RowAmerica Peachtree, the newest addition to RowAmerica’s growing list of clubs, has begun to build its local operations team with the addition of Will Forteith (director, head coach), Dawn Scott-Viyella (program coach) and Sarah Wood (marketing manager). All three team members bring a solid background in their respective areas of expertise to RowAmerica Peachtree. Their collective focus will be to promote and grow the sport of rowing and provide a superior instruction experience for all members.
Will Forteith brings 24 years of rowing experience to RowAmerica Peachtree and 16 years’ experience as a rowing instructor. As the co-captain of his Texas high school rowing team (St. Marks School of Texas), Will raced competitively in quads, doubles and singles. During his high school years, he spent two summers training at the Craftsbury Sculling Center (Vermont), and he competed twice at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia, one of the largest high school regattas in the country. Following high school, Will began his collegiate career as a member of Cornell University’s Lightweight Crew. After graduating from Cornell, Will began teaching high school English and coaching at Choate Rosemary Hall (Connecticut) as the assistant men’s crew coach. Ready to return to his native state of Texas, Will accepted a teaching and administrative position as well as the head rowing coach position at his high school alma mater. In 2005, he returned as a coach to Craftsbury Sculling Center, where he continues to coach each summer.
In 2012, Will relocated to Georgia to serve as the middle school principal at The Walker School and rowing coach with the Atlanta Junior Rowing Association (AJRA). Will joins RowAmerica Peachtree with vast experience having coached a wide range of rowers. From middle and high school juniors to master rowers, his crews have competed and medaled at numerous rowing championships and regattas.
Dawn Scott-Viyella began rowing 26 years ago and hasn’t stopped since. The Georgia native was a freshman walk-on at the University of Miami where she competed with the University of Miami Crew. Following graduation, Dawn became the junior girls coach for the Miami Rowing Club. Two successful seasons later, opportunities at the collegiate level began to present themselves. Dawn went on to coach Lightweights at the University of Tennessee, assisted with the startup of University of Louisville’s rowing program and eventually returned to her alma mater as an Assistant Coach.
Wishing to return to coaching youth, Dawn joined Belen Jesuit Preparatory School (Miami, Fla.) in 2004 where she developed a rowing program and led the crew to compete successfully on a national level, medaling in 2008, 2009 and 2011 at the Scholastic Rowing Association National Championships. In 2011, Dawn moved to Pine Crest School (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) as assistant coach and then head women’s coach; the crew went on to win numerous regional competitions and take two silver medals at the 2014 Southeast Youth Championships. Dawn brings experience, knowledge and a passion to grow the sport of rowing to RowAmerica Peachtree.
Sarah Wood, a Newnan native and former collegiate athlete, brings a passion for sports and sports marketing to the RowAmerica Peachtree team. While attending the University of Montana, she became increasingly interested in outdoor sports such as rock climbing, hiking, rafting, kayaking and cycling. After returning to Georgia, she began her career in sports marketing with Sequoia Golf, leading both the Canongate Georgia membership and the Sequoia Golf private event marketing teams. After five years with Sequoia Golf, she moved on to develop her B2B marketing skills, eventually founding a locally based consulting firm specializing in sports, small business and nonprofit marketing. As a member of the RowAmerica team, her focus is the overall launch of RowAmerica Peachtree, event and program development, community outreach, partnership development, public relations and content development and distribution.
