Hillary Abbey

Hillary enjoys any sport that involves being on the water. An avid sailor who could often be found catching the wind on Boston Harbor. She learned to row at GGRC in 2005 after years of watching the rowers on the Charles. She practices in the mornings with its beautiful sunrises and entertaining wildlife, is one of the club's most active volunteers, and, in addition to being the current persident of the GGRC Board of Directors, intent of bringing the benefits of the sport to others, including local youth. Hillary has completed in numerous regattas throughout the years with GGRC, including the four Head of the Charles Regattas.

Hillary is a Project Manager most recently at Northland and has a BS from Cornell University. She lives in Cambridge, MA.

Jeff Barry

Jeff has been rowing with Gentle Giants since 2015. He finds that there is no better way to start the day then to be part of a boat on the Mystic River – an environmental oasis lined with trees and teaming with wildlife.

He was introduced to rowing while at Skidmore College. For many years, his passion for crew lay dormant until he overheard a colleague talk about GGRC at which point he immediately joined.

Jeff has a BA from Skidmore College and MALD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts and founded Boston Organics grocery delivery service where he currently works.

Dan Bronson

Dan rowed as a teenager and into his early twenties, with about 15 competitive seasons over 10 years. He competed once at Henley and at all the New England regattas, including many times at the Head of the Charles, but that was a long time ago. He could have been a great rower if he had only applied himself. Like many rowers, he is a former employee of Gentle Giant Moving Company. A graduate of the Tufts Geology Department with an MS from Stockbridge Agricultural School at UMass, he is now a self-employed master driller serving the environmental and geotechnical industries. He is a GGRC Youth Program parent.

Al Gehant

Al was a four year oarsman and senior year captain at Loyola Academy in Wilimette, IL. He served as captain at Northeastern University where he was a member of finalist varsity eights in the Eastern Sprints and IRA. Most recently he has rowed in medaling crews for both GGRC and Northeastern University Rowing Alumni.

As a coach and rowing director, Al began in the summer of 1999 at Northeastern University Summer Rowing and coached there two more summers. He coached CRLS Crew for two years and GGRC programs including Somerville High School for six years. He served on the Board of the CRASH B's and co-chaired a number of committees for the Head of the Charles Regatta.

Presently he serves as the Treasurer of the GGRC Board of the Directors and is a co-founder of GGRC.

Al has a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics from Northeastern University and a Masters in Education Administration from UMass Boston. He has worked for the Cambridge Rindge Latin School over the span of twenty years where he is currently the Dean of Curriculum for Learning Community and the Science Department. He lives in Cambridge with his wife and son.

Jo Melita

Jo learned to row their freshman year of college after joining the Rochester Institute of Technology Varsity Crew team. They took a break from the eights after their co-op, but continued rowing singles on the Genesee River in between classes and labs until they graduated. After moving to Boston to start their career in 2021, they longed to get back in a boat with a team. They came across GGRC and the rest is history!

Jo currently works in biotech as an immunologist. They have a rotating cast of hobbies and interests, and they love to add new skills into the mix. They live in Cambridge with their good friend and an apartment full of plants.

Jeanne Miller

Jeanne is the youth parent representative from Somerville; her daughter has rowed with GGRC in the fall and summer, and with the Somerville-Everett high school team in the spring.  Jeanne is an avid runner and finds the sight of early morning rowers alluring as she runs along the Mystic and Charles rivers.  She is considering learning to row herself some day. 

Jeanne has a B.A. in French and Education from Dartmouth College, a M.Ed. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard, and a C.A.G.S. in Developmental Studies from the B.U. School of Education.  She has been teaching at the International School of Boston (French/American bilingual school) for 25 years at the early childhood campus.  Her interests include early literacy, bilingualism, and biliteracy, and she has raised her three daughters bilingually, speaking French and English.  Jeanne’s comprehension of crew speak has been steadily increasing the more she listens to rowers, and she hopes to achieve fluency in the future.

Carolyn Sayre

Carolyn was the secretary and later vice-president of her rowing club at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. She rowed for three years on the Cuyahoga River (no it wasn't on fire at the time). Her crowning achievement was winning a bid to compete in the Head of the Charles senior year. Ever since moving to Boston in 2013, she had dreamed of being back on the water. One day she was running around the Mystic and noticed the GGRC banner and knew it was a sign to register and start rowing again.

Carolyn works as a professional molecular biologist/biochemist in the biotech industry. She lives in Winter Hill with her spouse, three cats, and a chihuahua. Her hobbies also include trapeze, aerial rope, dance, and music/songwriting.

Christopher Stetson

Christopher Stetson has enjoyed boating since growing up on Cape Cod.  He learned to row crew when Gentle Giant started its program practically next door to his home in Somerville, and he has continued to enjoy the sport as an excellent way to stay fit.

He is married, a practicing real estate attorney, grades annual Bar exams, and is a licensed pilot.

Gretchen L. Wehrle-Scott

Gretchen spotted a small ad in the Somerville Journal in the summer of 2004 that promised "Learn to Row on the Mystic".  The ad brought her to Gentle Giant Rowing. Learning the sport as an adult, she surprised herself when it quickly became a passion.  She loves being part of this great group of diverse and welcoming people who get together at the crack of dawn to work on the physical and mental challenges of the ultimate team sport.  Continuous improvement is the mantra - to become stronger and faster, together.  On the board of directors, Gretchen is co-chair of the Membership Committee and the Learn-to-Row program. 

Gretchen has a BA from Albertus Magnus College and  MALD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts and has a 30+ year career in the financial services industry, both in government and the private sector.