MRA board of directors
The Michigan Rowing Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, representing the alumni and friends of the University of Michigan Men's Rowing Team. Our more than 1,000 members work together to support the team and its mission to provide an environment in which the athletes of the Team can train, grow, and represent the University in intercollegiate competition.
The Michigan Rowing Association Board of Directors meets monthly to discuss and vote on events affecting the Michigan Men’s Rowing Team. The Board is comprised of our President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Alumni Relations Secretary, and four Board Members at Large.
MRA’s monthly virtual meetings are open to all MRA members. Interested members can email the MRA secretary to ask to join the next meeting.
The MRA bylaws and minutes of the monthly meetings can be found HERE.
Dan Brock, ‘09
President
Dan is a member of UMRT Class of 2009 where he was a three year Varsity Eight Oarsman, two time American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) National Champion, and two time member of the ACRA All American Team. After graduating, Dan was the assistant novice coach in 2010 while he attended law school at Wayne State University.
Dan is Senior Patent Counsel at Aptiv where he oversees their global Advanced Safety and User Experience patent portfolio.
Wes Vear, ‘15
Vice president
Wes joined MRA in November 2016 after having served as the President of the Team during the ‘14-’15 year and then President of the Club Sports Council ‘15-’16 where he represented all club teams within the University administration. After joining MRA, Wes started the Board’s pursuits of permanent indoor training facilities for the team and has completely revamped MRA’s operations and fundraising strategy. Wes joined MRA because rowing for the University of Michigan Men’s team was the defining experience of his collegiate career - especially considering he refused to give up his obsession with rowing and continued to train after graduating for four years, attempting to make the US National Team. He was able to represent the US at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru but has since retired and is currently in medical school at Columbia University.
Nick Sferrazza, ‘14
treasurer
Nick joined the MRA board in January 2024 as Treasurer, previously having served as Vice President of the Team during the 2013-14 season while also rowing as the stroke of the Varsity 8+. He rowed from his sophomore through senior year, winning 2x ACRA Varsity 8+ Championships, 1x Dad Vail Varsity 8+ Championship, and 1x ECAC Varsity 8+ Championship during his career. Nick also competed for the University of Michigan at the Henley Royal Regatta in 2014.
Currently, Nick is an Executive Director at StoneX Financial, where he is responsible for overseeing CMBS trading.
William Burstein, ‘16
Secretary
William graduated from Michigan in 2016 and joined the Board in January 2022. He served as the team's Public Relations Officer his senior year and currently works as a union organizer in Connecticut.
Lakin Vitton, ‘18
Alumni Relations Secretary
Lake joined the MRA board in November 2019. Lake graduated from the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business in 2018 after serving as the team's VP during his senior year. While on the team, Lake led efforts to raise funds for the team's temporary indoor training facility. Lake is looking forward to helping MRA connect more with alumni and develop programs to support the team's long term success.
Lake's favorite memory from his four years on the team is sprinting through Boston College to win 1V Gold his senior year.
Ted Matherly, ‘06
board member
Ted Matherly has served on the board of MRA since graduating from Michigan in 2006. He has also continued to be involved in rowing, as a coach for the University of Maryland and Oklahoma State University, and occasionally racing his single as a Masters rower.
Ted is currently an assistant professor of marketing at Oklahoma State University's Spears School of Business. His research focuses on applications of signaling theory in consumer and brand behavior.
Jeff Baxter, ‘03
board member
Jeff joined the MRA board in December 2023. He was a four-year rower at Michigan, graduating in 2003 and staying at the University an additional year to obtain his Masters in Chemical Engineering. After graduation Jeff spent 3 years traveling and working across Europe and Asia before returning to Chicago to earn an MBA from the University of Chicago and his Professional Engineer license. He currently overseas refining, recycling, terminal, and environmental service operations for World Oil Corp in South California. Outside of work Jeff is also on the board of the National Oil Recyclers Assocation and is actively involved with numerous youth academic and athletic programs in the greater Los Angeles area as a coach, mentor, and advisor. Outside of work he enjoys spending time outdoors with his family and can be regularly found running, biking, fishing, kayaking, and brewing beer. Jeff's passion for the team comes from the numerous rowers, coaches, coxswains, and volunteers he has connected with over the years. This starter during his time on the water but continued many years after. "This is a brotherhood that started well before my time. I always enjoy meeting the new classes and seeing how different yet also similar we all are. I want to help it continue to grow and prosper further than any of us can see."
Shaw Newman, ‘18
Board member
Shaw joined the MRA board in January of 2023. While on the team she served as treasurer and worked alongside Lakin to advance the indoor training facility. Shaw is looking forward to support the MRA board as they work to advance UMRT and create a more inclusive program going forward.
Shaw currently works in product at DroneSeed, a company dedicated to scaling post-wildfire reforestation across the US. In addition to MRA and tree planting, she works with Planned Parenthood and Girls on the Run.
Alex Woolf, ‘93
board member
Alex joined the board in December 2023. He was a four year rower at Michigan, graduating in 1993 with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering. He continued on to attain a Masters of Information in the newly formed Digital Library Associates Program in 1995. After graduating, he worked at the University of Michigan Medical Center, helping to advance telemedicine. The dot-com boom soon lured him out to San Francisco, where he lived on a sailboat for several years. In 2022, he finally moved back to Ann Arbor, but he can’t seem to stay away from the water and is back on Argo Pond regularly.
Alex is currently a software engineering manager at OpenTable where he helps build the iPad app seen on the host stand at many restaurants.