Katharine Hurd and Kathy Zagzebski. Photo courtesy of Michelle Bosch Photography.

For the second year in a row, Katharine Hurd, former soloist with the Boston Ballet Company and founder of the non-profit Commonwealth Ballet Company, has been named the chairperson of the Mermaid Ball.

Katharine credits her ballet career with giving her experience in staging events.  A long-time supporter of the National Marine Life Center, she began volunteering with the organization in 2009 after seeing a lecture on the need for a marine animal hospital to help stranded pilot whales, dolphins, seals, and sea turtles.