Captain Greg Menke
Captain Greg Menke started working on the river in 1970 as a deckhand and calliope player on the Delta Queen. He worked his way up, and in 1978 became pilot and then master on the Belle of Louisville. He later worked as a captain and then port captain for Chotin Transportation and Midland Enterprises. In 1997, he joined the Seamen's Church Institute as director of inland training; three years later he was named the director of the Institute's Center for Maritime Education - Paducah. During his tenure at SCI he developed the first simulator-training course designed for Western Rivers towboat captains & pilots, and fire training courses targeting towing operations. He is also a certified radar instructor.


Dr. Jay Downs Siska, EdD
Dr. Jay Downs Siska, EdD joined the Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey, in Paducah as Director of Curriculum & Instruction in May 2006. Dr. Siska's responsibilities include developing curriculum for courses on leadership, Crew Endurance Management System (CEMS), situation awareness, and decision making. He recently revamped the Designated Examiner Course that is required under the new licensing rules and the Institute's Advanced Pilot House Management course.

Dr. Siska has completed the United States Coast Guard's CEMS expert training program. A graduate of Florida State University with a Doctor of Education, University of Hawai'i with a Masters and Bachelors in Curriculum & Instruction, Dr. Siska has 20 years of teaching from middle school to college. His wife, artist Char Downs, is part of Paducah's Artist Relocation Program.