The Board of Directors is NepRWA’s governing body.
NepRWA’s Board of Directors consists of volunteers elected to renewable two-year terms at NepRWA’s Annual Meeting in June by a vote of the Members of the organization.
The Board oversees the operation of the organization on behalf of its Members, setting the overall strategic direction, monitoring the budget, evaluating program impact, and making key policy decisions. NepRWA’s Executive Director reports to the Board.
Equally important, the Board connects NepRWA to local communities and helps recruit the expertise and resources needed for success. The Board meets monthly and participates in a variety of committee work.
For more information about the Board, contact NepRWA Executive Director, Ian Cooke, at cooke@neponset.org
Our Board: Officers and Directors as of June 2026
President, Jennie Goossen, Westwood
Elementary Science Specialist / Coach, M. Ed., Westwood Public Schools, Master Gardener certified by the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association, Former IT and business consultant at Accenture.
Vice President, Heather Audet, Norwood
Senior Project Manager at GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc., Registered Professional Engineer, Membership Co-Chair of WTS-Boston (Women’s Transportation Seminar), WTS-Boston Transportation YOU Outreach Committee volunteer, member of American Society of Civil Engineers/ Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section (BSCES), Old Parish Preservation volunteer, and Pan Mass Challenge volunteer.
Secretary, Julianne S. Belcher, Walpole
Retired Middle School English Teacher Sharon School District, RETELL Facilitator for DESE, English Language Learner Curriculum Consultant Vanke Meisha Academy in Shenzhen, China, Current Elementary and Middle School Mentor.
Treasurer, Kyle McBurney, Dover
Principal at Highland Peak Wealth; Mentor, Summer Search Boston; Corporate Volunteer, Thompson Island Outward Bound; Member, Boys and Girls Club of Boston Friends Council; Member, Norfolk and Plymouth County Estate and Business Planning Council (NPEPC)
Stephen Brayton, Dedham
Director/VP of the Dedham Historical Society & Museum. Active member of the Charles River Green Coalition. Former business reporter with the Boston Herald and PR exec at Gillette Co. managing environmental, health and safety communications.
James Green, Canton
Volunteer Consultant, Empower Success Corps (ESC), Blue Hills Trail Adopter, Volunteer Member of Disaster Action Team for the American Red Cross, Active Member Neponset Greenway Council, Retired Executive Director, Center for Orthopedics, Spine Sports Medicine, South Shore Hospital (SSH), Former Board Member, Friends of Blue Hills.
Jerry Hopcroft, Norwood
Registered Professional Engineer, Licensed Site Professional (Ret.); Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Wentworth Institute of Technology (Ret.); Member of the American Society for Engineering Education, Treasurer, ASEE Northeast Section; the Water Environment Federation, the New England Water Environment Association, and the American Society of Civil Engineers; Founder and President of Chirimoto Development Project, Inc.; Member Norwood Permanent Building Construction Committee.
Taber Keally, Milton
Commercial real estate broker with Donahue Associates; Treasurer, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Milton Rep. to Three Rivers Interlocal Council; Chair, MWRA Wastewater Adv. Comm.
Maria Lyons, Dorchester
Retired Science Teacher, Mount Alvernia Academy; Environmental Chairperson, Port Norfolk Civic Association; Board Member, Neponset River Greenway Council and Harborfront Neighborhood Alliance; Greenovate Boston, Climate Ready Boston Leader.
Robert McGregor, Sharon
Member – Sharon MA Water Management Advisory Committee; President – Unitarian Church of Sharon; Chair – Red Jacket Society, City Year Providence; Founder and Chief Bottle Washer – NepRWA Nips Inc.
Brendan McLaughlin, Milton
Executive Vice President, Accelare, Inc.; former Trustee Milton Public Library; former member Milton Warrant Committee; former Chair Milton Foundation for Education Celebration of Education Campaign; 15-time Pan Mass Challenge participant.
James O. Michel, Hyde Park
Retired clinician, program manager, and policy maker in the field of behavioral healthcare, currently working as an activist/grassroots organizer focused on environmental, racial, and economic justice.
Co-creator of the Boston Clean Energy Coalition, Resist the Pipeline, and the Crane Ledge Woods Coalition. Active in many circles, including the Solidaire Network, the Fierce Vulnerability Network, and the Hyde Park Neponset River Access Committee.
Linda Orel, Sharon
Chief Impact Officer, Boston Harbor Now; former advocate at The Trustees of Reservations, Trust for Public Land, and The Nature Conservancy; former executive director of Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions and member of Sharon Conservation Commission; former Board member Environmental League of Massachusetts; admitted to practice law in Massachusetts (inactive status).
Bill Pastuszek, Colrain
Commercial real estate appraiser and owner of Shepherd Associates, LLC; Board Member and past Board President, Greater Boston Chapter of Trout Unlimited.
Emyr Remy, Hyde Park
Attorney – Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.; Member – Massachusetts Bar Association (Complex Commercial Litigation – Section Council); Board Member – Southwest Boston Community Development Corporation; Member – Hyde Park Neponset River Access Committee; Member – Lower Neponset River Community Advisory Group
Gevon Solomon, Hyde Park
PhD candidate in Urban Education Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston, passionate about researching and advancing diversity in the environmental workforce through an approach that centers Indigenous knowledge; Core Council Member of the Boston Participatory Action Research Network; Volunteer Farm Hand at Sejah Farm of the Virgin Islands; former Environmental Justice Specialist and Life Scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Dr. Cathy Stern, Canton
Behavioral and Neuro Optometrist, Canton Neponset River Cleanup Coordinator, Community Member Rhode Island Council on Assistive Technology, Senior Advisor Vision Science Academy (UK), Former Optometric Consultant Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children, Former Adjunct Faculty New England College of Optometry, Former Physician Mentor MIT Engineering the Eye, Board Member B’nai Tikvah, Canton, Member Massachusetts Society of Optometrists, State Director College of Optometrists in Vision Development and Rehabilitation, International Committee Chair Neuro Optometric Rehabilitation Association, Research Director and Former Trustee College of Syntonic Optometry, ChatVT Forum Facilitator Optometric Extension Program Foundation (OEPF), Optometric Lecturer in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Matthew Valencius, Quincy
Learning design and technology specialist with IBM Corporate Social Responsibility. Treasurer of the Ummeed Child Development Foundation, Inc. Member of the Association for Talent Development and the Senior Human Resources Network. Former Girl Scout Volunteer.
Advisory Council
NepRWA’s Advisory Council members play an important, though informal, role in NepRWA’s governance. They meet with the NepRWA Board twice a year to discuss opportunities and challenges facing the organization and our Watershed communities.
The Advisory Council provides the Board with valuable insights and expertise from a broader cross-section of our communities than can be represented by the operating Board alone. Advisory Council members also participate informally in various projects throughout the year.
If you’re interested in joining the Advisory Council, please contact NepRWA Development Director Jennifer Hopcroft at hopcroft@neponset.org or 781-575-0354 x 303.
Our current Advisory Council Members include:
Michael Andresino, Milton
Rodney Bender, Stoughton
David Biggers, Canton
Tom Birmingham, Canton
David Brookfield, Sharon
David Bryant, Dedham
Jessie Dambreville, Mattapan
Pete DiPasca, Walpole
David Dobrint, Milton
Susan Olson Drisko, Sharon
Eileen Gunn, Quincy
Chris Hirsch, Salem
Cathy Horn, Hyde Park
Claire Hughes, Dorchester
Pete Jackson, Milton
Irene Lutts, Quincy
Michael Malamut, Dedham
Mike Manning, Charlestown
Madeleine McGregor, NYC
Stacie Miller, Foxborough
Janean Muhammad, Hyde Park
Raushanah Muhammad, Hyde Park
Matthew Murphy, South Boston
Stefanie O’Shea, Dorchester
Richard O’Mara, Dorchester / Brockton
Vivian Ortiz, Mattapan
Phil Paradis, Hyde Park
Hung Pham, Braintree
Gary Riggot, Walpole
Ellen Schoenfeld, Sharon
Hanna Switlekowski, Sharon
Richard Terry, Stoughton
Helena Tonge, Mattapan
Scott Turner, Stoughton
Nick Vinke, Milton
Bill Wiseman, Chatham
Sidney Worthen, Milton
