Orpheum Benefit Honors Woman Lost In Winter Storm: Author Sebastian Junger To Speak At Fundraiser

Every summer since 1860, members of Jada Samitt’s family have gathered in a house in Rockport that has been handed down through the generations.

 Those summers shaped Jada, who died at the age of 22 last winter when the fishing vessel she was working on as a fisheries observer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) sank at sea off Gloucester.

 “She spent countless hours exploring tide pools, walking the rocky shoreline, and falling in love with the sea,” her mother, Julie Guild-Samitt, recalled in an email interview last week. “Long before she knew what a fisheries observer was, she knew she wanted a life connected to the coast.”

 Jada “believed science and conservation could make a difference,” Guild-Samitt says. “She wasn’t looking for an easy path — she wanted meaningful work. She found it on the sea, doing exactly what she loved.”

 And Guild-Samitt couldn’t have been prouder of her daughter.

 A July 16 fundraiser at the Chatham Orpheum Theater called “The Boundless Tide of Legacy: Life Beyond the Horizon” featuring a talk by bestselling author Sebastian Junger will raise funds for a new scholarship at the University of Vermont (UVM) in honor of Jada.

 On the early morning of Jan. 30, after a few days at sea, the 72-foot fishing boat Lily Jean was on its way back to port in Gloucester with a crew of seven. The boat was about 25 miles off Cape Ann when it sank in stormy conditions. The U.S. Coast Guard launched a search and rescue mission; Coast Guard crews searched over 1,000 square miles in the next 24 hours. The body of one crewmember was found along with an empty life raft.

 Jada, whose hometown was Richmond, Va., graduated with honors from UVM in 2025 with a degree in natural resources from the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. All proceeds from the evening will go to the Jada Fund at UVM. The fund “will support future Rubenstein students pursuing experiences in Jada’s spirit of adventure, growth, and bravery,” according to the school’s website.

 “The Jada Fund exists because love doesn’t end,” Guild-Samitt says. “It exists so that students with the same passion Jada had can pursue hands-on environmental experiences, discover their own purpose, and carry that love for our planet into the future.”

 Guild-Samitt will attend the fundraising event with an “entourage” of people who love Jada. They include her husband, Scott; Jada’s father, Jeff; and Jada’s stepmother, Stacey.

 Organizing the Orpheum fundraiser is Kim Roderiques of Chatham. Roderiques and Geoff Bassett produced the 2025 documentary film “The Hand that Holds the Line” about the risks and resilience of Cape Cod’s fishermen. In March, the film was shown at the Orpheum as a fundraising event for the families of the seven who lost their lives on the Lily Jean, stressing the tight bonds between the Chatham and Gloucester fishing communities.

At that event Roderiques met Guild-Samitt and vowed to help raise money for the Jada Fund. Roderiques contacted Junger, a part-time Truro resident, who published the mega-bestseller “The Perfect Storm” in 1997. That book was about the crew of the fishing boat the Andrea Gail, which sank in the Halloween storm of 1991 about 575 miles off Gloucester. Junger will speak about writing “The Perfect Storm” and about the bonds, sacrifices and risks that are inherent in the daily lives of fishermen. He will then converse with Guild-Samitt about her daughter.

 NOAA fisheries observers collect data including information on gear, the boat’s economics, what species of fish were kept or thrown back and what the fish weighed. They even collect biological samples such as the ear bones of fish. They also document any sightings of protected species, according to Aubrey Church, who worked as an at-sea monitor between 2011 and 2013.

 “Observers go through a rigorous training, where they learn safety and at-sea survival, fish identification, gear type identification and characteristics,” says Church, who will attend the event. “The best way I can describe an observer is that they are the eyes and ears on the water.”

 Also appearing at the fundraiser will be Dani Davis, an Emmy Award-winning writer and Tony-nominated Broadway producer and director. Davis will interview Peter Newman, dean of the Rubenstein School, who knew Jada well.

Playwright Elizabeth Coplan, who created the nonprofit “Grief Dialogues,” interviewed Jada’s brother, John Samitt, and created a monologue in John’s words. Actor Izaak Van Der Wende of Orleans will read the monologue to open the evening.

 Isabeau Miller, chair of songwriting at Berklee School of Music, will perform an original song as the evening’s finale.

 “Watching your child discover exactly who they are and then have the courage to live that calling is one of life’s greatest gifts,” Guild-Samitt says. “Jada found a life that reflected her heart — one of purpose, curiosity, service and love.”

 “The Boundless Tide of Legacy: Life Beyond the Horizon” will be held on Thursday, July 16 at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $70 and available through chathamorpheum.org.

To support the Jada Fund visit www.uvmfoundation.org/namedfunds/the-jada-fund.