Charles River Watershed Association Growing! Announces New Staff, Board Members, and Roles
OCTOBER 5, 2022: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BOSTON– Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) is pleased to announce the addition of several new staff members, three new Board of Directors members, two new Board of Advisors members, and new leadership roles for existing staff.
“We are entering an exciting growth phase to meet the extraordinary challenges of this moment and build a more effective, impactful organization capable of achieving our vision of a clean, climate-resilient watershed for future generations,” says Executive Director Emily Norton.
NEW STAFF MEMBERS
CONRAD CRAWFORD has joined as CRWA’s Deputy Director of Programs. Conrad’s work has spanned the legislative and executive branches of Massachusetts state and municipal government, including senior management roles in statewide agencies, public policy research, and executive roles in local and statewide environmental non-profits. Conrad served in the MassDOT public affairs office, then led the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Office of External Affairs. After leaving state government, Conrad headed the launch of The Trustees of Reservations Boston Region, incorporating over 60 Community Gardens into a statewide land stewardship platform, opening their Boston Public Market programs, and developing the organization’s strategy for urban land preservation, now the Trustees’ One Waterfront Initiative. He has recently focused primarily in Cambridge and Somerville, advising on the advancement of regional watershed initiatives, urban greenspace efforts, and supporting leadership transitions at local environmental organizations.
“I look forward to supporting the continuation of CRWA’s tradition of leadership and distinction advocating for the Charles River’s ecosystem. It excites me to have an experienced, talented bench of existing program and project staff to create the durable solutions to climate change our region needs,” says Conrad Crawford.
JENNIFER RYAN has joined as CRWA's Deputy Director of Advocacy. She has worked in state government and for environmental nonprofits, leading several successful initiatives that have advanced legislative priorities, raised significant public funds, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and increased climate resilience, and strengthened environmental laws and regulations. Jennifer began her career with the MA Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, where she led conservation planning and regulatory efforts to protect freshwater species, including riverine dragonflies. She was Director of Legislative Affairs at Mass Audubon, where she focused on endangered species, renewable energy incentives and siting, and open space funding and advocated for nation-leading climate change laws and regulations. After Mass Audubon, Jennifer was Director of Policy at The Trustees of Reservations, where she raised significant public funds for open space protection, increased public access, and advocated for coastal resiliency and climate policy. Through consulting, she has supported Massachusetts's efforts to reduce emissions through a variety of programs; set farmland protection and access goals and priorities; and communicated environmental policy priorities to candidates. Jennifer has served on several boards, where she has contributed to both public policy and organizational growth. She is currently Vice-Chair of the Community Preservation Coalition, which helps municipalities understand, adopt and implement the Community Preservation Act and advocates for CPA at the state level.
“I am thrilled to join the growing team at CRWA. It’s an exciting and challenging time - and how we meet challenges over this next decade matters. We have more to do to restore the river from generations of pollution, and we must innovate and protect the Charles River in a changing climate in a way that ensures a healthy river that everyone can enjoy,” says Jen Ryan.
EMILY REILING has joined as CRWA’s Development Manager. Emily works closely with the Development Director on fundraising programs, campaigns, and engagement to support our work towards a clean, resilient Charles River. Prior to joining CRWA, Emily served as an AmeriCorps member through Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest at Blanchet House of Hospitality in Portland, Oregon. There, she held roles in volunteer management, community engagement, and development to provide services for people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. While completing her undergraduate studies at Villanova University, Emily interned at Venture Outdoors where she supported a campaign to increase access to outdoor recreational activities in her hometown of Pittsburgh.
New staff above are also joining several new hires who joined us in May.
SARAH KWAN, Ph.D., serves as CRWA’s Development Director, overseeing fundraising programs, campaigns, special events, and community outreach to help promote resilient communities and a healthy river ecosystem. Sarah has over 20+ years of experience in communications, development, and brand management and has a strong passion for the environment. She holds a B.A. in Interior Architecture and a B.S. in Environmental Engineering. During her undergraduate studies, she served as a Physical Science Technician intern for the US EPA, Region 9, and became a licensed EIT. Sarah then went on to gain an M.S., M.Phil, and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Yale University, where she researched the impact of indoor microbiology on human health in the Cherokee Nation.
MARIELENA LIMA serves as a Rita Barron Fellow, managing our Volunteer Monthly Monitors sampling program, analyzing and processing our water quality data, and expanding our outreach to the boating community. Born and raised in Miami, FL, Marielena received a Posse scholarship to attend Mount Holyoke College, where she graduated with a B.A. in Environmental Studies. Combining her passions for science, education, and social justice, she has previously served as an AmeriCorps member in Florida and Connecticut and worked at CT DEEP and Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust.
SARAH TRAORE serves as a Rita Barron Fellow, supporting CRWA’s stormwater program. Sarah has a B.S in Civil Engineering from Cote d’Ivoire where she was born and raised and an M.Sc in Environmental Conservation from the University of Massachusetts Amherst as a Fulbright scholarship awardee. She focused her Master's thesis on modeling the hydrology of the largest watershed of Cote d’Ivoire to understand the dynamics of water supply and demand within the watershed. Prior to joining CRWA, Sarah worked on several projects across Africa, Europe, and the United States such as Emergency Response Plans for water utilities in MA, CT, CA, and NY; hydrologic modeling of extreme rainfall events to prevent flooding in Cameroon, and assisted in the construction of water reservoir in Côte d’Ivoire.
NEW ROLES FOR EXISTING STAFF
With this growth, we are also excited to announce new leadership roles for several of our staff.
DIRA JOHANIF is now our Urban Resilience Advocate, leading our Boston climate resilience work.
“This new role is an exciting opportunity for CRWA to focus on the breadth of climate resilience efforts gaining momentum in the City of Boston. I’m eager to build relationships with the community groups and city officials leading the work, and ensuring that the solutions will continue to protect river health and build equitable resilience to climate change,” says Dira Johanif.
LISA KUMPF is now our River Science & Restoration Program Manager, leading our efforts to use sound science to restore the Charles River.
“I am excited to focus more on our restoration work, and aligning our river science efforts with our project priorities. In a highly urbanized watershed, it is not enough to study and protect the Charles from future development: we need to take bold action to restore the river system through dam removal, stream restoration, and invasive species management,” says Lisa Kumpf.
HEATHER MILLER remains our in-house counsel and is expanding her role to include all aspects of administration as our General Counsel & Director of Operations.
“As CRWA grows its capacity and builds upon a legacy of advocacy for the Charles to address new challenges in a changing climate, I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to ensure that the organization remains strong, effective, and nimble. Our talented staff are our greatest resource, and together with our dedicated supporters, we will continue fighting for a clean Charles for all,” says Heather Miller.
NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS
DANIEL SEIGER is an environmental and public policy professional with over a decade of experience in government and consulting. Dan served in senior environmental leadership positions under two Massachusetts governors including as Chief of Staff for the Department of Environmental Protection, Assistant Secretary for Environmental Policy, and Undersecretary for Environmental Affairs at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. As Undersecretary Dan was responsible for the day-to-day management of Massachusetts' four environmental agencies, the Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Agricultural Resources, Department of Fish and Game, and Department of Conservation and Recreation. In addition, Dan was responsible for leading priority environmental initiatives including the development of a proposed multi-state program to reduce transportation emissions and the permitting of the United States' first utility-scale wind farm. After leaving government Dan worked for VHB as a permitting consultant for large-scale real estate projects and currently works for RWE, a global clean energy developer, leading the development of their New York Bight and Gulf of Maine Offshore Wind Projects.
JENNIFER HILLENMEYER is an audit partner at EY in Boston. She previously worked in the audit practice in EY Nashville and in their national accounting group in New York. Jennifer completed a two-year fellowship at the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and served as the coordinator of the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF). Jennifer has a B.S. in Business Administration and a Master of Accountancy from the University of Tennessee. Jennifer, her husband, Chris, and their children (Haydon and Connie) live near the Charles River in Medfield and spend lots of time on the Charles River fly fishing, kayaking, and paddleboarding. Jennifer’s husband is a biology and sustainability teacher in Newton.
MARTIN FLUSBERG is a successful serial technology entrepreneur who has built and sold multiple companies. Martin has been an environmental advocate his entire life and the prime focus of most of his companies has been energy and the environment. His most recent company served the food service and food retail industries and addressed energy, water, and food sustainability as well as food safety. The company was sold in 2019 and Martin stepped down in 2022 to focus on mentoring, consulting, and board memberships. He learned to sail on the Charles River and had an office on the Charles for 12 years with his last company. Martin has a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from MIT and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the City University of NY.
NEW BOARD OF ADVISORS
REV. VERNON K. WALKER is the Program Director of Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (C.R.E.W). Originally born and raised in Philadelphia, Rev. Walker attended Penn State University where he studied Organizational Leadership and Psychology, and Boston University, where he earned a Master's Degree in Theological Studies with a focus on community engagement. Rev. Walker is a Senior Fellow at the Environmental Leadership Program and Senior Fellow at Tufts University Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life through the Institute for Nonprofit Practice. Rev. Walker completed a fellowship at Hebrew College's Boston Bridges Fellowship, a Climate Health Organizing Fellowship through the Cambridge Health Alliance, the Emerging Leaders Program through the University of Massachusetts Boston's Center for Collaborative Leadership., and currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Public Policy at Tufts University Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning.
CARL ZIMBA is the President of Charles River Alliance of Boaters (C.R.A.B). His involvement with the Charles River boating community started while he was the president of the Massachusetts Bay Sailing League for a dozen years, building it from eight high school sailing teams at Community Boating to more than thirty schools at venues from Natick to Gloucester and Duxbury. He was the Project Coordinator and driving force to generate the new depth chart of the Lower Basin of the Charles River, the first detailed chart in more than 100 years. In addition, he has been the webmaster for CRAB for several years, creating much of the content of our website, and vice-president of CRAB in 2021.
Charles River Watershed Association’s mission is to protect, restore and enhance the Charles River and its watershed through science, advocacy, and the law. CRWA develops science-based strategies to increase resilience, protect public health, and promote environmental equity as we confront a changing climate.
Julia Hopkins
Communications & Outreach Manager
Charles River Watershed Association
(617) 540-5650 x1071
