Paula Mann-Agnew – Executive Director

Paula Mann-Agnew, DA’s executive director, comes from a family culture defined by cultural pride and resilience. The child of a sharecropper and civil rights activist, she has built a career around various social justice initiatives and brings this experience to DA with the hope of making the organization synonymous with a collective striving for freedom. The story of the Amistad Africans and their resilience connects at a deep level with her vision for contemporary justice work: celebrate the victories and keep up the good fight, for the task requires both hope and perseverance.

Chris Menapace – Director of Education

As DA’s Director of Education, Chris Menapace develops and implements several types of virtual and in-person programming for both children and adults. He has always been interested in history that has a connection to social justice, and the Amistad story’s themes of dehumanization and resistance are as relevant today as they were in the nineteenth century. He loves helping students to comprehend how the history they are learning has directly impacted their world and what they hear in the news, and to understand the importance of being involved in their communities in pursuit of a better future.

Reeshemah Norfleet – Director of Community Initiatives

She has a multifaceted role which includes DA Education, Events Planner and Amistad Leadership Coordinator. Reeshemah describes herself as a servant leader always willing to help and serve her community. She has 8+ years working in the nonprofit sector. Her background includes Community Development, Training and Development, Theatre, and Human Resource Management. She feels that the story of the Amistad represents courage, bravery, and determination. She appreciates the Discovering Amistad mission: as she feels that it opens a way for individuals to have transparent conversations. “It’s a story that connects people from all walks of life. When we learn how to understand each other’s differences, we can then learn how to come together collectively and build a better world."

Victoria Meskill – Operations Administrative Manager

Victoria's role at Discovering Amistad helps hold the organization together as she maintains and organizes the day-to-day tasks involved with running a non-profit. She has 8 years non-profit admin and development experience, and she hopes to assist DA in growing as an organization. She has a BA in Theater Design and Management and plans to use her love of live entertainment and event management to spread the Amistad African story and what it means to the history of today. 

Andrew Coburn – Educator

Andrew Coburn is a public historian and third generation educator with a wide range of teaching experiences across multiple subjects and secondary grade levels in rural, urban, and suburban school districts across the state of Connecticut and in Delaware. He has always had a lifelong passion for history and teaching others. “I feel extremely privileged to be able to teach people about the important history of The Amistad and the many relevant connections to current social justice issues in our country today.”

Lauren English – Educator

Lauren English is both a passionate educator and people-oriented individual. Her love for teaching stems from her belief that everyone has the potential to learn and grow, and she looks forward to learning right along with each student on this journey!  With years of High School English education experience, Lauren is adept at fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment. Lauren is thrilled to be joining the Discovering Amistad Crew and looks forward to beginning this chapter at full sail!

Renee Gary – Educator

Renee Gary is an accomplished Educator, Diversity Trainer, and Public Health activist. She is compassionate about human rights. She is acknowledged as a community  leader and is committed to Equity in all its forms- especially Gender, Health, Education and Cultural. “What brings me to the Amistad is its mission.  The ship gives me a vehicle to promote social justice through a historical lens.”

Heidi Holmes – Educator

Heidi Holmes (she/her) is a Licensed Professional Counselor and has worked in the mental health field for over 10 years. Originally from Louisiana, Heidi recognizes the opportunity to use history as a tool for advocacy and worked part-time as a children’s tour guide in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Heidi relocated to Connecticut in 2021 and continues to advocate through various avenues for marginalized populations. “I hope by sharing the story of the Amistad I contribute to safeguarding a space for voices of the oppressed to be heard and promote growth in our communities.”

Mary Kay Rendock – Educator

Heidi Slaney – Educator

Heidi Slaney shares the story behind the Schooner Amistad with dockside visitors, highlighting both its history and its relevance to contemporary social justice efforts. A Connecticut native, her goal is to help people see the Amistad stories woven into the Connecticut landscape, from the New London harbor where the ship was first docked to Farmington, CT where the former captives worked the land to raise funds for their return to West Africa. As a musician interested in the strong black tradition within maritime folk music, and as an educator, she believes that knowledge is the first step toward making change, and she works to facilitate honest conversations that open up space for people to engage important discussions and questions for themselves.

Ariana Williams – Educator

Bruce Trammell, Sr. – Dockside Interpreter

Bruce Trammell, Sr. is by nature a storyteller. Over many years of work both in youth development and advocacy and as a life coach with a focus on fatherhood, he has learned that you have to know your subject and your audience to help them move past roadblocks, and he brings that experience to his work as an interpreter for DA. Bruce grew up in New Haven and has always been fascinated by the story of the Amistad, so it’s an exciting opportunity to be a part of its continuing story. His goal is for New Haveners to feel that their city is a part of American (and international) history – as the Amistad story is a Connecticut story.

Nicholas Alley – Captain of The Amistad

Nicholas Alley has been a licensed captain for close to 40 years, including billets on the sailing vessels Virginia , Harvey Gammage, Spirit of Massachusetts, Lettie G. Howard, and Pride of Baltimore II, and most recently as master of the schooner Brilliant at Mystic Seaport Museum. He brings extensive experience in sail training and education with organizations such as Outward Bound, the Sea Education Association, Ocean Classroom Foundation, New York’s South Street Seaport, and Boston’s New England Historic Seaport/Schools for Children.

Colleen Mason – Mate

As mate, Colleen brings the experiences of five years voyaging upon three oceans to Amistad. Her adventures on the water have included sail training around the Channel Islands of California, ocean research in the Caribbean and going far offshore to bring vessels to Bermuda, the Bahamas and St. Maarten. She finds meaning in her work by looking at the story behind the why. And to her, Amistad has a story that is very much worth telling. 

RJ Lavallee – Ship Manager

RJ Lavallee brings many years of seamanship to bear on his role as shipkeeper of the Schooner Amistad, working on all aspects of maintaining the vessel while there is no captain aboard. As an author of award-winning dramatic pieces, he sees everything as narrative – and he’s excited to work behind the scenes of DA’s effort to build exposure to the Amistad story through educational programming. This work is also an opportunity to dispel some of the false narratives surrounding the “whiteness” of the maritime industry, and to be involved with his love of sailing while contemplating what he can do to make a difference in his community.

Visit RJ’s Shipkeeper’s log here.

Rich Wall – Port Logistics Project Manager