The dream of creating the Northwest Maritime Center had begun more than three decades ago, with a proposal to establish a seaport project that would include a maritime educational facility, working seaport & marina, and a maritime museum at Point Hudson. It was a grassroots effort led by a small group of passionate community advocates that would grow into a community-wide effort in the years to come.

When he assumed the leadership of the Northwest Maritime Center in January 2007, Stan had the solid history of the vision for the campus and a committed board leadership to help him chart the course. His mission was straightforward: close out the capital campaign and get the buildings built. And that he did—with a team of Maritime Center board (both past and present), staff, and volunteers who shared his focus, determination, and perseverance.

Stan led the final push to close out the decade-long $12.8 million capital campaign, culminating in a $1.1 million challenge match from the Kresge Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Under Stan’s leadership, the Maritime Center raised over $1 million from private donors in the final six months, to successfully close out the campaign on March 31, 2009—right in the middle of a great recession.

Stan’s true passion, however, was education, and perhaps it was the promise of the Maritime Center facilities providing a home for programs to teach, inspire, and transform through experiences of the sea that fueled his drive and determination to see the completion of the buildings. The campus has fulfilled that promise, and more. Today, the Northwest Maritime Center’s slate of youth maritime education programs include Maritime Discovery Program, Salish Sea Expeditions, Girls' Boat Project, Real World Readiness, Port Townsend Maritime Academy, and Bravo Team.