COACHING STAFF

Our club swims at three sites around Portland. Through mentor practices, swim meets, and social outings, our swimmers benefit from exposure to different styles and strengths of each individual coach!

Chelsea Krisanda - Head Coach - PACChelsea Krisanda - Head Coach

P1, P2, P3, Senior, Masters Coach | ASCA Level 3, USMS Level 1

Chelsea has been swimming all her life! She began swimming competitively at age 6 and participated in club swimming throughout her youth in upstate New York. She competed for her high school varsity team, earning all-county and state honors, and went on to compete at the NCAA Division I level for the University of Vermont. During her college career, Chelsea specialized in the IM and butterfly events. She broke varsity records in the 200 and 400 IM and earned America East All-Conference honors in the 400 IM.

After graduating from UVM with a B.S. in psychology, Chelsea coached for club teams in Vermont and New York and competed in Masters swimming before moving out to Portland in 2016. Chelsea has turned her competitive drive towards powerlifting in the last three years, and in her free time enjoys lifting weights, hiking, skiing, and snuggling with her dog, Juniper.

Erin Morris - Southwest Lead Site Coach - PACErin Morris - Co-Lead Site Coach, Southeast & Southwest

Gold, Silver, Bronze Coach

I'm originally from Indiana but I have lived in Portland for 28 years. I have always been a swimmer. I enjoy many sports but swimming is my favorite by far. When I'm not coaching PAC, I'm working as a para educator and as the head coach of the swim team at Franklin High School. I was recognized for this work with the PIL Coach of the Year award in the 2022-23 school year.

I have a husband and two kids, one a swimmer, and the other a baseball player. In my free time I enjoy time with my friends and family, usually doing something outside. I'm interested in hiking, camping and most activities that are designed for the water!

Elise - East Portland/Mt Scott Lead Site Coach - PACElyse Cogburn - Co-Lead Site Coach, Southeast & Southwest

Gold, Silver, Bronze, Masters Coach

Growing up in Southern Oregon, Elyse swam with Superior Aquatics, where she quickly found her love for distance events and all things aquatic. Her passion for the water followed her to college in California, where she played water polo. After college, Elyse took her adventurous spirit abroad, spending time in South America and diving into the world of outdoor sports. It was there that she rediscovered her love for swimming—this time in the open water.

Elyse joined PAC in the summer of 2025 and is thrilled to be part of a team again. She brings with her a deep appreciation for endurance swimming, a love for community, and an unwavering enthusiasm for getting in the water—no matter the temperature!

Tim Lee - Assistant Performance Coach - PACTim Lee - Assistant Performance Coach

P1, P2, P3 Coach

I am originally from Northern California and started competing at 5 years old. I swam on club all the way through high school reaching National level qualifying standards. This earned me a scholarship to swim for UC Santa Barbara's DI collegiate program. I swam all four years and was nominated to be captain my senior year. My primary events were the 50, 100, and 200 Freestyle, and the 100 Butterfly.

I moved to Portland last year and couldn't stay away from the pool. I immediately jumped into coaching for Roosevelt High School, and now for PAC! I love the sport and I am very excited to be your new sprint Performance coach!

Carol Bernhardt - Assistant Performance Coach - PACCarol Bernhardt - Assistant Performance Coach

P1, P2, P3, Masters Coach

Carol began competitive swimming at age 7 on a club team in her hometown near Chicago, IL. She served as team captain and earned MVP honors on her high school's varsity team, and also played varsity water polo, captaining the team in her senior year. She continued her swimming career at St. Olaf College, a Division III program in Minnesota, where she held individual records in the 100 and 200 backstroke for over a decade, and was part of several top-ranking relay teams that qualified for DIII NCAA’s four years in a row.

Carol has coached high school and club swimming since 2014, working with both high school and club programs in the Twin Cities area in Minnesota before moving to Portland in 2021. She has always loved working with kids — teaching swim lessons, training lifeguards, coaching swimmers, and even teaching writing classes every chance she gets.

Outside of coaching, Carol works as a freelance science writer, working with clients to translate their complex research advances for the lay people those findings impact. In her downtime, she enjoys open-water swimming, hiking and camping, reading, spending time with her pug mix, Ham, and cat, Minnow, swimming with the PAC Masters team, and crocheting.

Kylie Green - Assistant Coach, Southeast - PACKylie Green - Assistant Coach, Southeast

Gold, Silver, Bronze Coach

Coach Kylie began their swimming journey at the East Portland Community Center at just six years old, quickly progressing through the swim lesson levels all the way to the Polar Bear group. From there, they joined the David Douglas Aquatic Club, where they trained and competed until their sophomore year of high school. When Covid disrupted the swim season, Kylie decided to explore a new challenge and joined their high school rugby team.

For the past two summers, Kylie has been coaching with the Pier Pool Summer Swim League and is excited to continue next year. Outside the pool, you’ll often find Kylie chefing it up the kitchen, paddleboarding, or enjoying the outdoors.

This season, Kylie is thrilled to be working with the Bronze, Silver, and Gold groups at EPCC/MSCC. Their goal is to help swimmers feel confident and comfortable in the water while building excitement for being part of a swim team.

Zach Dickinson - Assistant Coach, Southeast - PACZach Dickinson - Assistant Coach, Southeast

Gold, Silver, Bronze Coach

I grew up in Portland and started swimming lessons in 6th grade with PP&R. I joined the Franklin swim team and swam varsity all four years. I joined PAC in 2017 before joining the David Douglas Aquatic Club. I swam for Southwestern Oregon Community College for two years in Coos Bay.

I have taught swim lessons, Blue Makos, and Summer Swim League for Portland Parks and Recreation since 2017. I was also an assistant coach for Southwestern Oregon Community College for the 2023-24 school year. I joined PAC in November 2023 as an assistant coach at Southwest and I am now at Mt.Scott and super excited to be coaching there!

 

MJ Ulrich - Assistant Performance Coach

P1, P2, P3 Coach

It all started when I was 6. I would drag my feet on the way to sports practices because I hated the feeling of being sweaty, so my mom convinced me that you can't be sweaty in the pool. It was just not possible! And that is what launched two decade of 4 am alarms, ripped caps, broken records, missed cuts, calf cramps, lost voice, sore muscles, DQs, and pep talks.

Growing up in northern Virginia, I was in the pool and on the pool deck any chance I got. From club meets, to high school practices, to summer league pep rallies, it was the people that kept bringing me back and the euphoric feeling of making a cut or seeing a friend drop time that made me stay.

I took a splash in the D1 pool, where I swam for the Virginia Tech (#gohokies) 2014-2018. I dove into nutrition and leadership studies, where I melded my passions for sport and personal development. Knowledge that I want to bring to PAC! I have coached all ages, at all levels, and really focus on #bringingtheenergy. I want to teach swimmers to love the sport and provide them with the right motivation to get them excited about setting goals, breaking a sweat, and swimming fast. See you all on deck!

KC Harhai - Assistant Senior Coach

Senior Coach

KC has been swimming their whole life! Originally from Colorado, they began swimming with a local club team at a young age and continued competing through their high school years. They specialized in sprint freestyle and butterfly events. As an adult, they’ve found themselves unable to stay away from the pool, and enjoy swimming with PAC masters, teaching lessons, coaching summer swim league, and now coaching with PAC!

Outside of swimming, KC works in disability justice. In their free time, they enjoy exploring the PNW, making music, and spending time with their dog, Scooter.

Michael Patrick - Masters Coach

Masters Coach

Coach Michael is a Level 3 Masters coach with more than a decade of experience coaching both Masters and age-group swimmers. A lifelong athlete with extensive competitive swimming and triathlon experience, he brings real-world race insight to his coaching, helping adults and youth swim smarter and faster.

His coaching philosophy is to understand the athlete’s goals, then prioritize excellent technique through a constraints based coaching methodology, develop durable fitness, and cultivate community. Michael’s mission is to continue growing the Masters team while mentoring the next generation of swimmers with his commitment to excellence and joy for for the sport.

Out of the pool, Michael is a proud father and husband while working as a Solutions Architect for a Healthcare Revenue Cycle firm. He is an avid reader, enjoys falling off surfboards, listens to interesting music, and is doing his best to live life as deliberately as possible.