Our Team

mary bergstrom

Mary swam competively in the Philadelphia suburbs growing up and is now an attorney and swim coach involved in several swim programs throughout the Washington, D.C. area. Mary was named DCIAA Coach of the Year in both 2019 and 2020 and was awarded Swimming Coach of the Year by The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C. in 2019. Mary serves on the Potomac Valley Swimming Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and with the help of Sam, Rob, and Bardell - as well as other colleagues and mentors in the swim community - Mary founded SWIM UP to increase diversity and accessibility to life-saving swim and water instruction for children.

rob green

Rob is a native Washingtonian and swam competively for the Takoma Park All Stars and St. Albans School. For the past 15 years, Rob has been a swim coach for the DC Department of Parks and Recreation. Rob has been the Head Coach for the DC Wave Swim Team since 2010, and has served as the Diversity and Inclusion Chair on the Potomac Valley Swimming Board of Directors since 2015.

Bardell Brown

Bardell is a coach and the Director of Admissions and Athletics at The Bishop Walker School for Boys. Bardell was also recently named the Director of Partnerships at Bishop Walker. Bardell was enthusiastic about partnering with Swim Up and supervises the students along with their coaches each week at the pool. Bardell holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from The University of DC.

Sam Brownell

Sam Brownell is the Treasurer of SwimUp and a lifelong swimmer and coach.  Sam grew up in the DC area swimming for The Capitol Sea Devils (TCSD) and then swam 4 years at Loyola University in Baltimore.  He has coached at every level, from learn-to-swim clinics to national level athletes.  Sam is particularly excited about the work at SwimUp because DC has more pools per capita than any city in the US but does not use these pools to the benefit of all its citizens.  SwimUp's model of building the lifesaving sport of swimming into a school's curriculum is a great way for our nation's capital to lead the way in bringing safety and diversity to the pool.