Rondi Davies

President

Rondi Davies is a competitive open water swimmer finding success in local events in New York City including third in the 2008 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, and has notched wins in marathon swims in Long Island Sound and Lake Memphremagog, Vermont. Rondi holds the women’s record for the fastest Manhattan Island circumnavigation of 5:44 as well as the fastest clockwise circumnavigation.

From 2011 to the present, Rondi co-organized and directed the 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim, and 2 Bridges, a 2.5/5K swim in Poughkeepsie, NY. Davies is an Earth scientist and science educator in New York City and uses her knowledge in these fields to plan and navigate swimming events in the complex tidal currents of the Hudson River and New York Harbor, as well as advocate for the health of these bodies of water.

Alex Arévalo

Director

Alex Arévalo is an active and experienced kayaker who supports solo and mass participation open water swimming events throughout the New York City area and beyond. He is kayak coordinator for the annual 8 Bridges Hudson River swim, organizing kayaker support for the event and keeping swimmers safe in the water. He is a senior member and officer of the Inwood Canoe Club in Upper Manhattan. After focusing on Gender Studies at Columbia University, Alex has worked in the finance, construction, and service industries.

Warren Perry

Director

Having grown up on the coast of North Carolina, Warren Perry has always had an affinity for water. He began swimming competitively at the age of 7 and swam varsity for the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Upon moving to the Northeast, he added open water swimming to his repertoire and began the sport of triathlon. Warren is a multi-Ironman finisher, former Board President for Team New York Aquatics, and licensed sailboat captain. Most recently, Warren directed all aquatics programs at Convent of the Sacred Heart in NYC, where he led the team to 9 consecutive conference titles and 3 consecutive state championships. When not in the water, this Pisces can be found teaching cycling classes at Equinox, planning his next SwimTrek adventure, or walking his West Highland Terrier, Wallace.

David Barra

Advisory board

David Barra has been competing in open water swimming events since 1998 and has focused on long distance for the past several years. He has completed multiple marathon swimming events all over the world including the Maui Channel (11 miles), the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim (22 miles), the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS) (28 miles), the Catalina Channel (21 miles), the Boston Light Swim (8 miles), the English Channel (21 miles), the Ederle Swim, NY (17 miles), La Traversee du Lac St Jean, Quebec (21 miles), Vidosternsimmet, Sweden (21Km), Plymouth to Provincetown, MA (22 miles), in Search of Memphre, Vermont (25 miles), traverses of the Finger Lakes, New York including a 35 mile traverse of Lake Cayuga.

In 2011, with co-director Rondi Davies, Barra introduced the first annual 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim, a 120-mile/ 7-stage swim event (the longest in the world!).  He is also a coach/guide for Total Immersion’s open water swim camps in the Bahamas, Hawaii, and St John since 2006, and has recently joined Swim Vacation as a guide. In 2013 Barra founded Swimmer Safety Services to provide guiding with a highly visible motorized escort for solo swimmers and to provide logistical support for swim events. Barra is the owner of a stone cutting and installation business in the Hudson Valley, NY.