BOARD & COMMITTEES
2011-2012 BOARD of DIRECTORS
MyRWA Board 2011-2012 photo courtesy David Mussina
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President
John Reinhardt, a long time resident of the Watershed, living in Somerville, is active on environmental issues professionally and as a citizen. Professionally, he is the Branch Chief for Industrial Wastewater Policy and Regulations for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Mr. Reinhardt has over 25 years of professional experience in environmental policy analysis, ranging from policy analysis, industrial wastewater, drinking water, toxic substance control strategy development, and hazardous waste. He has served on the Somerville Conservation Commission since 1994. His long term involvement with MyRWA started in 1988 as part-time executive director for 3 years; chairing the Water Quality Committee since 1999; serving on the Board of Directors since 1997, including president from 1997 to 1999, as well as the current president since 2007.
Vice President
Michael Fager comes to the Mystic River because of his love for the natural environment. He feels that we, as stewards of the Mystic River watershed should take an ecosystem approach to preserving and protecting all aspects of the Mystic River ecosystem. Michael believes that this starts with understanding and preserving the often neglected, but surprisingly resilient biodiversity of the watershed. Our job is to enhance the quality of the natural environment that is the Mystic River watershed. Michael has a B.S. in Natural Resource Studies and is currently an attorney in the private practice of law in Somerville. He is currently the Board Vice President and serves on the Policy Committee. He also enjoys bird and wildlife watching, hiking, reading and watching the Red Sox.
Treasurer
Minka vanBeuzekom has been a Cambridge resident for more than 30 years. She holds a Master's degree in public health with concentration in epidemiology & environmental health. She has been active in Cambridge environmental issues for more than 20 years including five years volunteering and working with MyRWA on financial and water quality issues. She is on Finance and Corporate Fundraising Committees. Minka's professional work experience includes 15 years managing business concerns in the biotech sector. She is committed for the sake of her three grandsons and others to revitalize the Mystic River and its watershed, an urban jewel deserving of our attention.
Secretary
Mark Jacobson is an Arlington resident and has spent much of his life in the Mystic River Watershed. He has an MS in environmental science from UMass/Boston, and currently is the manager of Charles River Canoe & Kayak and the Weston Ski Track. For the past four years he has organized the paddling portion of the Mystic River Herring Run and Paddle, and in 2006 and 2007, he was the race director for both the paddle and run. He is also serves on MyRWA's Outreach Committee.
Members
Karen Grossman is a resident of Arlington who has lived near the Mystic River and within sight of the beautiful Spy Pond for 32 years. She has been active in community building and environmental advocacy and has assumed leadership roles in other nonprofit organizations. As a long-time member and President of the Friends of Spy Pond Park, Karen continues to promote appreciation and respect for our natural resources that she learned growing up on the edge of the woods in Pennsylvania. As a MyRWA board member, she is engaging in outreach projects to educate others, encourage membership, increase involvement, and to further the mission of the organization. She serves on the Outreach and Corporate Fundraising Committees. Karen enjoys canoeing, short distance bicycling, traveling around the world, choral singing, and reading. She earned a B.S. from Syracuse University, a M.Ed. from Boston University, and is a retired speech and language pathologist.
Lori Kennedy is an environmental engineer specializing in sustainable water resources planning and "green" stormwater management. Lori holdsan M.S. in environmental engineering from the University of California, Davis and a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. A relative newcomer to the Mystic River Watershed, Lori is eager to experience all that the watershed has to offer. She enjoys hiking, cycling, and kayaking. Lori hopes to contribute her skills and enthusiasm toward protecting and restoring the Watershed. Lori also serves as the MyRWA Policy Committee chair.
Clay Larsen is a resident of Malden. He has worked in the field of landscape architecture for over 20 years as a designer, contractor and horticulturalist. His recent work has focused on storm water management and urban watershed restoration. Clays experience ranges from designing and building integrated storm water management systems, that mitigate flooding while providing storm water as a resource for irrigation and sanitation, to investigations of the sculptural and habitat restoration potential of storm water management systems in urban environments. Clay is an avid cyclist and kayaker. He attributes much of his interest in the environment to childhood experiences playing in the streams and ponds of the Mystic River watershed. Clay is currently developing a landscape consulting practice that works to expand the capacity of municipalities, nonprofits and citizens groups to build projects that enhance sustainability and promote community engagement, with particular focus on rain gardens and community gardens. Clay holds a Bachelor’s in Landscape Architecture from the Boston Architectural College.
Carolyn Mieth a resident of Cambridge, has been a member of MyRWA for eleven years and a board member for nine. She currently serves on MyRWA's Outreach Committee. Among Carolyn's activities are the following: co-founder of the Coalition for Alewife, a coalition of residents from Arlington, Belmont and Cambridge formed to protect and enhance the Alewife Reservation and Co-Chair of the Association of Cambridge Neighborhoods; Chair of the Flower Committee for First Church in Belmont; Co-Chair of Belmont Unitarian Alliance; Vice-Chair of the North Cambridge Stabilization Committee; and served on the board of Cambridge Family and Children's Services for twenty-two years, recently appointed Board Emerita for the organization. For her environmental work in the Alewife Reservation, Carolyn has received awards from Cambridge ECO, the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions, and the State Legislature.
Steve Murphy is an Arlington resident who joined the MyRWA Board in 2009 where he sits on the Finance Committee. He has been an active volunteer and part-time staffer at MyRWA since 2006, including Project Manager for the Find-It-and-Fix-It (FIFI) program. Steve’s professional experience is primarily in finance and engineering. He was an Executive Director, Equity Research at Oppenheimer & Company where he led several technology-sector research teams and supported numerous securities offerings and M&A transactions. Prior to that, Steve was an Associate Management Consultant at Pittiglio Rabin Todd & McGrath (PRTM) where he assisted on re-engineering projects in product-development process and supply-chain improvement for large technology companies. He holds a BS Industrial & Management Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and has done coursework in Environmental Management at Harvard Extension School.
Michael O'Brien is a resident of Medford. He acquired a B.S. Degree in chemical engineering from Gonzaga University and a Masters Degree in Engineering Management from Northeastern University. He has worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an environmental engineer between 1972-2005 (permitting/closing hazardous waste facilities and permitting industrial/municipal wastewater discharges). He likes traveling (having participated in seven Earthwatch environmental projects around the world), gardening and animals (four black cats). Mr. O'Brien serves as treasurer to St. Raphael’s Knights of Columbus and serves on both MyRWA's Water Quality Committee and Outreach Committee.
Maria Simoneau joined the MyRWA board in 2008 and took on the post of outreach chair. She has been a water quality monitor on the Aberjona River in Winchester at the Winchester USGS station since 2006. Always eager to be outdoors, Maria is a paddler, walker, skier, biker of the Mystic Lakes & River and a sailor in Boston Harbor past Chelsea Creek & into the Mystic River. Maria also serves on MyRWA's Outreach Committee. Her enjoyment of the natural beauty of the Watershed and her conservation-minded ways make her eager for all watershed residents to enjoy the recreation opportunities here as well as to join MyRWA in its science-based advocacy, protection and renewal of this valuable resource.
CURRENT COMMITTEES
MyRWA has three committees that work both independently and jointly, which include the Committee on Water Quality (COWQ), the Outreach Committee, and the Policy Committee. The Committees meet monthly with roughly half of the meeting dedicated to individual committee discussion, planning, and strategizing, while the rest of the meeting is devoted to the joint committee engaging in relevant discussion including occasional guest speakers. Please join us! Committee Meetings are free and open to the public. Please see our calendar for the next meeting date.
The Outreach Committee increases participation, communication, and raises awareness of the watershed among volunteers, community members, and organizations. The Outreach Committee organizes recreational and educational events, river/lake cleanups, our annual Mystic River Herring Run and Paddle, and field activities. We also publish MyRWA's Newsletter, plan our media strategy, and create watershed-related educational materials. Chair: Maria Simoneau
The Policy Committee is charged with providing support to the Executive Director and Board of Directors on policy matters. The Policy Committee also tracks and responds to federal, state, and local projects and initiatives to protect MyRWA interests throughout the watershed. Chair: Rachel Borgatti
The Committee on Water Quality (COWQ) provides technical assistance for MyRWA projects and guidance for the water sampling efforts (i.e., the Mystic Monitoring Network). The committee discusses aquatic chemistry, modeling, hydrology, biology, and water quality regulation and engineering as related to the Mystic River Watershed. Chair: John Reinhardt