Emilie is our Executive Director and Head Coach, and balances her JLRC work while also coaching at a local university, and serves as the Regatta Director for the Lake Wheeler Invitational. Emilie has extensive coaching experience at four collegiate programs and five non-profit rowing clubs. She has been a rowing coach for over a decade and is Level II certified by US Rowing.

Emilie is a master of logistical planning and has used those skills to run programing, coordinate teams, and run regattas. Emilie was a competitive collegiate rower, an honors student, and has degrees in Packaging (engineering) as well as a Masters of Arts in Sports Coaching. If you’re thinking we can’t believe how lucky we are to have Emilie as our Executive Director and Head Coach, we agree.

Spencer joined JLRC in the fall of 2023 and his dedication to making rowing accessible for all levels of rower has been evident from the beginning. In 2011, Spencer became a Rowing Instructor with the South Orlando Rowing Association where he coached, created training plans, and managed equipment.

An active Army reservist, Spencer joined Unity Boat Club(UBC), a program dedicated to unlocking potential through unity and inclusion in rowing, in 2019 as a Veteran Leader and went on to found the NC State Hub of UBC. He is the head coach for United States Special Operations Command’s rowing team and an advocate to ensure disabled military Veterans have access to adaptive sports programming. His passion for seeing rowers successful, his desire to instil a love of the sport of rowing, and his positive coaching style have made him an outstanding member of the staff.

The OG of the coaching staff, Lauren joined JLRC in 2019. Lauren began her rowing career with the North Carolina Rowing Center in Greensboro.

Lauren is currently studying Occupational Therapy at North Carolina State University. She is an experienced coach and her calm confidence, her ability to motivate, and her dedication to the next generation of rowers have helped to build JLRC into what it is today.

Steven joined the JLRC staff in the spring of 2024, bringing with him eleven years of rowing experience both as a rower and a coach. A US Rowing Level Two Certified Coach, Steven began rowing with Oxford’s Hertford College Boat Club while attending college in Oxford and competed in the Queen’s Jubliee regatta in Windsor. He then moved to Master’s Rowing with the Reading Racing Club before returning to Hertford College Boat Club, where he was elected President in 2015.

Steven moved to California in 2017 to continue work on his PhD. In 2019, Steven joined North Bay Rowing Club as Varsity Boys Coach, and continued to coach with them until his move to North Carolina in 2024.

Steven has been a valuable addition to our staff, bringing his wide range of knowledge and love of sport to each practice.