Kristen Serumgard

Commanding Officer, USCGC 'Mackinaw' at US Coast Guard

Speaker

CDR Kristen Serumgard is the 8th Commanding Officer of USCGC MACKINAW (WLBB 30), a heavy Great Lakes Icebreaker homeported in Cheboygan, MI.

Prior to assuming her position as Commanding Officer, CDR Serumgard served as Commander, International Ice Patrol from 2017 to 2020. Formed by international agreement in the wake of the RMS TITANIC disaster, IIP has successfully protected North Atlantic shipping from the hazard of icebergs since its inception in 1914. Her prior afloat tours include Commanding Officer USCGC FIR (WLB 213) and USCGC HOLLYHOCK (WLB 214), Executive Officer in USCGC ORCAS (WPB 1327) and USCGC HOLLYHOCK, and Deck Watch Officer in USCGC POLAR SEA (WAGB 11). Shore tours include Chief, Aids to Navigation (ATON) and Icebreaker Capabilities Division in the Office of Cutter Forces (CG-7513) and Chemistry Instructor at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

CDR Serumgard has a B.S. in Marine Environmental Science (USCG Academy) and an M.S. in Chemistry (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). She also holds a Master of Unlimited Tonnage upon the Oceans Merchant Mariner License.