills to market and raise funds for the effort. With Dean leading the way, the team raised nearly $1 million to support their campaign.

Dean currently is serving a four-year term as the Chairman of the United States Olympic Sailing Committee. In this role, Dean leads an organization of coaches, staff and volunteers that supports over 100 world-class athletes as they train for the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. As Chairman, Dean has ultimate responsibility for all facets of the entire US Olympic Sailing Program. Since he took on this challenge, he has led a turnaround of US Olympic Sailing that includes a 300 percent increase in its funded budget over the last four years.

Back to ABOUT US

BOARD OF ADVISORS