Wendy Schmidt is a philanthropist and investor who has spent the past 14 years creating innovative non-profit organizations to address challenges facing communities around the world, working for clean, renewable energy, healthy food systems, healthy oceans and the protection of human rights. The critical interconnections between human activity, the land we live on and the ocean we depend upon are the central drivers of Wendy’s philanthropic work.

Wendy is president of The Schmidt Family Foundation, which she co-founded with her husband Eric in 2006. She leads the foundation’s two grant-making and investment programs—The 11th Hour Project, which works to create a just world where all people have access to renewable energy, clean air and water and healthy food, and Schmidt Marine Technology Partners, which invests in the development of promising technologies that solve complex ocean health issues and have strong commercialization potential.

Wendy and Eric also co-founded Schmidt Ocean Institute in 2009 to advance oceanographic research through the development of innovative technologies, open sharing of information and broad communication about ocean health. The institute operates Falkor—the only year-round, seagoing philanthropic research vessel in the world—and a 4500m remotely operated underwater robotic vehicle, SuBastian. Both are made available to the international science community at no cost.

A competitive sailor, Wendy has extended her oceans-focused work to the sporting world through 11th Hour Racing, an organization she co-founded in 2010 to work with the sailing community and maritime industry to advance solutions and sustainability practices that protect and restore the health of the Ocean. Wendy also founded ReMain Nantucket and ReMain Ventures, two charitable and entrepreneurial organizations that support the economic, social and environmental vitality of downtown Nantucket.

In 2017, Wendy and Eric co-founded Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative that finds exceptional people and helps them do more for others together while promoting innovative approaches to problem solving across disciplines.

In the fall of 2019, Wendy and Eric announced a $1 billion philanthropic commitment for their organizations and initiatives to identify and support talent across disciplines and around the world to serve others and work to solve the world’s most pressing problems. 

Cecil Barron Jensen moved to Nantucket in 1996 looking for a vibrant, tight-knit community. In the years since, Cecil’s career has focused on public relations, community development, fundraising, and strategic planning for some of the Island’s preeminent nonprofits. Cecil became the Executive Director of ReMain Nantucket and ReMain Ventures in 2018.

In addition to her experience in leading dynamic organizations, Cecil has a deep understanding of how cultural organizations contribute to the vitality of downtown Nantucket and the experience to drive ReMain’s mission forward to advance its economic, social, and environmental priorities. A past board member of several Nantucket nonprofits, Cecil is a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. 

Rachel Hobart has been a summer resident of Nantucket since 1968, and moved permanently to the Island in 1987 in order to practice law. She took a break from her practice to raise her three children, and was a partner in the opening of Fahey and Fromagerie, a gourmet wine and food store. In that time, she also served as Vice President of the Nantucket New School. Rachel started with ReMain in May of 2008 as its Project Manager.

Rachel manages ReMain’s public/private partnerships with the Town of Nantucket, particularly focusing on the Island’s transit and transportation systems. Furthermore, Rachel’s 17 years with the Nantucket New School has informed and enhanced her work in encouraging the educational offerings on the Island at ReMain’s 56 Centre Street facility. She also serves on the board of trustees of the Nantucket Dreamland. Rachel graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in English and received her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law.

A frequent visitor to Nantucket since 1989, Virna Gonzalez received her B.F.A. from St. John's University. From there, she began her New York City graphic design career in areas of television, software manufacturing, book publishing, and promotional advertising before running her own design firm for several years. She traded her urban life in 2002 to find a new home in the bucolic beauty that is Nantucket within its incredibly welcoming community.

In 2008, Virna joined the ReMain team. As Program and Marketing Manager, she applies her skills to support ReMain's colorfully diverse projects that benefit the Nantucket community especially in the areas of plastics reduction education and awareness, sustainability support, grant management, and cultural programming. She has served on the boards of the Nantucket Arts Council and the Nantucket Education Trust. She currently serves as an Advisor for the Nantucket Cultural District.

Jenn King first discovered Nantucket through the suggestion of family friends during her time as an undergraduate student at Mount Holyoke College. As soon as she received her B.A. in Biology, she completed her move to the Island.

After 13 years of experience at Nantucket Bank, Jenn now brings her project management and accounting skills to the ReMain Ventures team. She has been instrumental in the planning, supervision, and maintenance of ReMain’s building projects on 22 Federal Street, 35 Centre, and 56 Centre. When she isn’t taking care of her two boys or chasing around her new puppy, Jenn also sits on the board of directors as secretary for Small Friends on Nantucket, the early-education and care group for young children on the island.

Tim Feeney joined ReMain in 2019 as Property Manager. Tim is responsible for managing the property of all of ReMain’s buildings. Growing up in the coastal town of Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, he quickly fell in love with the island after arriving in 2014 when he served as the General Manager of NIR Retail. Tim was responsible for overseeing the operations of more than one hundred retail properties.

As an entrepreneur at heart, Tim stepped away from his property management role in 2016 and introduced Waypoint Marine Service and Nantucket Tug Company. He remains dedicated to responsible stewardship and marine conversation. Tim graduated with a B.A. from McMaster University and is currently a USCG Certified Captain. 

Claire began as a seasonal Nantucket resident during her undergraduate years at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont where she earned her degree in Media Studies, Journalism and Digital Arts. The summer of 2013 included an internship as a reporter for the island’s paper, The Inquirer and Mirror. Following graduation, Claire spent a year teaching English in northern Thailand before beginning a career in content marketing in Boston. From there, her love of the outdoors and passion for the environment took her to California where she served as Communications Manager for NatureBridge. With campuses in five national parks, NatureBridge’s mission is to connect young people to the wonder and science of the natural world to inspire self-discovery and stewardship of the planet.

Claire returned home from the Bay Area this spring and joined the ReMain team in June 2020. As Project Manager, Claire is focused on the communications and community engagement for ReMain’s newest initiative, Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge. Envision Resilience calls on multidisciplinary teams of graduate students from top universities to reimagine Nantucket Harbor and propose innovative, adaptive pathways forward in the face of current and future impacts of sea level rise. The teams will complete their design work during the 2021 spring semester.

https://cfnan.org/community-grants/remain-nantucket-fund/ReMain Philanthropy Location: 
58 Main Street, 2nd Floor
Office Line:  508.901.4140

Mailing Address:
P.O Box 359 
Nantucket, MA 02554

ReMain Ventures Location: 
58 Main Street, 2nd Floor
Office Line: 508.901.4145

Mailing Address:
P.O Box 868 
Nantucket, MA 02554

Please email all inquiries to:
info@remainnantucket.org

July 25, 2022

ReMain to open a business incubator and commissary kitchen to bolster food entrepreneurship on Nantucket and strengthen local and regional food systems

NANTUCKET, Mass.---With the goal of improving local and regional food systems on Nantucket and across the Northeast, ReMain Ventures has purchased 5 Amelia Drive as a site for a business incubator and commissary kitchen, the organization announced today.

ReMain Ventures will work with Nantucket entrepreneur Karen Macumber to create a food business incubator and shared commissary kitchen business in the former Keeper’s Restaurant. Macumber, advised by a team of experts, will operate the food incubator to help local makers and producers grow regional and national businesses.

ReMain Ventures plans to create a profitable, shared-use food production facility where multiple food businesses can operate from fully licensed commercial kitchens. Food producers on the island currently face numerous challenges including access to year-round, stable commercial kitchens. The new business will offer increased affordability for small and mid-sized companies, access to bulk ordering of sustainable products and packaging, and the convenience of a central operator to manage and maintain a clean, safe and fully compliant kitchen.

“Throughout its history, Nantucket has embodied the spirit of resilience, and today, as we work towards a sustainable future, we look for opportunities to support a vibrant, local food system,” said Wendy Schmidt, founder of ReMain. “The Amelia Drive property will provide space and camaraderie for small businesses across Nantucket so they can play a part in an expanding local and regional food system. In many ways across our work and investments, we hope to inspire communities nationwide to rethink the way we produce, distribute and share food.”

“ReMain has hoped to open just such a facility for years,” said Cecil Barron Jensen, executive director of ReMain. “The building at 5 Amelia Drive feels like the best option and we are really excited to work with Karen to help her build a business that strengthens our Island’s food systems, while also supporting producers and farmers from across the region.”

Working with local officials, ReMain Ventures will spend the next few months developing the concept and the uses for the facility while the team of advisors further refine programming. The advisors include James Griffin, a professor in the College of Hospitality Management at Johnson & Wales University and local restaurateurs and previous building owners Mark and Anne Dawson.

“Karen and I see a path forward that offers several potential uses including a food business incubator, a community resource center and think tank, and a commissary and small-scale food processing facility,” said Griffin. “We would also like to build a home for ongoing market research that informs improvement of the local and regional food system and sparks opportunities for education and mentorship.”

"We loved running Fog Island and Keepers over the past three decades and are excited to see what ReMain will do for the next chapter at 5 Amelia Drive,” said Mark Dawson. “We have watched ReMain support innovative food operations on Nantucket and we are pleased to see that they are imagining a community use for the building. We are thrilled for them to be the next steward of the property and look forward to helping them advance their mission. "

NANTUCKET, Mass.-- ReMain Nantucket issued a survey to measure attitudes about climate change from Nantucket residents and visitors as part of the Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge, in which graduate students will design and propose adaptive solutions to sea level rise this spring.

A collaboration between ReMain Nantucket, the Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge and community organization ACKlimate, the survey is being conducted by the Boston-based consulting firm EBP. Input from the survey—the first of two—will provide baseline data to ReMain and its partners on community attitudes about climate change and sea level rise on Nantucket.

Last fall, the Town of Nantucket formally adopted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s “High” Sea Level Rise Scenario for planning purposes. Under this projection, the ocean surrounding Nantucket would regularly rise 4.13 feet above local mean sea level by 2060, 6.36 feet by 2080 and 9.25 feet by 2100.

With the goal of inspiring Nantucket and other coastal communities around the world to envision innovative adaptations to sea level rise, the Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge brings together graduate students from five universities around the country to collaboratively re-imagine the Nantucket waterfront. Later this month, interdisciplinary teams of students will begin identifying threats, researching possible solutions and proposing ways the community can adapt by attending weekly virtual lectures from leading experts in the field and by engaging with the Nantucket community. Students will consider the results of the current survey as they develop their design proposals. The final proposals will be presented to the community at an event this summer.

“We look forward to engaging with the Nantucket community and landscape as part of our ongoing efforts to understand the challenges and opportunities of the New England coast and its unique ecologies, heritage and ways of life,” said Alan Plattus, faculty lead of the Yale School of Architecture, one of the five participating universities in the Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge. Plattus, a professor of architecture and urbanism, is the director of the school’s Ph.D. program and the founder of the Yale Urban Design Workshop and Center for Urban Design Research.

Participants also include University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, University of Miami School of Architecture and The School of Architecture at Northeastern University.

Residents and regular visitors to Nantucket are encouraged to complete the survey. The survey is available at this link and will remain open until Jan. 25, 2021. The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. Survey respondents will be entered into a drawing for one of 10 $25 gift cards to a local coffee shop of their choosing. Responses will be confidential.

The collaboration between ACKlimate Nantucket and the Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge has been critical in highlighting the vast number of on-island organizations working toward similar climate-related goals.

“The partnerships of ACKlimate are essential to responding to the challenges of climate change on Nantucket,” said Kimberly Rose, founder of ACKlimate. “This particular collaboration with ReMain Nantucket and the Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge allows us to help future professionals develop skill sets to address climate change, while also inspiring the innovative spirit of the island.”

By measuring community attitudes on climate change in advance of the spring 2021 design studio, and by surveying the community again later in the year after the studio and community outreach initiatives have concluded, the Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge can analyze whether or not it reached its goal of empowering the community to think proactively about coastal resilience and sea level rise.

“Each coastal community faces unique resiliency challenges, and Nantucket is no different,” said Cecil Barron Jensen, executive director of ReMain Nantucket. “Our hope through this survey is to better understand what residents and seasonal visitors to the island value for Nantucket’s future as we consider adapting to a changing climate.”

Answers collected will be aggregated, and names will be kept confidential by EBP. Deadline for submission is Jan. 25, 2021. The project team will release preliminary summarized findings of the study in early February. To participate in the survey, please visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZM77KXG.

___

ReMain Nantucket is a charitable organization, founded by philanthropist Wendy Schmidt to support the economic, social and environmental vitality of the island of Nantucket. In addition to providing grants and sponsorships to support sustainable and cultural initiatives across the island, the organization has worked to revitalize the downtown district year-round through the preservation of historic buildings that are home to a mix of nonprofit and commercial businesses.

ACKlimate is a public-private partnership supporting innovative and holistic approaches and communication to address climate change and sea level rise for the Nantucket community and beyond. The initiative, founded in 2019, was conceptualized by students of the University of Florida Preservation Institute Nantucket, which has been documenting and preserving Nantucket for half a century.

EBP (formerly EDR Group) is a Boston-based company that provides state-of-the-art economic analysis and research to support planning and policy in sustainable transportation, regional development, energy and infrastructure.

For more information about the survey, please contact Claire Martin, 774-271-0868 / cmartin@remainnantucket.org.

NANTUCKET, Mass.---ReMain Nantucket announced today the five universities that will participate in the Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge to address sea level rise: University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, University of Miami School of Architecture, The School of Architecture at Northeastern University and Yale School of Architecture.

With the goal of inspiring Nantucket and other coastal communities around the world to envision innovative adaptations to sea level rise, Envision Resilience brings together graduate students from five geographically diverse universities to collaboratively re-imagine the Nantucket waterfront. Each school participating in the spring 2021 design studio will assemble a team of eight to 10 students from across disciplines, who will be tasked with identifying threats, researching possible solutions and proposing adaptive pathways forward.

“Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing us worldwide. Nantucket is at the forefront of this emergency that many coastal communities are facing,” said faculty lead Chris Reed, co-director of the Master of Landscape Architecture in Urban Design Program at Harvard Graduate School of Design and founding director of Stoss Landscape Urbanism. “The Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge is an opportunity for the very best design students, who come from around the world, to collaborate with one another and with climate experts and local residents to imagine new and resilient futures for this special place, ‘away, off shore.’”

Equipped with the latest climate research, planning guidelines and an expert cohort of 23 Nantucket advisors, students will be encouraged to engage with community members to better understand the unique challenges of the Island.

“Now more than ever, it’s so important for our students to grapple with real-world issues, understand the needs and hopes of people who live in the built environments we design and work collaboratively across scales on complex issues,” said faculty lead Sara Carr, assistant professor in The School of Architecture at Northeastern University.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s “high” sea level rise projections, which the Town of Nantucket has adopted for planning purposes, predict the Island will regularly see 4.13 feet of water above local mean sea level rise by 2060, 6.36 feet by 2080, and 9.25 feet by 2100.

Fortunately, the multidisciplinary nature of the challenge promises holistic insight to the unique complexities coastal communities face with rising sea levels, especially since the teams will be guided by leaders in the field: Jeff Carney of the University of Florida, Chris Reed and Alysoun Wright of Harvard, Sonia Chao of the University of Miami, Sara Carr and Cullen Meves of Northeastern and Alan Plattus and Andrei Harwell of Yale.

“As a coastal community, Nantucket is up against some of the most pressing climate-related challenges. We are excited by the opportunity for students to creatively and actively explore multidisciplinary models of adaptation here,” said Cecil Barron Jensen, executive director of ReMain Nantucket. “And hope that this academic exercise inspires not just our friends and neighbors on the Island, but other coastal towns facing similar, yet distinct climate concerns as well.”

The Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge design studio begins in late January. A weekly lecture series will deliver global, national and local expertise to inform the process. Each lecture will be recorded and available to the public. The spring studio will culminate in a hybrid programming event open to the community during the summer of 2021. Learn more at www.envisionresilience.org.

Businesses Fared Better Than Expected Over Pandemic Summer, Economic Impact Study Shows

NANTUCKET, Massachusetts--While some local businesses experienced heavy financial losses and significant operational business shifts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses overall fared better than expected this summer, according to the findings of a recent regional survey released today by ReMain Nantucket.

The Island Economic Impact Study of COVID-19 Crisis, which was completed by nearly a fourth of island businesses, also found that widespread closures are not expected in the off-season.

The study was the second in a series of studies on the short-term impact of the coronavirus on local businesses and organizations. Conducted in September, the study drew 238 responses from businesses representing the largest sectors of the island’s economy: retail, construction/trades, culture/arts/entertainment, food service, healthcare/human services, and lodging. The survey was commissioned by the Nantucket Economic Survey Team (NEST) and conducted by Boston-based EBP US.

The median revenue reported lost between April and September was $150,000. Collectively, organizations responding to the survey had revenue losses of over $75 million. The hardest hit sectors were lodging and culture/arts/entertainment with more than 90 percent reporting losses. In general, the majority of the respondents reported losses between 25 and 50 percent. In the April survey, 89 percent of respondents expected to lose at least 25 percent of their revenue by June.

“This study suggests that businesses were able to reduce the impact of COVID-19 closures and restrictions by being nimble and innovative,” said Cecil Barron Jensen, executive director of ReMain Nantucket. “By making difficult decisions early on, many businesses were able to mitigate the impacts.

“We saw some examples of innovation, such as altering opening and closing dates and hours of operation and investing in remote or online capabilities,” said Jensen. “Other anticipated impacts, including rent and mortgage payments, staff layoffs, debt management, and problems obtaining inventory, also appear to be less than anticipated in the April survey.”

Hardest hit this summer was the non-profit sector, with 86 percent of organizations canceling events and programs. The nonprofits also reported a 45 percent decline in philanthropic giving, with only 11 percent reporting an increase in support.

“Most of our local nonprofits, especially in the areas of education, child care, and arts and culture, experienced significant losses due to COVID-19,” said Margaretta Andrews, executive director of the Community Foundation for Nantucket. “Most were wonderfully creative with their summer fundraising events, which helped offset a portion of revenue losses due to program closures. All nonprofits will rely on philanthropy more this year than ever before, and the generosity of donors has already made a difference. Our hope is that individual giving will increase even more toward the end of the year to help make these vital organizations as whole as possible going into 2021.”

These findings will be used to create educational and professional development programs for businesses and organizations on Nantucket to help them continue to mitigate the economic impacts of the pandemic.

“It will be important for the Town and the Chamber to keep in touch with members from different economic sectors as we move through the shoulder and off-seasons,” said Janet Schulte, director of the Department of Culture and Tourism. “The constantly evolving situation economically, politically, and in terms of public health – means we must regularly monitor what is working and what is challenging for the island’s organizations.”

By providing on-going data, town leaders will be able to make better decisions in the coming months to support Nantucket businesses, organizations and self-employed individuals. ReMain Nantucket, in partnership with NEST, will continue to commission studies into 2021.

Read the complete survey findings here. For both for spring and summer 2020 survey results, visit the Town of Nantucket’s Economic Recovery Task Force page under “Important Information” or the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce website.

ReMain Nantucket is a charitable organization, founded by philanthropist Wendy Schmidt to support the economic, social and environmental vitality of the island of Nantucket. In addition to providing grants and sponsorships to support sustainable and cultural initiatives across the island, the organization has worked to revitalize the downtown district year-round through the preservation of historic buildings that are home to a mix of nonprofit and commercial businesses.

The Community Foundation for Nantucket's mission is to strengthen Nantucket now and for future generations through informed philanthropy and community leadership. In pursuit of this mission, we act as a steward of charitable funds, grantmaker to respond to pressing needs, charitable resources by maintaining in-depth knowledge of the nonprofit sector, and catalyst by mobilizing community leadership to affect collaborative solutions for Nantucket’s most critical issues.

The Town of Nantucket’s Department of Culture and Tourism’s mission is to support the continued development of Nantucket as a healthy community in which tourism is a significant contributor to residents' economic stability and economic security and Nantucket's natural, cultural, and historic resources and quality of life are enjoyed by tourists and residents while being protected for future generations.

For more information about the survey findings, please visit remainnantucket.org or call Virna Gonzalez at 508-901-4143. 

ReMain uses a combination of research and advocacy to strengthen the sustainability of Nantucket's downtown district. With these tools, ReMain helps address the Island’s seasonal challenges and works to keep the downtown a center of activity for the community year-round.

To better understand the nature of Nantucket’s downtown community, we have worked with various research groups such as the Urban Land Institute and hosted prominent speakers like Douglas Loescher from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Streets Program. Recently, ReMain helped to establish the Nantucket Cultural District and commissioned EBP, an economic and research firm, to do an inventory and study of the cultural programming offered throughout the year.  

We are proud of our partnership with the Community Foundation for Nantucket. They administer the ReMain Nantucket Fund grants, supporting nonprofits who work to make the downtown vibrant and the Island more sustainable. In addition, the Community Engagement Fund offers reimbursements to qualified nonprofits who host meetings, public programs, and educational opportunities in the downtown.

For more stories about ReMain Philanthropy’s own work in enhancing the downtown’s vitality, visit our Archives page.

ReMain collaborates with our local government and nonprofits to identify and support projects for assisting the year-round community, often relying on professional resources to bring comprehensive thinking to the issues.

To help residents and visitors get around without cars, ReMain collaborates with The WAVE, Nantucket's Regional Transit Authority to improve the rider’s experience, by providing a downtown bus stop at its Greenhound property and helped initiate the TransLoc “Ride the WAVE” app which allows riders to track the location of their bus in real time. Year-round service was launched in 2018. 

More Nantucket encourages visitors and residents to get more out of Nantucket when they leave their car at home. The website promotes healthy and convenient transportations options including biking, walking, and public and courtesy transportation. It also hosts convenient links to bike rentals, walking and biking trails, and educational tours of all kinds.

We also believe that reliable data will lead to better decision making for everyone invested in the Nantucket community. By working with the Nantucket Data Platform, ReMain commissioned and delivered the Effective Population Study. By merging public and private data, the study offers a detailed portrait of daily changes in the Island’s population. In addition, the Nantucket Data Platform has completed both a Cost of Living Calculator and an Island Life Survey.

For the full stories on ReMain’s efforts to strengthen the Island community, visit our Archives page.

ReMain seeks to promote the wiser use of natural resources in all of its operations, from simple office practices to major collaborations and investments. Our Sustainability Guidelines are a great tool for businesses wishing to lighten their environmental impact. 

Nantucket Footprints is a nexus of information and ideas to care for our Island. Visitors to the website will find local and global news stories, facts, and statistics about how to make green choices and a list of resources for Nantucket visitors and residents. Nantucket Footprints has also sponsored educational and public programming opportunities, including the Annual Nantucket Litter Derby and a screening of The Human Element, with filmmaker and photographer James Balog. 

ReMain’s has recently increased its support of Nantucket Public Works and its efforts to manage the Island’s recycling and composting programs more efficiently, including a study by the Nantucket Data Platform. In addition, we funded a joint study of microplastics in the ocean and our shellfish population by the Public Works staff and scholars from UMass Boston. 

We are also supporting the Town of Nantucket’s efforts to eliminate several of the most ubiquitous single-use plastics. Starting in 2020 a limited number of single-use plastics (including water bottles) will be banned and unavailable for purchase on the Island. To learn more about the ban, please visit the Town of Nantucket.

Also, read about our latest news about the launch of Envision Resilience: Nantucket Challenge.

For more stories about ReMain’s environmentally responsible projects, visit our Archives page.

For stories about ReMain Ventures’ downtown investments and work in enhancing the vitality of the downtown, visit the ReMain Ventures page.