Our fearless Board of Directors
Mason Brown (he/him)
Mason coached rowing for the past eight years in Richmond, is entering his sixth year as the Men’s Varsity coach at VCU, and has spent four years as the Adult Learn to Row coach for the Virginia Boat Club, where he has taught dozens of members of the Richmond Community the basics of rowing. Mason rowed at VCU where he served as Men’s Captain and Vice President of the team.
He graduated with his master’s degree in business from the VCU Brandcenter where he worked on several pro bono and non-profit projects for organizations such as The Richmond Symphony, VirginiaNavigator and VeteransNavigator. He helped these organizations create visible brands and programming to extend their reach and facilitate greater impact on the area.
Hazel Cimino (she/her)
Hazel was introduced to rowing when she joined the VCU Crew Club in 2014 while earning her BFA in Communication Arts. She first got involved with RCR in 2017 as an Adaptive Coach and served as the Executive Director from 2020-2021.
In addition to serving the Board, Hazel currently works as our Art Director: running our social media accounts, developing our brand, and keeping our website in tip top shape (she may have written this herself…).
She’s passionate about utilizing her personal experiences with rowing and design expertise to make rowing in the Richmond area more accessible and diverse.
Andres Amores (he/him)
Andres Amores is the Director and Founder of MainAthlete, a sports organization that helps athletes find scholarships in universities in the US. He is originally from Quito, Ecuador and came to the US to attend Jacksonville State University where he got his bachelors and masters degree. He has been involved in sports since he was a kid (grew up playing tennis and coached as well!) and throughout the years he has been able to see all the benefits sports bring to individuals and communities.
He is very excited to be part of RCR as he believes that through sports, we can have a positive impact on those around us. He looks forward to helping and finding ways to continue to grow this amazing organization!
Chrissy Wengloski (she/her)
Chrissy serves as our Grants Committee Chair and is dedicated to building RCR’s financial sustainability. She is passionate about increasing access to the James River for those who have not historically been able to participate in water sports.
The charm of the James River kept Chrissy in Richmond after finishing her bachelor’s degree at the University of Richmond. She also holds her Master of Social Work and is working toward her PhD in Public Policy and Administration, both from VCU. In her current role with the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, Chrissy assists nonprofits and local government agencies in managing their grant funding. Prior to working for a grant-making agency, she wrote proposals and managed a multimillion dollar grant budget for a large Richmond nonprofit.
Sean Bamman (he/him)
Sean is a telecom and networking entrepreneur with a simple vision, to help connect people. Settled now in Richmond, he grew up in Washington, D.C. and graduated with a double major from the University of Virginia. Sean is described as an exemplary husband and proud father of four boisterous boys, two of whom are autistic. He has actively campaigned with organizations to pass legislation focusing on reforming insurance for families impacted by autism. He is advocating to ensure people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to live, work and engage in daily activities.
Sean began his lifelong love for the sport of rowing when he first stepped into a boat on the Potomac River at the age of 13. He has competed at the scholastic, collegiate, and masters level across the US and internationally. He hopes to make rowing universally available to all.
Will Hendricks (he/him)
Will is deeply invested in the success of our programs, especially the Youth Rowing program. He started rowing in 1992, and rowed in both high school and college. He has competed in races in the US, Canada, and England, including a first place finish at Eastern Sprints in Brown University’s Freshman Heavyweight Men’s 8. Will sees the tremendous potential for rowing here in Richmond to impact the lives of Richmond high schoolers (and middle schoolers), whether it’s the positive community that can grow around a boathouse, the health and fitness benefits rowing provides, the joy of being out on the river, or the collegiate opportunities that the sport will be able to open up. There is a lot of good we can start building here together!
Patrick Metry (he/him)
Patrick Metry is a Richmond native who found rowing through VCU’s club program. After serving as both treasurer and captain for the club, he graduated with a bachelor’s in finance in December 2019. He currently works for Capital One and in his spare time enjoys working with RCR to help advocate for rowing in the Richmond area.
Maura Norford (she/her)
Maura works full time in the financial industry, but rowing has been a part of her life for the last 20 years. Maura started as a coxswain at Mary Washington and has coxed at the collegiate and masters levels. Now she uses those skills as the Head Indoor Rowing Instructor for RCR. It is her goal to help RCR get as many folks rowing as possible - on and off the water. She wants to make rowing accessible to anyone who wants to learn! Come join her and coach Jaime at our weekend RowDown workouts!
Dean Lee (he/him)
As a graduate of VCU and having lived in the Richmond area for the majority of his life, Dean feels a deep connection to the community and is always looking for ways to give back. Even though Dean has minimal experience with rowing, he has always felt passionate about sports and the impact they can have on people's lives. Being a middle school teacher in Richmond Public Schools has really shown Dean firsthand the opportunities athletics can create and he looks to help people connect with an activity that allows him to improve their life.
Where it all began
Richmond Community Rowing was founded in 2016 by Mason Brown and Tim Nesselrodt, former VCU Crew Club athletes. Mason and Tim saw huge potential in the James River and had the vision to create an organization that was more inclusive and accessible than other rowing programs. Richmond isn’t known for its rowing quite yet, but we’ll get there.
Tim currently works for the University of Rhode Island Rowing Club as the Head Coach. Mason still lives and works in the Richmond area, serving as our President on the Board.
Mason Brown, Co-Founder/President
Tim Nesselrodt, Co-Founder
