Beaufort Waterfront Operations and Finance Committee Member Bios
Chair: Commissioner Sarah Spiegler is the chair of the Beaufort Waterfront Operations and Finance Committee (BWOFC). Sarah worked at the Beaufort town docks for almost ten years for two different ecotourism businesses (Lookout Cruises and Beaufort Inlet Watersports) from 2013-2022. Sarah has her US Coast Guard OUPV boating license and American Canoe Association kayak and stand-up paddleboard instructor certifications and has also worked on a tall ship in New Zealand. Sarah has extensive experience in facilitation, planning, project management, communication, and outreach as the coastal resilience specialist at NC State University and NC Sea Grant in Morehead City. In this role, she has secured and administered research grants ranging in amounts up to $460,000 and has also served as a grant reviewer for regional, state, and national programs. Sarah recently worked with the Town of Beaufort staff to secure a $100,000 grant from the NC Division of Coastal Management to update the Town’s Unified Development Ordinance. Sarah was previously a member of the Beaufort Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and was elected to serve as a Beaufort Board of Commissioner in 2023.
Vice Chair: Commissioner Paula Gillikin is the vice chair of the BWOFC. She grew up in a commercial fishing family on the North River in Beaufort and has decades of experience with various types of marine operations. She has worked as a nature reserve manager and boat captain for the N.C. Division of Coastal Management, Department of Environmental Quality for 17 years and is the Division’s technical expert on marine debris and abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs). Paula has years of experience with facilitation, conflict resolution, and project management and she has secured millions of dollars of grant funding for marine debris and ADV removal (including Beaufort Harbor), habitat restoration, and community projects. Paula has served on the Town's Planning Board and was elected to serve as a Beaufort Board of Commissioner in 2023.
Barry Slade recently retired from a 35-year marine and marina industry career, including years with major luxury boat manufacturers, including Hatteras Yachts, Azimut Yachts, and Sea Ray Boats. Recent years were focused on marina management and development, and nationwide marina slip management for Freedom Boat Club. This role included developing strong relationships with major US marina ownership and management groups. Barry was involved in several coastal marina infrastructure improvement projects and is familiar with the processes involved in both upland and in-water marina redevelopment.
Becky Newton Bowler is serving her second term on the Town of Beaufort Planning Board and was a member of the Town's Harbor and Waterways Advisory Committee (HWAC) in 2021 and 2022. Becky has 20+ years experience in the investment management sector including evaluating partnership and funding opportunities and business development.
Craig Souza served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association for 40 years. Craig was a member of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors for over 15 years, including four years as the Vice-Chair, and the East Carolina University Board of Trustees for eight years, including two years as the Chair. Other leadership positions include the NC Institute of Political Leadership, NC Center for Public Policy Research, NC Institute of Medicine, American Society of Association Executives, and American Health Care Association. Craig was also a small business owner in Raleigh for almost 15 years.
Dexter Mathews retired in 2014 after 30 years with the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources, now the Department of Environmental Quality, as director of the Division of Waste Management (state and federal programs included hazardous waste, solid waste, brownfield redevelopment, superfund, and underground storage tanks). In that role, he managed a budget of $85 million that included state appropriations, federal and state grants, and state fees. He represented the division before committees of the NC General Assembly, drafted bills, and served on study committees. For the past 10 years (retiring at the end of 2024), he has been in the role of Vice President of Government Relations and Environmental Affairs for Liberty Tire Recycling, the largest waste tire collector and recycling company in North America. In that role, he has drafted legislation for introduction in states across the U.S., testified before state legislative committees, and managed lobbyists in states across the U.S. and in Congress for matters regarding policy and funding of interest to the company.
Mike Bradley has long been involved with the Town of Beaufort and waterfront including as a downtown waterfront owner (1977 - 2013); Duke Marine Lab (DUML) employee (1972 - 1987); Director, NC Marine Crescent - Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation (1989 - 1992); Director, NC Boating Industry (Marine Trades) Services (1992 - 2014 with Beaufort as HQ office for 10 years); and President, MB Connects, Inc. consulting firm (2013 - 2024). As a waterfront owner, he permitted and built four deep-water slips in downtown Beaufort. As a DUML employee, he managed CAMA, USCG, NC Wildlife, NOAA, US Army Corps of Engineers, Carteret County, and Town of Beaufort issues related to waterfront and boating interactions and was a part of the research team that secured the funding for the Rachel Carson Reserve. He has also worked with county officials and boating industry representatives to identify, qualify, and network the boating industry businesses including marinas, boat builders, and boating services. As a consultant, he has worked on waterfront permitting, construction, stormwater management, CAMA (22 counties) regulations, statewide OSHA safety regs, and a range of small business issues, as well as provided NC industry data for the annual publication of the NC Wildlife’s Coastal Boating Guide of over 150 coastal marinas and their services.
Miriam Sutton is the owner/director of Science by the Sea®, which is a 501c3 non-profit organization providing educational support to Academic and General Audiences while assisting Research Institutions with broader impacts through Education, Communication, and Outreach. During Miriam’s 25-year tenure with the Carteret County Public School system, she procured 50 grants totaling over $85,000. Miriam is a licensed boat captain and provides eco-tours in the Rachel Carson Estuarine Research Reserve and along the Beaufort Waterfront, focusing on adult education of the estuarine ecosystem and the maritime history of the region. Miriam previously served on the Beaufort Harbor and Waterways Committee.
Ted Morris, PhD professional career encompasses more than 30 years of place-making community and economic development across Eastern North Carolina. Ted has experience in natural resource management and the built environment, as well as the development of local economic ecosystems. Ted’s past roles as a banking analyst, commercial lender, venture capitalist, real estate broker, and public sector developer have resulted in more than $50,000,000 in competitive federal, state, foundation, and private sector grants/resources secured and administered. Additionally, Ted has served as a grant reviewer at the regional, state, and national levels. Ted and his teams have been recognized with 10 national professional awards for innovative and impactful public/private partnerships, and his professional service has spanned local to international organizations.
Vic Fasolino is a mechanical engineer by education, followed with a career in residential and light commercial construction for over 40 years, mostly houses and stores. Vic has organized several multi-house building sites for the Jimmy Carter Work Project for Habitat for Humanity and was the volunteer general contractor for the Bonehenge Whale Center in Beaufort. Vic has served on the Beaufort Historic Preservation Commission, the Beaufort Business Association, the Beaufort HWAC, and is currently a member of the Beaufort Planning Board. Vic will serve to provide insight and integration across the Town’s waterfront improvement project and the current update of the Town’s Unified Development Ordinance.
Weymouth Tillett attended UNC-Chapel Hill, Naval ROTC, and four years of follow-on active duty in the U.S. Navy (Deck Officer, Navigation Officer). Weymouth is a credentialed U.S. Coast Guard Able Seaman (expired). Weymouth is a one-design sailboat racing enthusiast and has 10 years of full-time, live-aboard sailboat cruising experience, which includes the customer’s perspective with marinas and fueling operations up and down the Eastern Seaboard. For eight years, Weymouth was employed seasonally by the Beaufort Docks (Beaufort Waterfront Enterprises Inc. and Atlantic Fuelco) and also has experience from the marina operator’s point of view (administration, customer service, docking in difficult current and wind conditions, line handling, fueling, storm preparation, and recovery, etc). Weymouth previously served three years on the Beaufort Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.
Steve Bishop brings his background as a successful entrepreneur, hotelier, and seasoned maritime professional to the Beaufort Waterfront Operations and Finance Committee. Steve’s love for sailing enticed him to sell his Rocky Mount manufacturing business in 1994. He moved to Beaufort where he started Lookout Cruises and operated this business for nearly three decades. Steve also owned and operated Island Ferry Adventures, a Shackleford Banks ferry service, until the Park Service awarded a contract to one concessionaire in 2013. Both businesses still operate on the Beaufort waterfront. Steve was captain of the nationally ranked Citadel sailing team and Commodore of the Citadel Yacht Club. He holds a 100-ton Master US Coast Guard license and has delivered countless boats up and down the eastern seaboard, providing him with an in-depth understanding of both public and private marine facilities. Steve has been deeply involved in the local business community serving on the Friends of the NC Maritime Museum Board and the Harbor and Waterways Advisory Committee.