The Board of Directors is the Association’s governing body. They are elected by the members at the Annual Meeting, generally in June, and are unpaid volunteers drawn from the communities we serve.
Officers and Directors, as of June 2017
President, Robert McGregor, Sharon
General Manager, Marketing and High End Laboratory Products; Member Sharon Water Management Advisory Committee; Active Member, Unitarian Church of Sharon.
Vice President, David Biggers, Canton
Walk, Bike & Hike Committee, Town of Canton; Finance Committee & Spring Coffeehouse Organizer, First Parish Unitarian Universalist Canton; Volunteer, Brookwood Community Farm; Retired Environmental Engineer, MassDEP
Treasurer, James Green, Canton
Executive Director, Center for Orthopedics, Spine Sports Medicine, South Shore Hospital (SSH); Board Member, Friends of Blue Hills; Blue Hills Volunteer Tutor, GED Program.
Secretary, Stephen Brayton, Dedham
Owner, Brayton Communications (PR and financial communications). Former journalist with the Boston Herald, Patriot Ledger. Managed environmental PR at Gillette Co. Director & past-president, Dedham Historical Society.
Elisa Birdseye, Hyde Park
Librarian, Boston Public Library; Personnel Manager/Librarian, New Bedford Symphony; professional freelance violist; Vice President, Professional Staff Association of the Boston Public Library; former Executive Director of Boston Musica Viva, New England Philharmonic, and Boston Chamber Ensemble; reviewer for Boston Musical Intelligencer; active volunteer for local, state and national political campaigns.
Jerry Hopcroft, Norwood
Registered Professional Engineer, Licensed Site Professional; Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Wentworth Institute of Technology; Member of the American Society for Engineering Education, the Water Environment Federation, the New England Water Envioronment Association, and the American Society of Civil Engineers; Founder and President of Chirimoto Development Project, Inc.; Member Norwood Permanent Building Construction Committee; Elected Norwood Town Meeting Member.
Ardis Johnston, Stoughton
Retired, Invertebrate Department, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; Secretary, Stoughton Open Space Committee; Board Member, Packard Manse, Inc; Stoughton Representative, Borderland State Park Advisory Committee; Board Member, Stoughton Neighborhood Coalition
Peter Kane, Westwood
Mechanical Engineer, 1366 Technologies; former Board Member Mass Interfaith Power and Light; former Trustee First Parish Church; former Member Grant-making Committee, NE Grassroots Environmental Fund.
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.
Paul Lauenstein, Sharon
Past President Blue Hill Press; founding Member Sharon Lions Club; Member MWRA Water Supply Citizen Advisory Comm.
Martha McDonough, Readville
Retired elementary school teacher, Whitman-Hanson School District; Neponset Greenways Council Member; Factory Hill Community Garden Coordinator; Readville/Camp Meigs Neighborhood Watch Member; Hyde Park Neponset River Clean-up Coordinator
Brendan McLaughlin, Milton
Principal of Westglow Technology Consulting; Trustee Milton Public Library; former member Milton Warrant Committee; former Chair Milton Foundation for Education Celebration of Education Campaign; Pan Mass Challenge participant.
Maura O’Gara, Quincy
Engagement Site Manager, Southeast Gardens/The Trustees of Reservations; Former Program Coordinator, Mass Energy Consumers Alliance, Founding Board Member QuinCycles, Former Spokesperson Quincy Environmental Network, Former Member, Quincy Wind Committee. Office ends 2016.
Richard O’Mara, Dorchester
President of Cedar Grove Gardens, President Dorchester Park Association, Officer of Dorchester Lower Mills Civic Association and Lower Mills Merchant Assoc., Board Member of Cedar Grove Cemetery and the Dorchester Historical Society.
Lester Tyrala, Quincy
Registered professional geologist; Member, Assoc. of Engineering Geologists; Secretary of New England Chapter 8, Natl. Assoc. of Watch and Clock Collectors; Earth & Planetary Sciences interpretive guide, Harvard Museum of Natural History; volunteer for TTOR, DCR and Mass Audubon; Trustee, Quincy Historical Society; Trailside Museum, Mass Audubon, Advisory committee.
Laura Vaites, Walpole
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School
William Wiseman, Walpole
Senior VP Investments, Morgan Stanley; Past Member, Walpole Pond Committee; Past Treasurer, Friends of Paragon Carousel; Former Chairman Hull Redevelopment Authority. Office ends 2016.
Board Member Responsibilities
Board members are responsible for establishing our strategic priorities, approving and monitoring the operating budget, evaluating our programs, and hiring and evaluating the Executive Director. Just as importantly, the Board connects the Watershed Association to our local communities and helps recruit the expertise and resources we need to be successful.
Board members serve two-year terms and must be members of the organization. The Board meets monthly, and Board Members participate in a variety of committee work. Anyone interested in serving as a Member of the Board is encouraged to contact the Nominating Committee via the Executive Director.