Boothbay Sea and Science Center (BSSC) President and Executive Director Pauline Dion has announced the hiring of education program director Anneliese, or Lili, pronounced Leelee, Pugh.

Dion said it’s a great move for the program. “We’re starting to pull our staff together, and Lili is our first part-time hire this year, other than seasonal hires. We’ll be working together throughout the year.”

Pugh earned her Bachelor of Arts in biology and German from Colby College in Waterville and a master of science in oceanography from the University of Maine. She worked as a principle instructor for two weeks at the center during the summer of 2017, teaching a marine technology and marine debris session.

Since then Dion and Pugh have stayed in touch, and when Dion mentioned to her that the center was thinking about hiring an education program director, Pugh knew it was time for a change.

Before coming to Boothbay Harbor, Pugh worked at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center https://dmc.umaine.edu/ in Walpole, where she was a coordinator of the education programs for K through 12. “What I’ve been doing for the last six years is creating programs for the Darling Center,” she said.

She’ll be doing something similar at the Sea and Science Center. “I’ll be helping the instructors all summer long, and helping get the staff get up to speed to be able to enrich the science and boating parts of the program.

“I see my role as being a support person for the staff as they go through the summer. Pauline is there every day, so I’ll also being supporting her. I’m kind of the bridge between Pauline and the staff and instructors, making sure that everything is running well, and that everybody is supporting everybody else.

“What the instructors want to teach is going to be communicated to everyone, and I’ll be supporting them in their development of programming. They’ll tell us what they want to teach, and we’ll make sure it works with our program, and we can execute it well.”

Pugh also worked at Massachusetts Audubon for seven years, heading up summer camp waterfront programs, year-round programs with school groups, and a coastal waterbird program.

Originally from Massachusetts, Pugh said she fell in love with Maine while attending New England Music Camp during three summers growing up.

The Boothbay Sea and Science Center (BSSC), launched in 2013, is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. Its mission is inspiring individuals to strengthen themselves and their community through the enjoyment of the sea.

Currently, the center employs 18, including five principle instructors who will come to teach for two-week sessions.

Dion said renovations are underway at the oceanside location at Ocean Point Marina in East Boothbay.

The center opens June 25. It will operate Monday through Friday, through Aug. 17. There will four two-week thematic sessions, and a fifth session called Women of the Sea Program, that will run from July 14 through July 28. The sea and science program is for 12 Maine high school girls, and will be in collaboration with Hurricane Island. “They will spend a week on Hurricane Island and a week on a boat,” Dion said. “It’s an exciting program.”

Visit Visit the center’s website for more information, and for applications to join the program this summer.