Patrick Dacey, President retired as a Lieutenant of County Detectives after spending 30 years in law enforcement. He earned an undergraduate degree from Jersey City State College and a Master’s Degree in human resources, design and training from Seton Hall University. His civilian career included work with the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. In addition, he retired after 25 years from the reserve component of the United States Army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He has had a lifelong interest in passenger ships and joined SSHSA in 1976 as a student member. A veteran of more than 90 voyages and crossings, he is also vice-chairman and former chairman of the board of the World Ship Society, Port of New York Branch. Prior to his election as President, he had also served as Vice-President as well as a committee chair for SSHSA.
Captain Eric Takakjian, Vice President is a professional mariner that has been sailing ships and oceangoing tugboats to various corners of the world since 1978. He has been a member of SSHSA since 1989 and volunteers his time helping with the society’s collections. Eric is the author along with Randall Peffer of two books on maritime history as well as articles in Steamboat Bill and Powerships. Presently Captain Takakjian is employed aboard the Chincoteague, a 505’ ocean-going Articulated Tug Barge unit (ATB) operating on ocean voyages. He and his wife Lori, both served in the US Coast Guard. They previously owned and operated the research vessel QUEST, conducting oceanographic and shipwreck research in the Northeast United States and outer continental shelf waters. An avid diver, Captain Eric has conducted extensive historical research on New England shipwrecks. Since 1985 captain Eric and his team have conducted expeditions resulting in the location and exploration of over 80 previously undiscovered shipwrecks in the waters around New England and outer continental shelf waters.
CAPT James Zatwarnicki, Vice President graduated from SUNY Maritime College with a degree in Marine Transportation Management and later earned a Master of Science in International Transportation Management. He holds a license as Master Unlimited Tonnage Upon Oceans and Master of Towing Vessels. Capt. Zatwarnicki actively sailed on his license from June of 2002 until he began working at the US Merchant Marine Academy in April 2018 as an Assistant Professor of Nautical Science. He has sailed on several types of vessels throughout his career including survey vessels, container ships, tugboats, military supply ships, and served as master of the USNS Gordon and USNS Shughart. He is very active with the Sea Scouting program, Boy Scouts of America, and has been affiliated with Ship 228, the Sea Dart II, in Rahway, NJ for 27 years.
Nicholas Langhart, Treasurer has a passion for maritime heritage and historic architecture. He currently serves as library director at The Forbush Memorial Library in Westminster, Massachusetts. Nick holds a Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation from Cornell University. Nick is an instructor for the Evolution of New England Architecture at Fitchburg State and has taught the History of Worcester’s Architecture at Clark University and Worcester State University. Prior to serving as a professional library director, he was Property Manager for the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, now better known as Historic New England. His expertise was instrumental in organizing the SSHSA library at the Ship History Center in 2015.
Dr. Andrew O. Coggins Jr., Secretary, is an internationally known cruise industry analyst based in New York. Dr. Coggins is a retired U.S. Navy Commander with over twenty-three years of service on seven ships. He has spoken at numerous conferences, and given interviews on issues and trends in the cruise and travel industries. He is also an active member of SKAL International and Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), as well as international travel and tourism marketing and networking organizations. He currently teaches courses in cruise industry management at Pace University.
Board Members
CAPT Ben Lyons has spent his entire life captivated by ships and travel. After graduating from Groton School in Massachusetts, Ben decided to follow his passion and attended the US Merchant Marine Academy. In 2003, Ben was asked to join the Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 ocean liner, then under construction in France. Consequently, he became the first (and still only) American officer hired in the company’s more than 170-year history. Ben served for five years onboard, leaving as the ship’s chief officer. Ben has also been an active travel writer with articles and reviews appearing in a wide range of guidebooks, magazines, and newspapers. After several years specializing in writing about expedition cruising, he traveled to Antarctica in 2007. Immediately, he fell in love with the seventh continent. Soon thereafter, he left Cunard to join Lindblad Expeditions to explore more of the world’s wild, polar regions. He sailed on National Geographic Endeavour and National Geographic Explorer, first as chief officer and later as captain.
“Bill” William H. Miller was a teacher and is the author of more than 40 books. He was chairman of the World Ship Society’s Port of New York Branch from 1970 to 1976, deputy director of the New York Harbor Festival Foundation from 1979 to 1982, historian at the Museum of the American Merchant Marine in 1979, and creator of a course entitled “The Ocean Liner” at the New School of Social Research in Manhattan in 1981. He also created the passenger ship database for the Ellis Island Museum and appeared in the documentary SS United States: Lady in Waiting. A documentary about his life and studies, Mr. Ocean Liner, premiered aboard RMS Queen Mary 2 on July 1, 2010.
Darshell Silva is a Library and Media Specialist and Education Technology Consultant for various organizations. She holds a Master of Library and Information Studies degree, a School Library Media Specialist Certification, both from the University of Rhode Island, Blended Learning Certificate from Roger Williams University, and a Computer Science Teaching Certification. Darshell teaches information literacy, computer science, and maker education, among other duties. She has served on many educational organization boards as well as won numerous awards for her excellence in education. She comes from a long line of Cape Verdean stevedores and has worked with SSHSA to incorporate ship history project based learning lessons in her classroom.
Jennifer Sellitti is the Managing Member of Atlantic Wreck Salvage (AWS) and the captain of the company’s dive vessel, Tenacious. She leads dive expeditions, conducts historical research on both active and prospective projects, and directs the team’s public education efforts on the importance of shipwreck discovery and responsible salvage. She is the creator of All Aboard!, a program aimed at delivering shipwreck-related content to schools and community organizations in an effort to educate the public about the importance of maritime history. A diver and U.S. Coast Guard–licensed captain, Jennifer is an associate member of the Boston Sea Rovers and a trustee of the New Jersey Maritime Museum. When not at sea, she practices criminal defense law. Jennifer has participated in the discovery of several previously undocumented shipwrecks, including the 1855 French passenger steamship SS Le Lyonnais, the WWI-era fishing trawler STSeiner, the U-53 casualty SS West Point, and the bow of MV Stockholm, the vessel that collided with and sank Andrea Doria, among others. Her first book, The Adriatic Affair: A Maritime Hit-and-Run Off the Coast of Nantucket (Schiffer Publishing, March 2025), chronicles the sinking of the nineteenth-century passenger steamship Le Lyonnais. The epilogue documents D/V Tenacious’s 2024 discovery and exploration of the wreck’s final resting place.
Jordan Ventura holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is a Senior Professional Development Specialist and Instructional Designer at Bright Horizons. She is a professional instructional designer and training specialist with a strong background in virtual learning, onboarding, and content development. She has a proven ability to create engaging educational materials, as demonstrated by her last several years volunteering on the SSHSA’s Education Committee, and has experience in high-tech tools, such as maintaining LMS platforms, and in supporting diverse training initiatives. As a teacher and educator, Jordan has experience in both in-person and remote training facilitation, collaboration and cross-functional teamwork.Jordan’s interested in ships and maritime has a personal connection. Jordan has a passion for maritime history having grown up in the Great Lakes region and her brother’s love for ships exposed her to many maritime museums over the years, and her appreciation for the subject grew with time.
Kate Vescera is a lawyer and RMS Queen Mary afficionado who is also chairwoman of SSHSA’s Southern California Chapter. She earned a bachelor’s degree in international political economics and Russian in 2007, and a juris doctor from Pepperdine Law School in 2012 with a Master’s Degree in dispute resolution. She is currently a partner at TALG, Ltd. in Irvine, California. In addition to her work with SSHSA, Kate is also a mentor with Motivating Our Students Through Experience (MOSTe), a community-based mentoring, scholarship and college-access organization that encourages young women’s education and success. She also serves as an advisor of QMI Restore the Queen, which is dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and protection of the Queen Mary. Kate has been an SSHSA member since 2014.
CAPT Mark Nemergut grew up in Connecticut, and when he was 9 years old, his parents set off on a cruise out of New York on American Export Lines SS Atlantic, which sparked Mark’s passion with ships, especially passenger ships. He went to New York Maritime College (Fort Schuyler) graduating in 1979 with a Bachelor Of Science degree in Marine Transportation Management and a USCG Third Mate’s license. Joining Masters, Mates & Pilots & rising thru the ranks, eventually attaining a USCG Unlimited Master’s license, he started his 30 year seagoing career as a deck officer sailing with all the US flagged companies, Farrell Lines, Lykes Lines, Delta Lines, United States Lines, Sea Land, Waterman Steamship, Aloha Pacific Cruises (SS Monterey), and for the final 18 years, permanent with American President Lines on containerships to Asia & the Middle East. Mark came ashore in 2010 and was the Norfolk Representative for Masters, Mates & Pilots for 14 years. His major area of interest (& collecting) is post war US flagged passenger ships (and cargo ships) with a focus on the SS United States.
Mark Peter Sprangisan archivist and academic professional based in Bowling Green, Ohio. He holds a BA in History from Saginaw Valley State University, an Associate’s Degree in General Studies from Mid-Michigan Community College, and a Master of Information in Archives and Records Management from the University of Michigan’s School of Information. Mark is currently the Archivist for the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), where he works in the Jerome Library. He is active in the Society of American Archivists and serves on the South Carolina Archival Association board.
CAPT Terry Tilton USN (Ret.) grew up on a farm in Iowa, but as a young man he longed for the sea. He attended and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, serving 25 years as a Naval Officer and completing a career qualified to command any ship in the Navy. He collects unique maritime artifacts, including one of the finest collections of ship builder’s plates. He is a researcher and author of several feature-length articles in PowerShips, most notably his extensive compilations on companies such as Ingalls Shipbuilding. He is also an active participant as researcher, author, speaker, and officer in the Southern California Chapter of SSHSA.
Wayne Yanda’s interest in ships began in grade school with a weathered paperback copy of Walter Lord’s A Night to Remember. (Specifically, a Bantam Book, 7th printing from November 1958.) That led to reading everything he could lay his hands on regarding the Titanic, and soon, other ships, focusing more and more on American liners. In 2017, he merged his interest in ocean liners with art and launched MuralsontheHighSeas.com, which documents the murals and sculpture installed on American liners built between 1927-1962. It is a topic he writes and presents on with some regularity. He is also part of the Ocean Modern Advanced Research Group, a collective of scholars and experts from Europe and North America. He’s served on the board for several nonprofit organizations, and is currently on the board of SSHSA’s Southern California Chapter (SoCal). Putting his BA in Communications from Truman State University to proper use, he took on the mantle of Editor of the Ocean Times, SoCal’s quarterly journal, in 2023.
