About Us
The Egan Maritime Institute is Nantucket Island's only non-profit organization devoted exclusively to celebrating Nantucket's seafaring heritage. The organization was the vision of Albert F. "Bud" Egan, Jr., owner and operator of Marine Home Center for more than 40 years. After negotiating a long-term lease for the historic Coffin School from the Coffin School Trustees, Egan invested heavily in the internal infrastructure of the building to ensure that it could be a public building, one that Nantucketers and visitors could use and enjoy seeing his collection of maritime art and artifacts. In addition, Mill Hill Press, the book publishing company launched by Egan in the 1980s, became a focus of his and Nathaniel Philbrick, a nationally acclaimed author, was installed as the founding director in 1996.
Following Mr. Egan's passing in 2000 and the sale of his business, the EMI Board of Trustees began negotiations to acquire the former Nantucket Life-Saving Museum, which it now owns and operates as the Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum. Mill Hill Press continues to publish one, perhaps two, books each year and makes its publications available for sale through this website and Nantucket bookstores.
The Egan Maritime Institute is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees who meet throughout each year to set policy and oversee the legacy of Bud Egan and his wife, Dorothy Harrison Egan.
Egan Maritime Institute Board of Trustees
Officers
Robert A. Egan, President and Treasurer
Peter E. Hoey, Vice President
Jessie M. Glidden, Secretary
Charles M. Geschke
Jean H. Grimmer
Joseph Hale, Jr.
Eric S. Holch
Bruce D. Miller
Allen B. Reinhard, President NSLM Advisory Board
Donald B. Shackelford
Stephanie Bredin Speakman
Trustee Emeritus
Robert M. Rosenthal
Mission
The mission of the Egan Maritime Institute and its affiliates is to advance the appreciation, documentation, preservation, and study of art, history, literature, architecture, and traditions of Nantucket, all of which are shaped by the maritime character of people who live by the sea - for within these people lies, in great part, the story of America.
Vision Statement
A healthy and vigorous future for Nantucket
through widespread understanding of, and deep respect for, the island’s rich heritage.
The Staff
Executive Director, Jean Grimmer joined the Egan Maritime Institute in 2004. Prior to that she served as the Associate Director and Director of Development for the Nantucket Historical Association for six years and managed the Capital Campaign to restore the Whaling Museum and Research Library on Fair Street in Nantucket Town. Jean was educated in Great Britain and graduated from Stover School for Girls and the College of Commerce in Bristol, England. She has held senior management positions at the Capital District of upstate New York’s PBS affiliate and at Emma Willard School in Troy, New York. Jean has been visiting Nantucket since 1974 and, with her husband, Garth, became a full-time resident in 1998.
Lisa McCandless, Assistant Director/Curator, joined the Egan Maritime Institute in December 2009. She has been coming to Nantucket since she was a young girl and has lived on the island off and on for the last 28 years. Having taught school at the Children's House of Nantucket and at Nantucket Elementary School, she also worked for an educational search firm on the island and held the position of Human Resources Manager for both the Nantucket Bank and Marine Home Center, respectively. A past columnist for the Inquirer & Mirror, she is the author of the children's picture book, Island Child, under the pen name Wallis, which memorializes all the wonderful times spent with her sisters on the island as children. Her own island children, Andrew and Tori, grew up on Nantucket.
Richard Duncan, Editor of Mill Hill Press, has been a summer resident of Nantucket since 1981, and a full-time ‘Sconseter since 2000. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he served in the U.S. Navy as Gunnery Officer on a destroyer before going on to study journalism and international relations at Columbia University. He initially worked for the Associated Press and then joined Time-Life News Service as a correspondent, then Chief of Correspondents, Assistant Managing Editor and finally Executive Editor of TIME. He edited several books published by TIME during that period and also oversaw the development of TIME.com and other online sites for Time, Inc. Since retiring to Nantucket he has edited “Voices of the Village,” an oral history of Siasconset by Nancy Newhouse, and serves on the board of the Mill Hill Press.
Samantha Stillings, Administrative and Production Assistant.
Samantha, aka Sam, joined the Egan Maritime Institute in October 2010. Her undergraduate training was in business, followed by seven years working as an administrator managing a business, including ordering and marketing. In addition, she spent two years in the Navy Marine Corps Intranet as an administrative assistant, providing document management support for 30-plus technicians. Sam brings to EMI excellent computer skills and a practical knowledge of social media software.
Finding the Coffin School
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While the Coffin School is no longer open to the public on a daily basis, it is open for the various programs hosted in the Main Hall. For details, please refer to the Calendar of Events on this website.
The Administrative staff of the Egan Maritime Institute works on the main floor, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. They can be reached at 508-228-2505. Fax: 508-228-7069 or egan@eganmaritime.org.
News
Events
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