Our Team

From Hanover, Germany, Lena’s sailing background spans Olympic classes including the Laser Radial, 49er FX, and Nacra 17, along with shorthanded offshore sailing and navigation on a ClubSwan 50. Currently racing Formula 18 and A-Class catamarans, Lena brings high-level catamaran expertise to the team. Off the water, she works in leadership coaching and serves as Mentoring Lead for the Magenta Project, combining her passion for developing sailors with her professional skills in team development.

Kat grew up sailing around the Stockholm archipelago with her family. After buying her first boat in her late twenties, she progressed from match racing to fleet racing and eventually offshore racing, including sailing the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race during a career break. Kat specializes in big offshore races and shorthanded racing, while also competing in J70s and ice yachting with a DN ice yacht. She serves on the offshore committee of the Royal Swedish Yacht Club and as a mentor representative for the Magenta Project. Off the water, she’s Head of Project Management Office in banking and part of the management team for a credit company.

Aishwarya (Aish) started sailing in India and has competed across multiple dinghy and high-performance classes including Optimist, Laser, 420, 470, 29er, J24, J80, and 49er FX. She represented India internationally, earning an Asian Games medal as part of India’s first women’s sailing team to reach the podium and competing at Junior World Championships. Currently as the full-time Head Coach at Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Aish leads high-performance programs and develops sailors across multiple classes.

Maya grew up sailing in Monterey, California, and has competed nationally in Shields, Lightning, Ultimate 20s, and Santa Cruz 27 classes. An accomplished offshore sailor, Maya has navigated the Newport Bermuda race and Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race. She was watch captain and onboard coach for Team Bitter End, the youngest all-female team to compete in the Newport Bermuda race, and skippered Leading the Change!, an all-female campaign for the Annapolis to Newport race. Off the water, she’s Manager of Operations at the Collaborative for Right Relations, working with Indigenous groups and non-Native organizations on environmental conservation and sustainable development.

Julia Jaynes has been sailing since age 13, learning in Naples Sabots on Alamitos Bay before progressing through FJs and 420s to captain the Long Beach State college sailing team leading them to a nationals appearance in 2019. In 2024, she captured the Tasar North American title, and in 2025 completed Transpac on an SC52. Julia recently received the 2026 David Storrs Match Racing grant from US Sailing. When not sailing, she works as the North American Sustainability Data Lead for Honda, combining her professional expertise in data analysis with her passion for high-performance sailing.

Emma grew up racing dinghies on Long Island Sound and was a competitive member of the University of Vermont Sailing Team, competing in two ICSA Women’s National Finals . While experienced in both inshore and offshore sailing, she has focused on offshore racing since college, competing in the Newport to Bermuda, Marblehead to Halifax, and Chicago to Mackinac Island races. She also helped run Leading the Change, an all-female campaign for the Annapolis to Newport Race. Emma currently works as an Environmental Analyst for the Lake Champlain Basin Program and serves as Assistant Coach for the University of Vermont Sailing team.

Born in Überlingen, Germany, Alex started in dinghy sailing in the Optimist, 420, and 470 classes as a member of the German National Team before transitioning to keelboat racing. Alexandra has competed in J/70s in the German Sailing National League and Sailing Champions League, and has raced professionally in the ClubSwan 36 and Cape 31 classes. Off the water, she’s a medical doctor currently in residency for visceral surgery and training to become an emergency doctor, bringing her focus and precision from medicine to the racecourse.

Originally from Kentucky and currently living in Washington D.C. on her SV L’uomo del Faro, Megan joins Team Aurora’s as part of the shore support team, applying her program management, fundraising, and storytelling for social impact skills to help the team run a successful campaign. Megan came to sailing later in life, proving you do not have to grow up in the sport to be successful in it. In 2019, she was part of an expeditionary team that sailed the first historic tall ship SV Tecla through the Northwest Passage. She is currently focused on competitive offshore racing and is a 2026 Magenta Project mentee in the offshore pathway.