The main conference boat is the Thomas Leighton, which sails from the dock of the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Click here to see the dock on Google Maps.
If you are arriving or departing at an odd time of the week, another option is to take the Uncle Oscar, a smaller boat out of Rye, New Hampshire.
Information on boats, travel, and parking can be found on the Star Island website.
If you are coming in by plane, the best airport to use is Boston Logan. The C&J Bus picks up right at baggage claim, and takes you to a bus station just outside of Portsmouth. The conference is considering running a shuttle from the bus station to the dock. Email Elizabeth Oshel at lizoshel@gmail.com if you would be interested; there may be a charge per person.
IA welcomes applications from all who wish to join our exciting community.
Application forms are available now and are due by April 15.
Applicants will be automatically considered for grants from the IA Community Fund as well as the Star Island Corp Financial Grants program and MAY receive funding from both sources. The combined application is online here: http://www.starisland.org/conferences/financial-aid.
More Details!
Financial assistance applications MAY be made for consecutive years. Please note, this is a change in policy from past years!
All financial assistance applications are held in strict confidence. From the conference only three members of the IA Community Fund Committee, one of whom serves as the Chair, as well as the IA Registrar/Treasurer, who is a non-voting member view the applications.
Financial assistance from IA and Star Island can be combined with discounts and promotions, with an earnest attempt to reach the requested room and board discount.
Only full-week conferees (five nights or more) are eligible to apply for financial assistance
IA’s Financial Assistance funds are generated yearly through fundraising activities during the previous year’s conference (including an art auction and a silent auction) and individual donations.
The IA Community Fund is committed to providing financial assistance to invest in a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive community. Individuals and families from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
Each year the conference is planned and organized by a leadership team consisting of the Conference Committee, the Youth Director, and the Registrar-Treasurer.
The Conference Committee is the governing board of the International Affairs Conference at Star Island, a nonprofit corporation (bylaws). Committee members serve for five years: three as members, one as Chair, and one as Chair Emeritus. At the end of each conference, a new member rotates on and the Chair Emeritus rotates off.
The Chair selects the theme and recruits speakers and the minister of the week. Each Committee member has a portfolio of responsibilities, including finding and recruiting program leaders and other volunteers, coordinating with Island staff to ensure a smooth week, and generally being available to attend to the needs of the conference.
Anthony Silva, Chair
Anthony first came to Star Island during IA week for an overnight in 2014 with his wife JoAnn to honor the memory of their close friend George Brandenburg. They’ve returned annually since that first visit. Anthony retired from CBS in 2015 after a 37 year career at WBZ Radio and TV in Boston where he was the afternoon radio news anchor and New England Business Editor. He created a quarterly breakfast meeting series that attracted a wide range of business and technology experts including Richard Branson and Jack Welch. He also founded the Me&Thee Music series at the UU Church in Marblehead that is now in its 53rd season. Anthony has been a dedicated UU for 55 years and has held a variety of leadership positions in two congregations. Anthony and JoAnn live in Marblehead, MA.
Deb Nelson, Chair Emeritus
Deb began going to IA week with her mom, brother, and sister when she was six years old. It was her favorite week of the year. She took a break from Star after moving to California, started coming back with her sons seven years ago, and feels very grateful to be part of the IA community. On the mainland, Deb is executive director of the Just Economy Institute, a community of practice and leadership development program for financial activists. She’s been supporting, educating and connecting social entrepreneurs, impact investors and nonprofit leaders for two decades. Deb and her sons Sam and Will live in Berkeley, CA.
Rev. Carol Thomas Cissel, Committee Member
Rev. CTC (a UU parish minister currently serving in Arlington, VA) simply loves STAR. She’s been coming to the island for several years. Her first on-the-rock experience was in 2015 as a newly ordained UU Minister. “The week was magical. I felt the layers of stress and the weariness of spirit that often comes at the end of a church year just peel away the closer I got to STAR.” Her journey from the Washington DC area to IAC includes several modes of transportation: Uber, Plane, Bus, and Uber to the Dock, all before finally boarding the Thomas Laighton. CTC enjoyed a few different SI conferences and then settled into our community in 2022. “IA is my place. Y’all are my people.”
Off island, her ministry work focuses on Social Justice and Community engagement. She loves contemporary poetry, PBS mysteries, and Craft Beer. Her collection of NW Coastal Peoples Art continues to grow. What else? ” I couldn’t live without travel” (Paris, Prague, Normandy and NOLA in 2023). CTC has two adult children, a doodle pup named Preacher, and steals kisses from her two grandsons as often as possible.
Matt Goggin, Committee Member
Matt first came to Star Island for a single overnight in 2001 to visit his then girlfriend, Lauri Yanis. Lauri and her family had been attending the IA conference since the late 60s. Little did Matt know, but that night in 2001 was a trial run; fortunately he fell in love with the island and the people and has gladly returned to IA every year since.
Matt has retired from a few careers, including chemistry, biological research and teaching middle school science. He now enjoys retirement and focuses on his time on caring for his home and yard, volunteering at a local food bank and – most importantly – playing with his grandson, Castin.
Matt lives in the Berkshires with his wife Lauri and their two beloved felines.
Elizabeth Oshel, Committee Member
Elizabeth first came to Star as an infant, attending All Star 1 until she started working as a Pelican and met her husband their first year together as waitrae. As Pelicans, Elizabeth and Mike always felt IA was the best conference and were excited to start bringing their family in 2018. She has a long family connection to the island; her grandparents first came out in the 1940s. On the island, Elizabeth loves swimming (at least twice a day – Polar bear and in the afternoons!), walking the rocks, and knitting on the porch listening to the morning speakers, and never misses a sunset. Elizabeth lives in Bend, Oregon, where she works as a lawyer for the city.
Joy Greeley, Registrar and Treasurer
As Registrar/Treasurer, Joy handles many things that make IA run smoothly, including room assignments and travel arrangements for conferees and overnight guests. A longtime Shoaler (including five summers as a Pelican), she began attending IA in 2008 with her husband Bobby Williams and son Calvin.
Joy and Bobby live in Keene NH, and Calvin is now in college after his second summer as a Pelican.
For questions regarding registration, Joy may be reached at jdgreeley@yahoo.com
Katie Bender, Youth Program Coordinator
Our Youth Program is directed by Katie Bender, who has been an early childhood educator for nearly two decades. She is a life-long IA conferee and former Pel. Katie lives in Medfield, Massachusetts, with her husband Marc, their three children (Abby, Brooke, and Lilla), three cats, and their dog Bailey. In her spare time Katie loves to take walks in the woods with Bailey and relishes the rare opportunity to curl up with a cup of tea and a new book.
… it is the opportunity to interact, learn, and share ideas and experiences with a group of friendly and inquiring people. For others, it is the chance to be removed from the world, retiring for a week from daily routines to a small, beautiful island, to reconnect with family and friends, relax on the porch with a good book, and watch the sunrise or sunset.
…with a polar bear swim in the chilly Atlantic Ocean, morning stretch, and a cup of coffee on the porch, or music in the chapel. Settle into a rocking chair to watch the day emerge, or sit in a chair on the lawn while children play before breakfast. Later in the morning, gather in the chapel at the top of the hill for a thoughtful morning sermon from the minister of the week.
… led by recognized experts take place late morning. Gather to listen, learn, and be inspired, then enjoy conversations on the porch, Social Hour, and the dinner table.
… choose from many activities, including art, writing, yoga, and choir. Other activities include softball, swimming, visits to the Marine Lab, kite-flying, taking a rowboat or kayak around the harbor, trip to the snack bar, walks on the rocks, or time in the rocking chairs on the front porch. Evening activities include a bonfire, intergenerational dance, island staff talent show, lay-led chapel services, and more.
… the Youth Program is a time to experience the freedom of island life and to gain a deep appreciation of the natural environment in the midst of caring, attentive adults. Activities related to the conference theme together with community building activities, games, crafts, and time to explore the island round out the week. The program offers children the experience of wonder and friendships of long duration, the kind that cause them to start counting down the days until the next year’s IA conference even as they depart on the boat at the end of the week.
… and spirit of the island, together with the intellectually stimulating theme talks, the spiritually uplifting sermons, the myriad of daily activities, the strong sense of community among the conferees, and the vibrant Youth Program make the International Affairs conference a truly unique and memorable vacation.
