Julia Brighton grew up in North Carolina but spent her summers sailing in Scituate, Massachusetts, where her connection to the water began. She is currently an Environmental Studies major at the University of Vermont and serves as Treasurer of the UVM Sailing Team, competing in both women’s and coed events. Julia sailed on the varsity sailing team at Choate Rosemary Hall, building a strong foundation in team racing and competitive sailing. She has also worked with coastal photographer Kat Hanafin of The Nautical Collection, contributing written content and assisting with business operations and client communications. Outside of college sailing, Julia works as a race coach at Cohasset Yacht Club, where she enjoys mentoring young sailors and fostering both competitive skills and a lasting respect for the marine environment.
Heather is excited to bring her racing and coaching experience to the Sail1Design team. A lifelong sailor, she grew up competing out of St. Petersburg Yacht Club primarily in the ILCA 6 and J/70 classes before heading north to Hobart and William Smith Colleges. There, she was a starting skipper on the varsity team and served as captain, leading her team both on and off the water.
Heather has spent summers coaching programs across the country, most recently in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts. Whether it’s race teams or learn-to-sail fleets, she loves helping sailors discover their confidence on the water. In summer 2025, Heather raced as part of a Lightning Class Boat Grant team, embracing the mix of competitive spirit and camaraderie that first drew her to the class. As both a coach and a competitor, she brings a genuine love of the sport.
Now based in Boston, Heather is eager to stay involved in the sailing community by sharing the stories, results, and programs that make the sport so dynamic. At S1D, she’ll focus on regatta write-ups, college sailing coverage, and highlighting unique sailing programs nationwide.
Anna comes from Wilmette, IL in the Chicago area, where she grew up sailing on Lake Michigan before going on to compete on the Hobart and William Smith Colleges sailing team for four years. Throughout and after college, she brought her passion for teamwork and competition to the Chicago Yacht Club and Vineyard Haven Yacht Club on Martha’s Vineyard, MA, where she coached youth sailing.
After graduating, Anna taught English in Vietnam and Spain, where she deepened her understanding of teaching and cross-cultural communication. She has since returned to coaching, now leading high school racers at Sheridan Shore Sailing School in Wilmette, IL. Anna loves helping sailors push their understanding of the sport and find ways to build a lifelong love of sailing.
With S1D, Anna is excited to contribute regatta write-ups, keep tabs on high school and college sailing, and shed light on international sailing opportunities. You can reach Anna at [email protected]
A lifelong sailor, Tom Sitzmann brings a broad range of sailing experience to Sail1Design. Along with extensive one-design and PHRF racing, he has coastal and blue water experience, cruising and racing along the coast of Maine, and now here in the Chesapeake Bay on the family J/120.
Also a lifelong educator, Tom has coached sailing and directed sailing programs from Maine to Annapolis, and was an assistant offshore & dinghy coach at the USNA, head intercollegiate coach at Bowdoin College, and more recently head coach at Severn School, where he guided the team to 3 National championships, the first and only Chesapeake Bay school ever to win the prestigious Mallory Trophy (twice), and the Baker Team Race National Championship
Tom’s offshore experience includes many distance races in New England, a transatlantic passage, a celestially-guided Marion-Bermuda Race, and most recently he brought his family to Bermuda aboard their J/122 Airwaves. Tom has a great deal of dinghy and PHRF racing experience, competing successfully in the Laser, J/24, and J/22, winning several regional and district championships in those classes, both in New England and the Mid-Atlantic. While in Maine Tom also won several PHRF regattas aboard his J/24 & J/33, and more recently in his J/120. Tom’s focus with Sail1Design is managing the Brokerage Marketplace, and Sail1Design’s Career Center & Job Board.
Tom started Sail1Design in 2007, seeking to supply the youth, high school, college, and one-design sailing communities with a grass-roots, community marketplace and job board. Almost seven years later, S1D has become sailings #1 career center and job board, it’s active marketplace now offers professional yacht brokerage along with by-owner classified ads. Additionally, Airwaves, an e-newsstand for sailors, was born and joined the Sail1Design team to provide sailing news and regatta results, and has four writers on staff. Sail1Design is the official job board for the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA), the Interscholastic Sailing Association (ISSA), and US Sailing.
