board bios

Cal Pifer

Cal has been sailing on ASTA member vessels since he was sixteen. He has served as crew on Niagara, Elissa, Providence, Bounty, and Concordia. Additionally, he spent two seasons with Thompson Island Outward Bound as a Lead Sailing Instructor. He also spent a short stint teaching for an Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound (ELOB) middle school in Boston.

Passionate about experiential education, Cal has spent the last five years working with various groups to bring progressive education reform to the traditional classroom. In addition to presenting at numerous education conferences, he has served on various committees and capacities for the Coalition of Essential Schools in San Francisco, the National Service Learning Partnership in Washington and the Kellogg Foundation in Detroit.

A true believer in the power of sail training for young people, Cal attributes much of his success in high school and college to his time spent crewing on tall ships. This fall he will bring that experience to more young people as the Shipboard Director onboard the Frederyk Chopin – Class Afloat’s Gap Year vessel.