Staff and Board

An environmental scientist for 45 years, Ralph earned a B.S. in environmental conservation from Cornell, an M.S. in soil chemistry from the Univ. of Maine, and a Ph.D. in soil physics from UMass-Amherst. He has authored over ninety technical publications and four books. Ralph is co-lead of the Fitchburg Trail Stewards. He is an avid naturalist and enjoys cycling, hiking, kayaking, and back-country skiing. With his wife Judith, a horticulturalist and artist, he also enjoys frequently caring for their two grandchildren.

She left the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to manage a family software business, which was recently assumed by a financial planning firm. She recently retired from the Harvard Select Board after serving for seven terms and which she chaired several times over the course of her tenure. In addition to serving on the Select Board, she has served on and chaired several other local boards over the last 35 years, including the Conservation Commission, Planning Board, and three master planning and related committees. In addition, Lucy has been a trustee and associate trustee of the Harvard Conservation Trust. She has been involved in Devens’ planning and redevelopment since the base’s closure in the mid-1990’s and is currently serving on the town and regional committees addressing the future governance of Devens.

Robert has served on a number of Town Boards in Townsend including as a 9-year member of the North Middlesex Regional School District School Committee and Chairman of the North Middlesex Regional High School Building Committee. He is currently a member of the Townsend Library Endowment Board of Directors. Robert and his wife Ellen volunteer for the NRWA as part of the stream monitoring program. They have lived in Townsend, MA with their two children for 20 years. Robert is an avid birdwatcher.

Warren joined the DEP in 1972 as a River Basin Planner conducting water quality analysis, mathematical modeling of rivers, and writing clean-up plans for major river systems. He was the head of the Water Quality Standards Program, and developed policies for antidegradation, combined sewer overflows, and nutrient control. He developed DEP’s SMART Monitoring Program and Water Quality Report Card. As a consultant to EPA, he helped found the Water Quality Standards Academy. He served as a consultant to USGS and EPA’s National Water Quality Monitoring Council. He was on the Board of Directors for the New England Association for Environmental Biologists. He was a past Director for the NRWA, and currently serves on its Climate Impact Committee and Steering Committee for the 5 Year Strategic Plan. He enjoys hiking, biking, and candlepin bowling; he also is a member of the AMC’s NH Four-Thousand-Footer Club.

Her background includes floodplain modeling and mapping, stormwater management permitting and design, stream-crossing design (critter-friendly design), and dam safety. She is currently employed at Inter-Fluve, an interdisciplinary ecological restoration design firm that specializes (on the East Coast) in dam removals and cranberry bog restorations. She is currently an active member of the Town of Shirley Planning Board.

Sherry helped to re-establish an active Greenway Committee in Shirley, serving as chair since its inception in 2020. She has led a number of land protection and land stewardship projects within her community and is a member of a local turtle conservation group that helps protect rare species. She is a 2023 Keystone Cooperator Alumna and 2025 recipient of a Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions (MACC) Environmental Service Award. Sherry is also an avid nature photographer, who loves hiking and paddling, and spends time on the Maine Coast each summer.  

Currently, Dave works part-time as a river guide for Nashoba Paddler for the NRWA River Classroom, serves on the Board of Directors for the Squan-A-Tissit chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Nashoba Conservation Trust, and is a member of the Pepperell Climate Change Committee. Dave has a bachelor’s degree in Geoscience from Hobart College and studied hydrology at the University of Minnesota. Early in his career he was a science teacher in New York and Vermont. He started the Pepperell Green-Up and was a 25-year volunteer with NRWA’s Water Monitoring Program. He enjoys canoeing, cross-country skiing, nature photography, fishing, gardening, and building birdhouses.

She works closely with coworkers to help the City achieve Sustainability goals and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions including initiating the purchase of electric vehicles for the City’s fleet, and preparing the City’s first Sustainability Plan.

Deb grew up in Nashua where she has lived since 1970. She holds a degree in Biology from Colby College. She spent over 25 years in the hazardous waste industry, primarily as a contractor to the EPA, before joining the City. Deb is a volunteer with the NRWA’s Water Monitoring Program. She served eight years, three as president, on the Board of the Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity. She is currently a board member of the Nashua Education Foundation, and a member of the Lower Merrimack River Local Advisory Committee. Deb enjoys listening to live music, kayaking, and hanging out with her dog, Bowie.

In 2010, she co-founded Senscio Systems with her husband, Hugh A. Stoddart, building a healthcare technology company that pioneered the use of artificial intelligence to help people with complex chronic conditions live healthier, more independent lives. Alongside her professional career, Piali has been an active volunteer leader. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Village Nursery School, the Harvard Conservation Trust, and the Jhalak Foundation in India. She was an elected member of the Harvard School Committee, and currently serves on the Board of the Warner Free Lecture in Harvard. Her commitment to conservation and education is also reflected in her family history. Piali is the daughter-in-law of Marion Stoddart, whose legacy inspires her continued dedication to environmental stewardship.

She is the director for team learning at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and the founder of WPI’s SWEET Center, a campus resource that supports effective and equitable teamwork in the collaborative projects. Anne has a BS in Zoology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and an MS in Adult and Organizational Learning from Suffolk University. She has served as an elected Trustee of the Thayer Memorial Library in Lancaster and in various other volunteer roles in her town.

The forests and streams feeding the Nashua River are often part of his teaching and student projects. He serves as the chair of Ashburnham’s Conservation Commission, chair of the Open Space and Rec Committee, as well as the board of the town Rail Trail and the Mt. Watatic Management Committee. Chris attended the College of the Holy Cross, and he earned a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan by working in Nicaraguan rainforest. He then studied soil ecology of perennial grain agriculture at The Land Institute in Kansas before returning to his New England roots. He enjoys trail running, Contra dancing, gardening, and all forms of sustainability.

Tom has an engineering degree from University of Vermont and an MBA from Bentley University. Tom previously served on the NRWA Board of Directors from 2012-2018. In his free time, Tom enjoys kayaking on the river with his children.

The early years of her professional career were on Wall Street at Irving Trust Company in the project finance division. She currently serves as Vice Chair of Westford’s Economic Development Committee, is Treasurer on the Board of Minuteman Arc for Human Services (Concord) and is a Corporator for Emerson Hospital, where she serves on the Community Benefits Advisory Committee. She is a former board member and past board president of the PCA (Parish Center for the Arts) in Westford, where she produced a blues music series and chaired the annual Westford Regional Art Event. She is also a member of the Westford Rotary Club, and a founder of the Westford Business Association. In her free time, Cheryl is an avid reader and enjoys gardening, hiking, cycling, and kayaking.

He has been engaged in the practice of law in central Massachusetts since 1977. He served as a member of the Groton Zoning Board of Appeals for 15 years and has been a Trustee of the Groton Conservation Trust since 1984.

Marion is an active member of the Groton Greenway Committee. She is the former Chairman of the Groton Conservation Commission and the Groton Conservation Trust. Interests include adventure travel, hiking canoeing, kayaking, cross-country skiing, bicycling and tennis.