The Team

Chesapeake Watershed Semester Director
Brad Hirsh joined the Chesapeake Watershed Semester after a diverse career in education and outdoor programming. Originally from Kent County, Maryland, he studied Languages and Literature at Bard College before teaching in various roles across the country, including Los Angeles, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. His love for the Chesapeake Bay began in childhood on Langford Creek and deepened through his work at Echo Hill Outdoor School and Sultana Education Foundation. Each chapter has strengthened his dedication to connecting students with the bay through history, literature, and hands-on experience. Brad believes education is the key to environmental stewardship and is passionate about inspiring the next generation to care for the Chesapeake.

Mel Skirkanich, Associate Director for CWS

Chesapeake Watershed Semester Associate Director
Mel, or “Ms. S” as her students call her, has always been passionate about connecting the science community with the public, and found education to be the ideal path. After earning a degree in Wildlife Conservation from Virginia Tech, she worked seasonal outdoor education jobs across the country, from California to Vermont. Her experiences ranged from teaching ecology to handling birds of prey and native reptiles. Mel eventually became a high school environmental science and biology teacher in Manassas Park, Virginia, where she also led student groups like SGA and the Allies club. She believes the key to protecting the environment is helping people fall in love with it.

Head of School, Gunston
John Lewis has served as Gunston’s Head of School since 2010. As a passionate advocate for environmental education, during his tenure he has sought to further enhance the school’s renowned Chesapeake Bay Studies Program, was a primary founder of the Chesapeake Watershed Semester, and oversaw the development and implementation of the school’s first two Environmental Strategic Plans. He is also the creator and co-instructor of the innovative Environmental Leadership for Independent School Leaders conference hosted by AIMS, VAIS, and AISGW, and each spring he runs Gunston’s “From Colonization to Globalization” Bay Studies expedition. He earned his A.B. in English from Georgetown University, a Master’s in Teaching & Learning from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, and a second Master’s in Private School Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Advisory Board

Joe Janney, Chair, Gunston Board of Trustees, CWS2 Parent
Chris Cerino, Vice President Sultana Education Foundation, former Mayor of Chestertown, MD
Greg Farley, Director of University Sustainability, George Mason University
Emily Beck, Head of Upper School, The Country School, Easton MD; Inaugural CWS Program Director
Patrick Shoemaker ‘03, President and Chairman, Cumulys Energy Services, Inc.
Brad Hirsh, Chesapeake Watershed Semester Program Director
Jim Shifrin, Vice Chair, Gunston Board of Trustees; Engineering Manager, Dixon Valve, CWS2 Parent
John Lewis, Head of School, The Gunston School
Annie Richards ‘08, Chester Riverkeeper, ShoreRivers
Betsy McCown, Director, Echo Hill Outdoor School
MJ Veverka, Founder/President, Veverka Family Foundation

Our Partners

As a thematically complex and geographically broad educational experience, since the outset of the Chesapeake Watershed Semester, the CWS program has been enriched by a universe of institutional partnerships that have been involved in areas like program planning, resource support, advisory board service, student engagement, and curricular expertise. Each year we engage with a wider and wider diversity of partners, and nearly every segment of the Chesapeake Watershed Semester exists in partnership with one or more of the program partners listed below: