SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Keynote Speaker P. LYNN SCARLETT Global Managing Director for Public Policy The Nature Conservancy Washington, D.C. www.nature.org
In her role as Global Managing Director, Lynn Scarlett influences climate and nature-based solutions policy—in the United States and the 69 countries in which the Conservancy influences conservation.
Climate change is one of the world’s most urgent challenges and an immediate risk to our communities, economies, and to our conservation mission. Lynn believes that practical, innovative solutions can create a prosperous, low-carbon future that is cleaner, healthier, and more secure for everyone and that nature-based solutions are an essential component of controlling carbon pollution and protecting against climate impacts.
Most recently, she was the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Lynn also served as the Acting Secretary of the Interior in 2006.
While Interior’s Deputy Secretary, Lynn initiated and chaired the Department’s Cooperative Conservation Working Group and it’s first-ever Climate Change Task Force. She established the Interior’s Ocean and Coastal Activities office to coordinate cross-departmental ocean and coastal work. She chaired the nation’s Wildland Fire Leadership Council. She served on the Executive Committee of the President’s Management Council.
Lynn is author or co-author of publications on climate change adaptation; ecosystem services; large landscape conservation; and science and decision making.
She chairs the Science Advisory Board of NOAA, co-chairs the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives Council established in 2014 by the U.S. Department of the Interior, and co-chairs the National Academy of Sciences Sustainability Roundtable. She also served on the US Global Change Research Program Committee and is a co-convening lead author of the National Climate Assessment.
She is on the Dean’s Advisory Council of the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at UC Santa Barbara. She also serves on the boards of trustees of the National Wildlife Refuge Association and is a member of the Coordinating Council of the Practitioners’ Network for Large Landscape Conservation.
Lynn received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she also completed her Ph.D. coursework and exams in political science and political economy.
KATHY ABBOTT President and Chief Executive Officer Boston Harbor Now Boston, Massachusetts www.islandalliance.org Kathy Abbott, President and CEO of Boston Harbor Now, is an experienced executive and entrepreneur in government and non-profits. She previously served as CEO of Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Interim President and Executive Vice President at the Trustees of Reservations, and Director of the Conservation and Recreation Campaign at the Trust for Public Land. As the first Executive Director and President of the Boston Harbor Island Alliance, Kathy helped to establish a new national park in Boston Harbor. In state government, she served as the first Assistant Secretary for Land Conservation and later created the Division of Resource Conservation. In 2003, Kathy was recruited as the first Commissioner of the new Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. She received her Associates Degree in Arboriculture and Park Management from the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, a Bachelor’s Degree in Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning from the University of Massachusetts, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
TIM ABBOTT Director, Litchfield Hills Greenprint Housatonic Valley Association Cornwall Bridge, Connecticut www.litchfieldgreenprint.org Tim Abbott has been the Director of the Litchfield Hills Greenprint since 2006. During his tenure, the Greenprint Collaborative has facilitated more than 3,300 acres of protected land, leveraging nearly $11M in public and private funding. Tim previously served as Director of The Nature Conservancy’s three-state Berkshire Taconic Landscape Program and as a Program Director with the Trust for Public Land in Connecticut. He currently serves on the Connecticut Land Conservation Council, the Steering Committee of the Regional Conservation Partnership, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's Natural Heritage, Open Space & Watershed Land Acquisition Review Board, and the State Forestry Committee. Tim holds an M.A. from Clark University in International Development (Fulbright Fellowship recipient) and a B.A. in English from Haverford College.
AMANDA BABSON Coastal Landscape Adaptation Coordinator National Park Service, Northeast Region Narragansett, Rhode Island www.northatlanticlcc.org Amanda Babson is the Coastal Landscape Adaptation Coordinator for the Northeast Region of the National Park Service. Amanda represents the NPS in the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative, working towards the development and delivery of science and tools to support landscape-scale climate adaptation. She leads science and resource management efforts related to climate change adaptation for coastal national parks in the Northeast Region and throughout the nation. Prior to NPS, she worked for the US Environmental Protection Agency where she was also an AAAS Science Policy Fellow. She received a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of Washington and a B.A. in Physics from Carleton College.
EMILY BATESON Coordinator Practitioners’ Network for Large Landscape Conservation Boston, Massachusetts www.largelandscapenetwork.org Emily Bateson is Coordinator of the Practitioners’ Network for Large Landscape Conservation and Senior Conservation Fellow at the Center for Large Landscape Conservation. She was previously Conservation Director at the Highstead Foundation and Coordinator of the New England Wildlands and Woodlands Initiative. Emily has worked in whole systems conservation for 30 years, including co-founding (2003) and serving as the first director of Two Countries, One Forest in the Northern Appalachian/Acadian region of the US and Canada.
EDWARD BECKER President Essex County Greenbelt Essex, Massachusetts www.ecga.org Ed Becker has over 30 years of experience in land conservation, environmental protection and nonprofit management and has been president of the Essex County Greenbelt Association since 1987. Ed has had a direct role in several hundred land conservation projects, including over 150 conservation easements, resulting in the protection of more than 16,000 acres across Essex County. Following his graduation from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Ed joined a national consulting firm providing energy and environmental analysis to the public and private sectors. He next served in regional and national directorship positions at the CEIP Fund, an environmental internship program. Ed is a past president of the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition and recipient of the Massachusetts Governor’s Award for Open Space Protection.
JESSICA BROWN Executive Director New England Biolabs Foundation Ipswich, Massachusetts www.nebf.org Jessica Brown is Executive Director of the New England Biolabs Foundation, an independent, private foundation whose mission is to foster stewardship of landscapes and seascapes and the biocultural diversity found in these places. Previously, she was Senior Vice President for International Programs with the Quebec-Labrador Foundation/Atlantic Center for the Environment. She has three decades of experience with community-based conservation projects in countries of Africa, the Caribbean, Mesoamerica, Andean South America, Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. A member of IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas, Jessica chairs its Protected Landscapes Specialist Group. She is chair of the governing board of Terralingua and co-chair of International Funders for Indigenous Peoples. Jessica has published widely on topics related to protected areas and stewardship of biocultural landscapes. She is an associate member of the Graduate Faculty of Rutgers University (Cultural Heritage and Preservation Studies), and holds degrees from Clark University and Brown University.
WAYNE CASTONGUAY Executive Director Ipswich River Watershed Association Ipswich, Massachusetts www.ipswichriver.org Wayne Castonguay has an extensive background in nonprofit management and the protection of natural resources. Prior to becoming Executive Director in 2012, he worked for The Trustees of Reservations for 14 years as Regional Ecologist, General Manager of Appleton Farms, and director of the statewide Agriculture Program. Previously, Wayne worked for 10 years as a Biologist for Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. A lifelong resident of Ipswich, he has served as a member of its Conservation Commission, Open Space Committee, Shellfish Advisory Board, Coastal Pollution Committee, and Stormwater Management Committee. He co-founded the Great Marsh Coalition and the national Farm-Based Education Network. Wayne received a M.S. in Oceanography from the University of Connecticut and a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from the University of Massachusetts.
KIMBERLY DRISCOLL Mayor City of Salem Salem, Massachusetts www.salem.com Kimberley Driscoll has been Mayor of Salem since 2006 and is the city’s first woman mayor. Prior to being elected Mayor she served two terms on the Salem City Council and as the Deputy City Manager and Chief Legal Counsel for the City of Chelsea, Massachusetts. Mayor Driscoll has an extensive background in planning and land use development, having worked as a real estate and commercial development attorney in private practice and as the Community Development Director for the City of Beverly and an Assistant Planner for the City of Salem. A previous president of the Massachusetts Mayors Association, she holds degrees from Salem State University and the Massachusetts School of Law.
JAY FINNEY Chief Marketing Officer Peabody Essex Museum Salem, Massachusetts www.pem.org Since joining the nation's oldest museum in 2002, Jay Finney has established one of the country’s most advanced and innovative marketing communications programs. Finney previously served as the director of marketing and communications at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Prior to that, he served as the first director of marketing at the Exploratorium, a museum of science and art, in San Francisco. Finney also has senior-level experience in advertising and corporate marketing at a number of major technology and advertising companies. Jay has been a film and television producer, for which he has won several awards. He has degrees in archaeology and art history from the University of Pennsylvania. ANNIE HARRIS Chief Executive Officer Essex National Heritage Commission Salem, Massachusetts www.essexheritage.org Annie Harris is a founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Essex National Heritage Commission, the nonprofit, management agent for the congressionally-designated Essex National Heritage Area (Essex County). Prior to Essex Heritage, she served for 10 years as the Executive Director of The Salem Partnership, a public-private coalition of business leaders dedicated to economic development in Salem and the surrounding region. Annie worked for many years in real estate development and finance in Boston and in other cities along the east coast. She serves in several national leadership positions including on the board of the Alliance of National Heritage Areas. She previously served on the Planning Committee of the National Park System Advisory Board. Annie has a Master of Architecture degree from MIT and an M.B.A. from Harvard University.
ERIC HOVE Strategic Initiatives Director Metropolitan Area Planning Council Boston, Massachusetts www.mapc.org Eric Hove is the Strategic Initiatives Director and a Senior Regional Planner at MAPC with a focus on land use planning, zoning, and policy development. Prior to joining MAPC, Mr. Hove served as the Assistant Director for Land Use Policy at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA). While at EEA, he helped establish and implement a wide range of smart growth policies and programs throughout the Commonwealth. He also previously worked at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. More recently, Mr. Hove worked on the development and implementation of the award-winning South Coast Rail corridor plan and technical assistance program. This involved working with 31 cities and towns in Southeastern Massachusetts on a variety of station planning and zoning projects. He received a Master’s degree in Regional Planning from University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
REBECCA STANFIELD MCCOWN, PhD Director National Park Service Stewardship Institute Woodstock, Vermont www.nps.gov/orgs/1412/index.htm Rebecca Stanfield McCown is director of the National Park Service Stewardship Institute at Marsh- Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, Vermont. She began her National Park Service career as a student employee at the Institute while completing her doctoral research. Since joining the Institute, Rebecca’s work has focused on youth program evaluation, cultural competency and diversity training, leadership development, and evaluation and promotion of practices that contribute to successful park leadership. Most recently, Dr. Stanfield McCown has played an important role in developing and launching the NPS Urban Agenda. Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources Recreation and Tourism from Colorado State University and a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont.
BOB MCINTOSH Associate Regional Director Northeast Region National Park Service (retired) Bob McIntosh retired from the National Park Service in 2011 after a 42-year career in which he held various park planning, policy and management positions in the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service and the National Park Service. He served as the General Superintendent of New York and New Jersey’s Gateway National Recreation Area from 1982 until 1990. Since his retirement, he has consulted on the proposed Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area in Texas and the new Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine. He joined the board of the Mongol Ecology Center in 2012 and continues to volunteer on park planning/capacity building efforts with four specially protected areas in north- central Mongolia. He serves on the board of Lowell’s Boat Shop in Amesbury, Massachusetts, is president of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway Foundation in Maine, and is a commissioner of the Essex National Heritage Commission.
BRENT MITCHELL Senior Vice President QLF / Atlantic Center for the Environment Ipswich, Massachusetts www.qlf.org Brent Mitchell is Senior Vice President of the Quebec Labrador Foundation / Atlantic Center for the Environment, advancing conservation through international exchange, facilitation, and technical assistance in over 50 countries. Based in Ipswich, Brent is a founding partner in the National Park Service Stewardship Institute, chairs a specialist group on privately protected areas within IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas, and is a past president of the George Wright Society. The Society is publishing a special theme issue of its Forum journal on Scaling Up: Landscape Scale Conservation in North America, edited by Brent.
COLIN NOVICK Executive Director Greater Worcester Land Trust Worcester, Massachusetts www.gwlt.org Colin Novick has been engaged in the field of urban land conservation for 17 years, with 16 of those at the Greater Worcester Land Trust. He presently serves as the Trust's Executive Director. Colin previously worked for the Appalachian Mountain Club and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management (now DCR) on the Commonwealth Connections statewide trail and greenway plan. He was involved early in surveying the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) infestation in Worcester; engaging citizens in the identification of ALB infested trees in dense forested stands. He has served as secretary and chair of the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition. Colin routinely participates in forums on policy initiatives for urban conservation.
ROBERT O’CONNOR Director of Land and Forest Policy Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs Boston, Massachusetts www.mass.gov/eea Bob O’Connor is the Director of Land and Forest Conservation for the state environmental agencies of Massachusetts. He coordinates land conservation efforts among five state divisions and works with the state’s land trusts and municipalities. He also coordinates the forestry and forest conservation efforts among environmental agencies. Previously, he was Director of the Watershed Initiative and Natural Resources for the agency that supplies drinking water to the Boston Metro area, and the Superintendent of Quabbin Reservoir. He has a B.S. in Forestry from S.U.N.Y Syracuse and an M.B.A. from the University of Massachusetts.
STEPHANIE TOOTHMAN Associate Director for Cultural Resources National Park Service Washington, D.C. www.nps.gov From National Park Service headquarters, Stephanie Toothman establishes and oversees policies that affect the management of historic and cultural properties in all 412 national parks, including 27,000 historic structures, nearly 70,000 archeological sites, and the largest system of museums in the world holding more than 100 million objects, artifacts and archives. Outside of parks, she supports community-based efforts to preserve and share local history including grants, tax credits, and programs such as the National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks that comprise the NPS’s national preservation partnership with federal, Tribal, state and local governments and nonprofits. Stephanie graduated from Smith College and received a M.A. and Doctoral degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. She received the DOI Meritorious Service Award in 2008.
JANE WINCHELL The Sarah Fraser Robbins Director The Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center Peabody Essex Museum Salem, Massachusetts www.pem.org/visit/art_nature_center Janey Winchell is the founding director of the Art & Nature Center at PEM. She started at the museum in 1992 and led the development of the original ANC, which opened in 2003, and its redesign and expansion in 2013. Janey has curated more than 15 interactive exhibitions at PEM, which have explored diverse interdisciplinary topics, ranging from water as art to visual perception. She recently curated Sizing It Up: Scale in Nature and Art (October 2015 to September 2016). Her next show, Lunar Attraction, opens in October 2016. She holds a B.A. in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic, an M.S. in Science Communication and an M.A. in Biology, both from Boston University.