2024-2025 Officers
The elected officers of our Executive Board meet regularly to coordinate all team activities and support our sailors. If you’d like to connect with an officer, please contact us.
Alex Strassberg Alonso
Co-Captain
Undecided (PLSC/Econ) / 2028 / London, UK
Alex joined UChicago from the UK where he was sailing in the ILCA 6 and WASZP classes. Among his favourite sailing memories are coming 2nd at the Buckeye Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta as bowman and sailing the Aegean 600 offshore regatta on a VO65. The highlight of his sailing career was competing at two Youth European Championships in the ILCA 6 Class. Outside of sailing, Alex is also an active member of the fencing team.
Eliot Hack
Co-Captain
Biology / 2028 / Boston, MA
James Leavitt
Interim Practice Coordinator
Economics / 2027 / Falmouth, ME
James has been sailing since he was 8 years old and has been on the team for a year. He is super excited to have the chance to facilitate learning and fun within a sport he loves. James brings a lot of experience to the team, having raced in his local J/24 fleet the last couple of Summers and having raced competitively on C420s throughout high school.
Ethan Jick
Treasurer
Astrophysics & Economics / 2026 / St. Louis, MO
Ethan has been sailing for nearly a decade, and is currently the treasurer of the UChicago Sailing team. Outside of sailing, he is involved with the Institute of Politics. Ethan’s favorite sailing memory is of falling into frigid water at Purdue.
Kush Banker
Social and Recruitment Co-Chair
Physics & Math / 2026 / London, GB
I love being on the water, whether it’s sailing or SCUBA diving, or chilling on the beach. I have been sailing since high school and enjoy working on making this club feel like a team.
Max Naseef
Social and Recruitment Co-Chair
Biology Pre-Med / 2028 / NJ
Jem Klancnik
Alumni Relations and Fundraising Chair
Neuroscience Pre-Med / 2028 / Mamaroneck, NY
Jem has been sailing for nearly a decade and is currently the Alumni Relations and Fundraising Chair of the UChicago Sailing team. His favorite sailing memory is the Buckeye keel boat regatta where the team performed well in a diverse set of conditions. Outside of sailing he loves Soccer (Liverpool fan) and Formula One (Carlos Sainz fan).
Lucas Ribeiro
Logistics Chair
Economics & CEGU / 2027 / Reston, VA
Lucas joined the sailing team in Fall 2023. From the lake breeze, to that feeling when your sail fills and you start moving, to the thrill of the race, he fell in love with sailing from the first time he tried it! Outside of sailing, he also loves planning out travel logistics for everyone he knows, as well as biking, hiking, going down wikipedia rabbit holes, and more! His favorite sailing memory was crewing for last year’s captain Natalie during her last-ever college sailing race at the Northwestern Regatta in spring 2024!