Steve Sharpe is a retired Commander from the U.S, Coast Guard, having served in the Coast Guard for 23 years of Active Duty. His 6 years at-sea duty as Engineer Officer and Division Officer involved search and rescue, drug interdiction, migrant interdiction, and fisheries oversight missions. Ashore he performed design review and onboard inspection of commercial vessels ranging from large tankers, to overseas offshore oil rigs, and down to Chesapeake Bay Mom-and-Pop charter boats. As a civilian, he is currently the Coast Guard’s Chief Engineer for Auxiliary Machinery for Coast Guard Cutters and Boats in Curtis Bay, MD. Steve has a BSE in Civil Engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, an MSE in Mechanical Engineering and an MSE in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Michigan, and a Masters level Certificate in Engineering Management from University of Maryland, University College. He obtained a Professional Engineering License in the State of New York and is a past member of the Committee on Marine Structures of the National Academy of Science. In interdicting Haitian migrants from ramshackle overcrowded boats and visiting Egypt and Cameroon to inspect US flag vessels stationed there, Steve encountered third world poverty and its impact on children. Coast Guard Search and Rescue service showed him the impact of assisting those who are “in extremis”, those that generally can take care of themselves but temporarily need a life ring to help keep them afloat. In 2012 he visited Wamunyu, Kenya with a Kenya Connect and St. John’s Episcopal Church sponsored team and found self-driven people who just need a little support from the outside to improve their lives. Kenya Connect’s “life rings” help provide basic sanitation and medical services to keep the kids in school and provides additional basic educational materials and services not otherwise available in the public schools.
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