ISHRA Board Member Bios

Laurence Bussey

‘Laury”, as he is usually known by, has been integrated with the Isles of Shoals for nearly seven decades.  From handling lines as a mate on the steamship Kiboko in the fifties, marrying Nancy in the chapel on the hill, and a ‘plank-owner’ of ISHRA when originally organized by Dr. Bob Tuttle, Laury is a past president of the organization, has authored two Shoals publications, lectures on Shoals history, is proud of children and grandchildren who have served as Pels, and continues to be a strong advocate for ‘all things Shoals’!

Jim Cerny
Jim is a retiree in New Castle spending much time on digital photography, town history, local journalism projects, and collecting slide rules. His working background was in IT support and, long-ago, he was a cartographer.

Kipp Freeman
Kipp is a recent ISHRA board member. Her affinity to the Isles of Shoals began in the spring of 1973 with a marine biology course she took at the Shoals Marine Lab while studying at Union College. She is a retired middle school math/science teacher but continues her love of teaching in the UNH Marine Docent Program as a volunteer educator. Kipp lives in Strafford, N.H., on beautiful Bow Lake with her husband Bruce.

Alice Gordan
Alice is a longtime ISHRA member, having one of the best attendance records at spring and fall conferences. She served ISHRA for many years as secretary, and recently returned to the board. Alice is a retired librarian and enjoys researching the history of the Isles of Shoals. Her findings often evolve into articles for the ISHRA newsletter, including her most recent work locating Miss Underhill's grave in Chester, N.H. Alice lives in Manchester, N.H. with her husband Victor.

Ellen Koenig
Ellen has been visiting the Isles of Shoals with her family for over 35 years and has been fascinated with its architecture, history and culture. She serves as an ISHRA docent and has chaired several of the ISHRA history conferences on Star Island. Ellen has worked in the New Hampshire nonprofit sector for her entire career and lives in Concord, N.H. with her family and rescue dog, Yuki, who rules the roost.

Mark Lechner
Mark has been visiting the Isles of Shoals and has been a member of ISHRA since moving to Kittery in 2010. He immediately fell in love with the magical islands and their history. He became involved with ISHRA as a history docent and has been coordinating the docent program for several years. In addition, he is a member of the ISHRA board, serving as treasurer and now president. Mark is a captain for American Airlines flying the Boeing 777 internationally, as well as being a captain for the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company.

Joel Plagenz
Joel is a nonprofit communications director who first visited the Shoals as a teenage lighthouse enthusiast. He returned years later to attend the first ISHRA June conference, which began just a few days after he moved to the Seacoast – and which just happened to be about lighthouses.

Amy Richards
Amy has been on the ISHRA board for several years, starting as secretary then vice president. She is currently the treasurer. She lives in Kittery Point and very much enjoys looking out at the islands while on a walk or run. She is also a UNH marine docent as well as an ISHRA history docent. She loves sharing her knowledge about the cultural, historical and natural history of this area.

Jean Stefanik
Jean began visiting the Shoals in the 1980s on scuba diving trips and attending natural history conferences in the early 1990s. She is a longtime member of ISHRA and served on the board in its early years, as well as now. Jean has chaired and attended fall and spring ISHRA conferences, designed the grant program, and been involved with chair caning and kayak acquisitions on Star. A longtime Smuttynose steward, she has also volunteered for many years on Star Island, serving as a corporation member and on both the marine lab and property standards committees. She lives in Manchester, N.H. and loves nature and traveling.

Jen Anderson
Jen grew up on the coast of Southern Maine and has always had a deep love of history, including the maritime lore of the Seacoast region. After receiving a BA in history, Jen pivoted and pursued a career in environmental sustainability, and remains interested in the connectivity of the two. Jen enjoys spending time outdoors on the water and in the woods, and lives in York with her family.

Linda Benton
Linda moved to Portsmouth in 2008 because of her love for the ocean, the city and the history. When she stopped working she became a UNH marine docent. Through docents she started doing tours on Appledore and found out more about Star Island and ISHRA. She soon joined ISHRA doing the tours on Star and later going out pre-season to cane the rocking chairs on Star’s porch. In May and June you can find her counting horseshoe crabs for UNH researchers. Linda is also a member of Seacoast Village project and drives seniors who can no longer drive themselves to appointments and errands. Linda is new to the ISHRA board and is helping to grow and keep our membership aware of what ISHRA has to offer.

Bjorn Swenson
After many daytrips to Star Island as a child, one of Bjorn’s first summer jobs was as a deckhand for the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company. He received his bachelor’s degree in History from Bowdoin College, and was formerly Manager of Education for Greater Portland Landmarks. He has been a docent for several historic sites, including the Wadsworth-Longfellow House in Portland, Maine and the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion in Portsmouth. His full-time job is in medical sales for Johnson & Johnson.