Erin Schoenlein

Secretary

Erin has lived with MS for over 25 years. She was diagnosed with MS 18 months after an episode of optic neuritis her sophomore year in highschool. With a B.A in accounting and M.A. in teaching she has been a Math educator in both private and public middle schools as well as a tenured professor at Clark College.

In 2017 she resigned from her full time job at Clark and is now on permanent disability due to both physical and cognitive disability. Whether she is physically at her best or in the midst of a relapse, she finds staying active and helping others rejuvenating and healing.

That makes being the secretary for Sail MS an exciting space for her. She admits she has a lot to learn both about sailing and volunteering for a non-profit, but is honored to be onboard. Erin lives in Vancouver, WA with her husband and two teenagers.

Lauren Breault

Treasurer

Lauren Breault was one of the very first Sail MS participants, a board member and an active Sail MS volunteer. Experienced Vice President with 20 years in retail banking, sales, community involvement and continually dreaming like a kid.

Driven by a strong passion for fishing and adventure Lauren grew up in Westford, Massachusetts, lived in Nashua, NH and drove cross-country to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2008. Multiple Sclerosis first became an important cause near and dear to her heart when her father was diagnosed. Lauren herself discovered she was living with Multiple Sclerosis in 2018.

The new life adjusting to living with Multiple Sclerosis knocked her off of her feet until she was able to stand on solid ground and make the diagnosis have purpose by supporting others living with MS. MS is a very unpredictable disease and Lauren is committed to empowering those living with MS to “Take the Helm” and “Take Charge of Your Life”.

Lauren is a loving mom, an avid fisherwomen, ocean advocate, novice sailor and no stranger to being out on the water. She currently works in Petaluma, CA at a Community Bank and resides in Rohnert Park, CA with her wife Chris and aspiring sailor son Harvey Walter.

Francisco Ramos

Media Director

Francisco Ramos is a native of San Francisco and diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in March 2014. Having been first diagnosed as having a stroke due to an attack that left him without the ability to walk or talk, Cisco as he goes by, has really fought his way through the fire living with MS.

On Christmas 2013, Cisco decided to become sober and deal with his health challenges head on in sobriety.

He remains dedicated to a sober lifestyle until today. After being in early retirement due to disability for around five years, Cisco really needed a new mission in life. Calling the founder of Sail MS on the phone didn’t seem like a life changing decision at the time for him.

But since that first call, Cisco is now considered a co-founder of Sail MS, Media Director, and goes sailing with us MSers every week.

Pamela Swing

Outreach Director

Pam was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis in February 2020, right as the world shut down with COVID.

Her initial disease progression was rapid, but thankfully has now been stable. She relies on a fleet of mobility aides depending on her fatigue (crutch, rollator, scooter, power chair).

With a master’s degree in biology from Baylor University where she studied fire ecology, she’s thrilled to have sailing as a sport that reconnects her with nature. Sailing attracts proactive and fun people, and it’s made Sail MS her favorite defacto support group.

Pam is a participant in the ongoing Fentrepid clinical trial. She lives in Redwood City with her husband and two kids (11 and 13yrs old).

Jerome Pinsonnault

Director of Governance

Jérôme Pinsonnault is a French Canadian living in Montréal, Canada. He is an aerospace engineer and was diagnosed with MS in 2007.

The following few years were quite challenging between a stimulating and demanding professional life, a growing family with 2 fantastic sons and wonderful love, and a quite active and destabilizing MS.

At one point, the mix became too much, forcing him to pause and reassess personal goals. It is at that time that he decided to embark in the Oceans of Hope circumnavigation, where he did the leg from Charleston to Fort Lauderdale.

It was an extraordinary experience that transformed his view of life. This experience led to other great adventures with Oceans of Hope in Denmark, in Croatia and in Turkey. Since then, he continues to challenge himself in the mountains with his sons, with skis and with his bike.

In 2021 he was introduced to SAIL MS. After sailing on the first overnight sailing and the first coastal sailing trips with the organization, he accepted to join the board to put to contribution his projects and governance skills to the profit of the organization.

Sailing has given him so much and he is eager to share the opportunity with others living with MS to also benefit from it.