ABOUT AYCF

Kathy Parks started crewing on large sailboats and later skippered her J22 with all women crews and eventually a J70 with mixed crews. She traveled around the country for regattas including Mid-Winters, North Americans, Key West Race Weeks and two World Championships.

Jenny Crawford is a non-profit professional and has been the Director of Development at The Light House Homeless Prevention and Support Center in Annapolis since 2017.  She and her husband, Stephen, have two young boys, the oldest of whom started on the Annapolis Yacht Club Green Fleet Optimist Race Team in 2022. 

​Bob has been a member of the Annapolis Yacht Club since 2009 and joined the board of the AYC Foundation in January 2026. He learned to sail at Mentor Harbor Yacht Club outside of Cleveland and currently races a Harbor 20 in Annapolis and a J-27 in New Orleans.

Heather Downey Sutton has spent over 25 years in the financial
publishing industry, focusing on marketing, retention, and user
experience. During her time as Executive Director of World Financial
Seminars, she had the opportunity to design and lead financial
conferences and tours throughout the U.S., Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Aden King joined the AYC foundation in 2020.  He has been an active member of the local sailing community since 1998 when he moved to Annapolis from Upstate NY.   At that time, he began actively racing J22s and still competes on a local and national level. 

Jacie Swenson started racing at age 8 and taught sailing during her high school and college summers. She has competed and won regional and national championships in myriad one-design classes. When she's not racing, Jacie enjoys cruising the Chesapeake Bay on Madeline, the 40' Robbins that she owns with her husband, as well as skiing, hiking, running and yoga.

Sue Pitchford spent her 35-year career with IBM in sales and sales management, retiring in 2017. Sue is originally from suburban Philadelphia but has lived in multiple locations where IBM and her husband, Mike’s, career have taken them.

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She graduated with her B.S. and M.S. from Old Dominion University.

Donald Farnan joined PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1983 and retired from PwC on July 1, 2021. During his time there, he served and led client teams ranging from two people early in his career to hundreds of team members in audit, tax, and consulting. 

Jill Bennett joined the AYC Foundation in 2023. She grew up sailing her Laser and racing keelboats with her dad on Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City. She raced J24’s through high school and college then moved to Annapolis to start a career. She figured if the job didn’t work out the sailing would be great.

Jim Praley has been a member of the AYCF Board since 2008.  A native of Anne Arundel County, he learned to sail at Indian Landing Boat Club in his early teens and has long enjoyed sailing on the Chesapeake and offshore on his own boats and those of tolerant friends.