Ocean City Beach Patrol Hosts First Women's Lifeguard Conference

OCEAN CITY, NJ — The Ocean City Beach Patrol hosted its first Women’s Lifeguard Conference on Tuesday at 58th Street Beach, with more than 50 women in attendance representing beach patrols throughout South Jersey.

The inaugural event was established to advocate for women in leadership roles and encourage camaraderie among women on all patrols, according to city spokesperson Doug Bergen.

The conference included opportunities for participants to work out, to share ideas on providing a safe and inclusive environment for all beach patrol members, and to hear speakers touch on their experiences, rising through the ranks, and how their work as lifeguards helped them to become leaders in other aspects of their lives.

Superior Court Judge Nancy Ridgway was among several speakers at the conference. Ridgway was the first woman ever hired by the Margate Beach Patrol.

Other speakers included Samantha Vanderslice and Holly Lesser, who were the first women promoted by the Ocean City Beach Patrol as resource and training officer (RTO) lieutenants, and Sara Werner, the first woman ever promoted to lieutenant on the Cape May Beach Patrol, alongside Ventnor City Beach Patrol Lieutenant Meghan Holland and Cape May Point Beach Patrol Race Director Kristen Moorby.

According to Bergen, the RTO positions at the Ocean City Beach Patrol were created this year to have individuals in leadership roles to cultivate positive relationships with all guards through training and having someone in place to check in on guards’ well-being.

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