Meet our Board

Dan Roberts


Dan Roberts, President
A retired elementary school music teacher as well as a professional musician, Dan has an extensive knowledge of Northwest maritime history and music, and is a skilled writer and editor. Raised in the Bay Area, graduate of Pomona College, Dan Roberts also studied opera and received the training that makes his voice one of the most notable and powerful in the folk music community. Dan’s repertoire spans centuries, and his voice spans three octaves. He is a veteran of the Victory at Sea chantey group, member of the Seattle Labor Chorus, as well as the bands Bold Horizon and The Whateverly Brothers. Dan was employed at the non-profit organization Northwest Seaport from 1997-2006, where he managed the music program and led ship tours, and was largely responsible for re-establishing the Northwest Seaport Chantey Sing in 2000. He is a frequent leader of the sings.

Helen Gilbert

Helen Gilbert, Vice President
A native of the UK, Helen Gilbert was immersed in the traditional maritime music of her homeland. She has been an active member of the maritime singing community of the Pacific Northwest since moving here ten years ago, and performs at schools, libraries, and cultural events as a singer and Morris dancer. In addition to being one of the founders of the Port Townsend Shanty Sing, she founded the monthly Seattle Pub Sing, is a frequent leader of the Northwest Seaport Chanty Sing, and a regular performer at the Northwest Folklife Festival. She helped produce the book “Sing Shanties & Songs About the Sea” in remembrance of local Shantyman Steve Lewis and his extensive collection of Shanties and Maritime songs. She is a member of the very popular Seattle band, The Drunken Maidens. Her skills include web site design.

Lynn Applegate

Lynn Applegate, Treasurer
Lynn Applegate grew up in the Seattle area. She has been involved in salmon disease research for over 20 years, and has been performing music for nearly 40 years. She has been a member of local Search and Rescue groups, a science day coordinator/presenter for area schools, and a coordinator for Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). She has volunteered for various groups, such as 4-H and Girl Scouts, and she is an avid fisherwoman. Lynn is also half of the local band, Northshore Ramblers.

David Kessler

David Kessler, Secretary
David Kessler has organized conferences and events of all sizes, and has been singing and sailing for about as long as he can remember. He grew up in New England, where he learned to sail, sing, and appreciate the region’s coast and history, and where he founded several singing and educational events.  He moved to Seattle in 2013 and has since been learning about the maritime history and music of the Northwest.  He is Co-Producer of the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony (an award for improbable scientific research), and is half of the singing duo Kessler and Perasso.

Ginny Agnew



Ginny Agnew, Membership Coordinator
Ginny Agnew moved to Seattle from Southern California in 1985 and got involved in the local singing community, but when she started attending chantey sings here, she remembered her father’s 24′ sailboat and how much she loved sailing.

Debra Norby



Debra Norby, Volunteer Coordinator
Debra has been living in Seattle since 1996 but didn’t even know that maritime music was a thing until she stumbled upon the maritime showcase at Folklife in 2017. She was immediately hooked and has been a regular attendee of the Northwest Seaport monthly chantey sings ever since, learning as much as she can about maritime music and culture.



Chris Roe

Chris Roe (emerita)
Chris Roe is a performing songwriter and musician, and has been an active participant in the Seattle maritime, celtic, and contradance communities for over 30 years. She is known as a folklorist and authority on maritime and folk music. She was a founding member of the all-woman chantey band Broadside, and has performed solo and in a variety of musical company. She organized a pub sing back in the nineties, and she has been an enthusiastic supporter of participatory song for over thirty years. Chris is a founding member of the Puget Sound Revels Board and is director of the group The Village Carolers. She was employed as a database administrator with Seattle Opera from 1983 to 2012

Chris Glanister

Chris Glanister (emeritus)
Chris Glanister has been a fixture of local music communities for the past several decades. As a professional sound/recording engineer, he has produced albums and mixed live-sound for countless acts over the years; and as a member of the spirited Celtic ensemble Watch the Sky! and the folk/maritime duo The Whateverly Brothers he has also put in his share of time on-stage. He is a founding member of Maritime Folknet and of The Port Gamble Maritime Music Festival.

Alice Winship


Alice Winship (emerita)
Alice Winship was a founding member of Maritime Folknet, and served as its President until her death in 2019. She also served as President of the Association of King County Historical Organizations (AKCHO) 2013-2018. She was instrumental to the success of several maritime, music, and historical non-profit organizations and events from 1996 right up until she passed away. She always advocated the cause of Northwest nautical music, maritime preservation, and supporting local artists. She was a songwriter and song collector, specializing in songs about the history of the Northwest, and regularly lead workshops on Northwest songs for area festivals. We miss her greatly!