Who are we?
Founders
Caroline Reeves
Caroline has lived next to the Muddy River for 25 years. Trained as a historian of China, she is an environmentalist at heart. In between her work as a researcher at Harvard’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies and fishing with her husband and two sons, she advocates for cleaner and safer water for our planet. As a specialist in the history of charity, she knows that charity begins at home. She loves that Muddy Water.
Jacqueline Royce
Jacqueline has been an environmentalist since Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and has never met a watershed or wetlands or benthic macroinvertebrate she doesn’t love. A retired medical sociologist with a background in City and Regional Planning and Health Promotion Research and Policy Analysis, she is an active member of Gas Leaks Allies, Boston Clean Energy Coalition, and the Green Committee of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay (NABB). Author of “Many Mind Creek/Sandy Hook Bay: Planning Habitat Restoration of an Estuarine Ecosystem and its Adjacent Greenway,” Jackie received New Jersey’s Environmental Stewardship award in 2006. She looks forward to walleye ice fishing in the Muddy.
Advisory Board
Ellen Faszewski
Ellen is a cell and developmental biologist with an interest in science education, who served as director and member of the steering committee of the Colleges of the Fenway (COF) Environmental Science Program (now the COF Center for Sustainability and the Environment) from 2006-2008. She co-organized annual events including the Muddy River Symposium (2007-2018) and Muddy River clean-up (2007-2018). Currently, Ellen is a clinical professor of science education at Boston University Wheelock as well as the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. She is a terrific asset to our Advisory Group with years of experience along the Muddy, and has already jumped in with two feet!
Alison Field-Juma
Alison is the Executive Director of OARS, the watershed association for the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord Rivers in MetroWest Boston. She was previously Director of the Environmental Governance Programme of the African Centre for Technology Studies in Nairobi, Kenya. Alison holds an MSc in Natural Resource Policy and Planning from Cornell University, a BSc in Biology from Tufts University, is Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness certified, and serves on the Board of the 495/MetroWest Partnership. Alison grew up overlooking the Charles River basin near the Muddy River with the river and esplanade her childhood haunts.
Lisa Kumpf
Lisa is the Aquatic Scientist at Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA), where she oversees all River Science water quality monitoring programs. She also contributes technical and community engagement skills to CRWA's watershed restoration and climate adaptation efforts. Lisa received her B.S. in Geology in 2013 from UMass Amherst, and is finishing her M.S. in Geology from Boston College, where she does research on the Yellow River Delta in China. Combining her passions for science, education, and social justice, she has previously worked with AmeriCorps and Mass Audubon. Lisa brings these experiences to her work at CRWA where she strives to make progress toward climate change equity. In her spare time, Lisa enjoys singing, hiking, playing with her cats, and spending time with her family.
John Iappini
John is the president of Marathon Associates, working as an independent contractor in the textile printing industry. He began his advocacy in 1975 after moving to Jamaica Plain and eventually served as President of the Jamaica Pond Association for 10 years focusing on the maintenance and improvements of Jamaica Pond. John is a self-described lifelong park and open space advocate and is a member of the ENC, Charlesgate Alliance, The Friends of the Boston Public Gardens and The Muddy Water Initiative. He holds a BS and MBA from Boston University and served in the US Army as an Infantry Company Commander in Vietnam and was awarded a Combat Infantry Badge, a Bronze star, an Air Medal and the Purple Heart.
Pallavi Kalia Mande
Founder and Director of Tamraparni.org, Pallavi has been involved with water centric environmental restoration work in the Boston metropolitan area for the last two decades. She has provided pro-bono planning and design services to the environmental justice populations most vulnerable to climate change in cities across New England. Pallavi formulated the Blue Cities Initiative at the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) in 2008 and grew it into a major programincluding planning, design and implementation of green infrastructure projects within the Charles River watershed and beyond. As CRWA’s Director of Watershed Resilience, she was also deeply involved in public education and outreach for ecological restoration and climate justice across the watershed. Pallavi received her bachelor’s degree in Architecture in India, a Master’s in Philosophy in Environment and Development at Cambridge University in England and a Master’s in Architecture and Urban Design at Washington University in St. Louis. Pallavi has served as a Conservation Commissioner in Brookline since 2014 and co-chaired the Open Space Planning Committee as well as represented the Commission on the Zoning By-law Sub-Committee.
Karen Mauney-Brodek
Karen serves the Emerald Necklace Conservancy President working with Conservancy staff and board members to spearhead capital projects, develop and grow park programs, establish annual budgets, expand fundraising efforts and boost public awareness of the parks to further the organization’s mission to protect, restore and maintain the 1,100 acres of the Emerald Necklace. Prior to joining the Conservancy in August 2016, Karen served as the Deputy Director for Park Planning and the Manager of the Community Opportunity Fund for the City of San Francisco Parks Department. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Columbia University and dual master’s degrees in Architecture, and City and Regional Planning/Urban Design from the University of California, Berkeley.
Alison Badrigian
Ali Badrigian is the Director of Projects & Planning at the Esplanade Association, where she aims to bring organization, adaptability, and effective communication to projects that enhance and maintain the Charles River Esplanade in Boston. As a creative and passionate certified Project Management Professional, Ali is dedicated to creating community through parks and play. She is a native New Yorker, and holds a bachelor's degree with honors in Sociology and a minor degree in French Language and Literature from the University of Virginia. When she's not on the Esplanade, she can be found running trails at the Arnold Arboretum or collecting seashells on the Cape.
Hung Pham
Hung is at Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). He works on environmental review of transportation projects. His career focus has always been on the improvement of the environment and the minimization of human impacts on natural resources. Prior to working with MassDOT, Hung worked as a research associate for biological research. At Dana Farber he worked in researching immunotherapy procedures in cancer patients. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Conservation Biology and Ecology from Boston University and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering Sciences at UMass-Lowell.
Neil Rhein
In 2014, Neil founded Keep Massachusetts Beautiful to help raise awareness about and solve the litter problem in Massachusetts by building a network of successful local KMB chapters across the state. Neil also owns and operates Bullseye Communications, which provides professional writing, editing, proofreading, and graphic design services to corporate clients. Neil resides in Mansfield, MA, where he is an elected member of the Mansfield Select Board.
