OUR STAFF

The good news continues! In addition to seven returning staff, the Community Sailing School @ Pistakee has hired several new highly-energetic, competent and enthusiastic instructors for our 2025 season. We are confident that they will do an awesome job teaching our students. Tristan will continue as our Senior Program Director. Mackenzie and Reid are our two head Instructors, with Reid being promoted to a head instructor position this year. Max, Scirys, Lilly, Mary, and Liam are also back for another year. Our three newcomers are Quinn, Cole and Lilah that will round out our team of illustrious instructors. We also have our first official Social Media Coordinator with us this year. Her name is Braelyn Smith.

We welcome everyone! We are so glad to have them on board! They are a fun-loving, competent and caring group! Many have earned their US Sailing Small Boat Level 1 Certification. Several have also completed a specialized Adaptive Sailing Instructor Training course, and Braelyn will be studying the field of Social Media Marketing this fall. Please stay tuned for more pictures and bios of this year's newcomers.

Tristan Kraft - Senior Program Director

Tristan is our Senior Program Director. He is a US Sailing Level 1 certified instructor. Our sailing school has flourished under his leadership. Growing up on the lower Fox River, water skiing has always been his primary choice of activity. However, in recent years he has been participating in the C Scow Sunday race series at the Pistakee Yacht Club. Tristan's passion for sailing has grown exponentially over the years. He also loves helping other people discover their passions and develop new skills. His on-the water experiences and his classroom responsibilities as a sailing instructor have and will continue to benefit our students.

Mackenzie Winkiel - Head Instructor

Mackenzie is a certified US Sailing Level 1 sailing and windsurfing instructor. She has been teaching sailing since 2015. She has raced Class 420’s and C Scows. She also likes to paddle board on no wind days. Mackenzie graduated from Saint Louis University last May, and plans to get her Doctorate in Physical Therapy.

Reid Deniston - Head Instructor

Reid has been with the sailing school since he was seven. He has progressed from a student to a volunteer instructor last year. This year he is a Junior Instructor. He received his US Sailing Level 1 certification in May 2024, and is now one of our head instructors. Reid loves the water and loves to use sailing as an activity during the summer. It is a unique skill to know. It’s like riding a bike, once you know how to sail you’ll never forget. Reid loves to teach kids how to sail and to fall in love with it, as he has since he was seven. Reid goes to Grayslake Central High school. He plays on their freshman baseball team. He doesn’t let sports get in the way of his academics, although he is in many advanced classes and wants to go into engineering. Some advice Reid would like to share with his students is to always ask questions. Questions will let your instructors know how to help you grow. Reid is excited to be an instructor this year. He can’t wait to help the kids have a fun summer!

Scirys Burnell - Instructor

, I have been sailing for a little over ten years now, seven of which I spent at our sailing school. In light of the Covid pandemic, the last several years I did not get to join the sailing school over the summer. However, I still spent as much time sailing as I could. During that down time I took my boat out on the Bay countless times, rented a Hobie Cat down in Florida and sailed on the ocean, and went windsurfing in Mexico. This will be my first year instructing, although I have been through the sailing school's Instructor Training course twice and have taught a few people before. I enjoy sailing because of how fun, exciting, and relaxing it can be. I have always wanted to be a sailing instructor ever since I was young, so I could share and teach the things I love so much to new people. Outside of sailing I enjoy playing guitar, teaching myself the drums, running on the Johnsburg High School track team and working on cars. Some interesting sailing-related things I've gotten to do are race Open Bic's, 420's and C Scows. One major piece of advice I have for sailing is to watch your head. You will hit your head on the boom at some point. I am glad to be a part of the instructor team and hope to pass on any knowledge I can, and learn more in the process.

Max Mazzocco - Instructor

Max is one of our lead instructors. He started at the sailing school as a volunteer in 2021, and continued with his professional development by completing our Instructor Training course. He has been sailing at the sailing school since he was eight years old. He has loved every minute of it. Max also grew up on Bangs Lake in Wauconda. He really enjoys sailing a variety of sailboats because he likes to be challenged with new sailing experiences. Max loved volunteering during last year’s summer and is now back as a Junior Instructor. He really enjoys teaching the students and watching their sailing skills progress over time. During his spare time, Max is a sportsman who loves spending time hunting and fishing. He has a younger brother who has attended the sailing school and can never wait for the next summer to come around!

Lilly Treutelaar - Instructor

Lilly has been sailing since she was five years old at the Pistakee Yacht Club, and has been back most summers since. This is her second year as a sailing school instructor. She enjoys sailing because it gives her a sense of calmness in the summer. It is something she always looks forward to doing. Being a sailing instructor is so important to Lilly because her sailing instructors have had such an impact on her. She wants to provide that same kind of inspiration when teaching her students how to sail. Lilly is on the track team and volleyball team at Libertyville High School. She also plays travel volleyball. She spends most of her winters skiing in the backcountry in Colorado. Something she wants all of her students to know is that when they are on the water, soak it all in, because the moment the summer is over, all you will want to do is be on a sailboat again.

Mary Ross - Instructor

Mary is a junior at Jacob’s High School. She enjoys sailing on the weekends with her family and having fun out on the water. She volunteers for adaptive PE at Jacob’s, and is also one of our Adaptive Sailing instructors. Mary received her US Sailing Level 1 certification in May 2024, and thrilled to be an instructor again this year! Mary has been sailing for many years now and can’t wait to pass her knowledge of sailing on to other generations!