Charles River Watershed Association Announces New Board Members and Staff (PRESS RELEASE)
APRIL 12, 2024: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BOSTON, MA –– Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) is pleased to announce the addition of several new board members and staff to its growing team.
NEW BOARD MEMBERS
MICHELLE DESILVA is a seasoned Senior Fellow at the Conservation Law Foundation. Her career began in investments with Thomson Reuters and Fidelity Investments before she directed an angel investing firm in the Midwest. Michelle's expertise expanded to working closely with community foundations, aiding in strategy, branding, and donor development. Dedicated to community and nonprofit leadership, Michelle has served on numerous boards, including those of the St. Louis Children’s Hospital, St. Louis Public Radio, and the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City. She was formerly an ambassador for the Global Lyme Alliance. Michelle holds a BS in Finance from Babson College and Nonprofit Management degrees from Northeastern University and Boston University. She recently completed a prestigious 1.5-year Advanced Leadership Initiative program at Harvard University, focusing on social impact, conservation, and ecological urban design
GREG HERREMA currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Discovery Life Sciences. Before this role, he held various positions at Thermo Fisher Scientific, a leading life sciences company. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President and President of the company's laboratory supplies distribution business, which boasted revenues exceeding $8 billion. Before this, Greg led several other groups and divisions within Thermo Fisher. Earlier in his career, Greg held multiple sales, marketing, and general management positions at GE. Greg previously served as Board Chair of the Analytical, Life Science, & Diagnostics Association, a board member of the Virginia Tech Foundation, and is actively involved with many non-profit organizations focused on land conservation. Greg holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and recently completed the Advanced Leadership Initiative program at Harvard University.
BRIAN KINNEY is a retired Managing Director at EHS Partners, a boutique management consulting firm that leads Fortune 500 companies through comprehensive earnings improvement programs. Before EHS Partners, Brian co-founded Tandon Capital Associates (TCA), focusing on groundbreaking restructuring work in the banking industry. Before TCA, Brian spent five years at McKinsey & Company, serving clients in the financial services, pharmaceuticals, publishing, and automotive industries. He also is a minority owner and board member of Nightingale Nurses, a Florida-based travel nurse staffing company. In addition to his corporate roles, Brian is deeply involved in community and nonprofit work. Prior to joining the CRWA Board, Brian served on the board of The Trustees of Reservations. He is also a former Boston Public Market Association Chairman and Trustee Emeritus of the Boston Ballet. Brian holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College.
CHRIS MARKIEWICZ served as a Newton City Councilor from 2018 through 2023. He served on the Land Use, Public Safety and Transportation, and Audit Committees. His professional background includes being a CPA and working for Deloitte, where he was a lead client-facing Director for several large business transformation and system integration projects. He served clients in these industries: financial services, high-tech and aerospace manufacturing, electric and water utilities, and state and local government. After Deloitte, he was a Senior Vice President at Fidelity Investments, leading large technical and risk assessment program initiatives. He is a current trustee of the All Newton Music School and served as Board President during the School’s recent major capital campaign.
NEW OFFICERS
STEPHANIE HSIA (Vice President) is a Senior Associate with Reed Hilderbrand who strives to bring scientific rigor, ecological diversity, and visual acuity to her work in landscape architecture and urban design. Coming from a background in environmental science and biology, Stephanie enjoys discovering the natural world and finds beauty in its connections and flows. She seeks to bring resiliency and joy into public spaces by developing a deep understanding of the site. Before moving into landscape architecture, she led community tree inventories. Stephanie developed green street vision and green infrastructure plans for several Massachusetts municipalities through her work with the Urban Ecology Institute and the Charles River Watershed Association. She has been a guest lecturer and critic at the University of Pennsylvania and The Rhode Island School of Design.
MARTIN FLUSBERG (Treasurer) 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, addressing energy, water, food sustainability, and 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 STAFF MEMBERS
CABELL EAMES joins as Advocacy Director, working with local, state, and federal leaders to implement resiliency policies across the Charles River watershed. Cabell has been at the forefront of climate activism since 1994 when she first organized for environmental justice issues with the Sierra Club’s Save the Rainforest campaign. Prior to joining CRWA, Cabell served as Legislative and Political Director at Better Future Project, where she was pivotal in the passage of two impactful climate laws, An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind and An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy. Cabell also served as campaign manager for Bob Massie's gubernatorial bid in 2018, and has been a clean energy consultant and small business owner.
ARRIANNA PROIA joins as a Community Organizer. A recent graduate of Bridgewater State University with a BA in Political Science, Arrianna works with local leaders, community groups, and environmental activists to advocate for municipal climate resilience laws and policies. Arrianna brings experience managing numerous political campaigns in her hometown of Newton.
SIMRET SEMINE joins as Development Associate. Working alongside the Development Director and Manager, Simret assists with special events, fundraising programs, and other development functions. Before joining CRWA, she worked as a Development Associate at the Henry L. Stimson Center in Washington D.C. Simret earned her BA in International Affairs from American University and more recently earned her Grant Writing Certificate from SenecaWorks LLC.
CARLY SHERMAN joins as Communications Associate, translating CRWA’s often technical and science-based work into accessible language and engaging visuals to make it appealing to a wide audience. Carly received her BS in natural resources conservation (NRC) from the University of Massachusetts Amherst as a double major in NRC and journalism. Bringing more than two years of environmental communications experience from the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, Carly is committed to strengthening relationships between people and nature.
RYAN SMITH joins as Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts Boston with a BS in Environmental Science, Ryan is passionate about connecting nature and people toward a healthier Charles River. Bringing environmental education experience from the Boston Nature Center and experience from the environmental sampling industry, Ryan manages CRWA’s volunteer monthly monitors, corporate invasive removal events, the annual Earth Day cleanup, and numerous other education and outreach events.
