• John B. Kassel is CLF President. He has over 20 years of legal experience and most recently served as co-managing partner and co-founder of Shems Dunkiel Kassel & Saunders (SDKS), a mission-driven Burlington, Vermont law firm, where he counseled non-profits and businesses on the creation and permitting of renewable energy projects. Prior to that, he served as Secretary of Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources, a cabinet-level position in the administration of Gov. Howard Dean, after joining the agency previously as its general counsel. Kassel has also served on CLF's Vermont Advisory Board.
  
  Hailing from Middletown, New York, Kassel lived in Vermont for 30 years. He is a graduate of Middlebury College, and received his law degree from Cornell. He and his wife, Julie Campoli, enjoy hiking, backcountry skiing, kayaking and general adventuring throughout New England, as well as domestic pleasures like gardening and caring for their landscape at home in Vermont.

Massachusetts Advocacy Center

• Peter Shelley is Vice President and Director of CLF's Massachusetts Advocacy Center. He was awarded a Pew Fellowship in Conservation and the Environment in 1996 and the David B Stone Medal by the New England Aquarium in 2003. Before CLF, Peter served for five years as an Assistant Attorney General for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources. Peter has a BA from Hobart College and received his JD with honors from Suffolk University Law School. He is admitted to the bar in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, State of Maine, State of Pennsylvania and U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
  
  
• Priscilla Brooks is Senior Economist and Director of CLF’s Marine Conservation Program, focusing on protecting marine habitat and wildlife and building healthy fishing communities. Before joining CLF in 1994, she performed extensive research on seafood marketing and trade, as well as aquaculture economics. In addition, she has worked on recreational fishing boats and research vessels in waters from Labrador to the Caribbean . Priscilla holds a BS from Cornell University as well as an MS and PhD in environmental and resource economics from the University of Rhode Island.
  
  
• Seth Kaplan is a Senior Attorney and Vice President for Climate Advocacy, focusing on fostering renewable energy, working for climate protection, and reducing the environmental impact of fossil fuel power plants. A native of Rhode Island, Seth worked as a real estate and environmental attorney in New York City before his return to CLF, where he had previously worked as a law student. Seth is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Northeastern University School of Law.
  
  
• Susan Reid is a Staff Attorney and the Director of CLF’s Massachusetts Clean Energy & Climate Change Initiative. Sue’s work at CLF is focused on addressing the threat of global warming by promoting responsible new renewable energy development and energy efficiency and by pursuing initiatives to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Prior to joining CLF, Sue was the Advocacy Director for a local environmental organization in southeastern Massachusetts . Sue also previously worked as a litigation attorney for several years at law firms including Goodwin Procter and Fenwick & West. Sue holds a JD from Boston University and BA from the University of New Hampshire , both cum laude. She is admitted to the bar in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, State of California, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
  
  
• Sean Cosgrove is Director of CLF's Gulf of Maine Campaign. Sean has eighteen years experience as a conservation advocate and came to CLF from the Sierra Club where he directed its National Forest Protection and Restoration Campaign in Washington, D.C.  He has extensive experience in designing and directing grassroots conservation campaigns, working legislation and appropriations issues on Capitol Hill and in the media. Sean earned a B.A. in History and a B.S. in Environmental Science from Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.
  
  
• Cynthia Liebman is a Staff Attorney working on clean water issues. Before joining CLF in 2007, Cynthia was an Honors Fellow and an enforcement attorney at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 1 office in Boston. She holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law and a B.A. with honors from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to attending law school, Cynthia worked as a staff member for U.S. Senator Russ Feingold in Washington, D.C. Cynthia was a co-founder and former executive officer of SustainUS, a national organization of young people advancing sustainable development in the United States. She is admitted to the bar in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the State of New York and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
  
  
• Shanna Cleveland is a Staff Attorney working to advance climate protection through promoting effective legislation, energy efficiency and renewable energy, and initiatives aimed at reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Shanna earned her B.A. from Harvard University with honors and her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she served as an Executive Editor for the Virginia Law Review. She worked as a litigation attorney before receiving her LL.M. in Environmental Law from the Vermont Law School with honors. She is admitted to practice in the Commonwealthof Massachusetts, the State of Hawaii, and the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.

• Rafael Mares is a Staff Attorney working on transportation and environmental justice issues. He joined CLF in 2009. For ten years, prior to joining CLF, Rafael served as a clinical instructor and lecturer on law at the WilmerHale Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School, where he founded the Healthy Homes and Environmental Justice Project. Before and during law school, Rafael worked on environmental justice issues in Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and Boston. Rafael holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.S. in Integrated Natural Resources from the University of Vermont. He is admitted to the bar in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
  
  
• Patrick Walling is a Staff Attorney.  Patrick began a one-year fellowship with CLF’s Boston Advocacy Center in November 2009. He received a J.D. in 2009 from Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as a senior editor for the Georgetown International Environmental Law Review. Patrick earned a B.A. magna cum laude in English and Political Science from Boston College in 2006. Patrick is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
  
  
• Heather Walsh is an attorney fellow, joining us from the Boston law firm of Ropes & Gray. She assists on projects in both CLF and CLF Ventures. Heather holds a B.A. in political science and economics and an M.S. in journalism from Syracuse University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. Prior to joining CLF, she was a corporate associate focusing on securities law and transactional work. She is admitted to the bar in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
  
  
• Michael Baram is a Volunteer Attorney. He joined CLF in early 2002. Michael co-founded Boston's first environmental law firm, Bracken & Baram. He is currently an environmental law professor at Boston University law school and teaches in conjunction with the BU school of public health. Michael is also a consultant to the Environmental Protection Agency. Michael is a retired member of the Massachusetts Bar Association.
  
  
• John Davenport is a Volunteer Attorney working for both CLF and CLF Ventures. From 1984 until his arrival at CLF in 1999, John was Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Liberty Financial Companies, Inc., where he was primarily responsible for legal oversight of its acquisitions and investment companies. John began his career as an associate in the Wall Street law firm of Chadbourne & Parke, moving to Boston in 1972 to join Nutter, McClennen & Fish, where he was a junior partner. John graduated from Amherst College in 1958 and from Columbia Law School in 1961. He is admitted to the bar in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
  
  
• John Pike is a Volunteer attorney. Since 1997, he has been assisting on projects in both CLF and CLF Ventures. John received his B.A. from Williams College and LLB from Harvard Law School. He served as Law Clerk for Justice R. Ammi Cutter of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and was an attorney at the law firm of Ropes & Gray, where he was a partner practicing Corporate and Real Estate Law and Chairman of the Real Estate Department. He is admitted to the bar in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
  
  
• June Crolius is a CLF Volunteer.

CLF Ventures, Inc.

• William C. Coleman is CEO of CLF Ventures. He has recently worked as an independent consultant on a range of environmental initiatives, including an affiliation with Blue Wave Strategies. From 1998-2002, Bill served as President and CEO of Hancock Natural Resources Group, Inc., a global timberland and farmland investment management subsidiary of John Hancock Financial Services.
  
  Before Hancock, Bill was co-founder and President of Marketplace Development, Inc., President of Leggat McCall Properties Management, Managing Director in the public finance office of Smith, Barney, Harris, Upham & Co., which financed infrastructure projects, and, from 1979-1987, Director of Aviation for Logan Airport and Hanscom Field.
  
  Bill has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Harvard University. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Student Conservation Association.
  
  
• Jo Anne Shatkin, Ph.D., is Managing Director of CLF Ventures. She leads and provides expertise on projects and manages the day to day operations of CLF Ventures. Dr. Shatkin has 19 years of experience in research and application of quantitative human health risk assessment for site redevelopment and remediation; drinking water and air quality, and environmental evaluations of emerging contaminants. Her specialty is the application and communication of innovative science-informed analysis to address complex emerging issues affecting businesses and communities.Jo Anne comes to Ventures from The Cadmus Group, Inc., where she served as Principle. A native New Englander, Jo Anne is an avid bicyclist, photographer and music enthusiast.
  
  
• Jasmine Tanguay is a Project Manager and Community Involvement Specialist with CLF Ventures. Prior to coming to CLF, Jasmine was a Research Assistant at the George Perkins Marsh Institute (Worcester, MA) and the Social and Environmental Research Institute (Greenfield, MA). Jasmine received her BA from College of the Atlantic where she majored in Human Ecology. She received a Masters Degree from the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University, where she studied resource geography, risk analysis, and environmental management. At CLFV she focuses on stakeholder outreach, project development and implementation, and strategic planning.
  
  
• David Thayer is CLF Venture's Project Specialist and Director of the Environmental Insurance Agency, providing policy analysis, strategic development, and implementation support for the environmental strategy consulting practice. Prior to joining CLF Ventures, David was an analyst at the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City in Boston, where he executed market research and economic analysis to support inner-city policymaking and a strategic consulting practice. David previously served as a consultant to American Farmland Trust and was an intern at the International Institute for Sustainable Development in Geneva, Switzerland. David graduated summa cum laude from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY.
  
  
• Paul Calzada is a Staff Assistant and Ventures Business Manager. As Staff Assistant, Paul is responsible for suppoting the Ventures group by doing research, scheduling events and appointments, and organizing project time and expenses. Paul has worked for the Environmental Careers Organization and for an environmental consulting company. His other work experiences include teaching English in Ghana as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and being on the English faculty of a Japanese university. Paul has a Bachelor's degree in Literature from the California Institute of Technology and a Master's degree in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
  
  
• Walker Larsen is a Ventures Project Specialist with CLF Ventures, providing project guidance and support through policy research, strategy development, and technical analysis. Walker previously worked for an environmental/energy consulting firm outside Washington, D.C., assisting with the development and management of technology-based applications/systems for clients that included the US EPA, US Department of Energy, and US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH). Walker holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Political Science from Bates College and a Master of City Planning degree within the Environmental Policy and Planning Concentration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His Master’s research aimed at designing incentives to co-optimize waste management and energy development in New England.
  
  
• Aviva Rothman-Shore is a Community Involvement Specialist for CLF and CLF Ventures. Prior to joining CLF, Aviva worked as the Outreach and Policy Director at the Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston, where she focused on issues such as smart growth, land use, and equal access for everyone to all communities. She is an experienced outreach coordinator specializing in project implementation and relationship building. She provides leadership in building collaborative programs and has extensive consulting experience including, fundraising, designing and implementing outreach programs, trainings and organizing community partnerships. She holds an MBA from the Heller School at Brandeis, and a Bachelor’s in Urban Studies from Brown University.

Development

• Timothy Harwood is Vice President for Development. Timothy joined CLF in May 2006 having most recently served as Director of Development of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the earth and environmental science campus of Columbia University. Before that, he served as VP for Institutional Development at Hunter College (CUNY) and Deputy Director of Development for what was then called The New York Hospital – Cornell Medical Center. A native New Englander, Tim enjoys both the slopes of northern New England and the waters of the coast. He received his BA from Yale University.
  
  
• Abbie E. Daniel is Individual Giving Manager. Prior to joining CLF, Abbie worked in nonprofit consulting at Technical Development Corporation and in the fundraising office at Emmanuel College. She received her BA in Communications from Boston College.
  
  
• Marianna Vulli is Manager of Foundation Relations. Prior to joining CLF in 2008, Marianna worked on regional water resource policy issues at the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission. Before that, she served as a Development Associate with the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York. Marianna received her BA in Public Policy from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
  
  
• Amy Chapin is Special Events Manager for CLF. She oversees and plans all region-wide donor, advocate, outreach and recognition events. Amy comes to CLF with several years of event management experience through her time with other local non-profit organizations, such as the Museum of Science and the Anthony Spinazzola Foundation. A native of Maine, Amy relocated to Boston after graduating from Stonehill College with her B.A. in English and Philosophy.
  
  
• Shannon Duncan is the Assistant Manager of Development Services. Shannon processes all of CLF’s donations, manages the CLF database and assists development department staff with various tasks such as fundraising research, events logistics and data analysis. Prior to coming to CLF, Shannon worked at Ibis Reproductive Health, Northeast Action and the Women’s Bar Foundation. She holds a BA in Writing, Literature and Publishing from Emerson College and an IB from the Armand Hammer United World College of the American West.

Communications

• Karen Wood is CLF’s Director of Communications. Karen has 25 years of experience in both internal and external communications for both corporations and non-profit organizations. At CLF, Karen is responsible for strategic marketing and communications that advance the mission of the organization through enhanced awareness and stakeholder engagement. Before joining CLF, Karen was Vice President of Corporate Relations for CNET Networks, a leading internet media company now owned by CBS. Karen’s experience spans the communications spectrum from business-to-business and consumer public relations to marketing communications and special events. Karen began her career at the March of Dimes in New York and has continued her non-profit work as a volunteer for such organizations as SHED, Inc. and Groundwork Lawrence, an environmental concern where she is a member of the Board. Karen is a graduate of Vassar College.

Finance and Operations

• Jessica Zander is Vice President of Finance and Administration. She oversees all finance, human resources, information systems, facilities, and administrative activities for CLF and its two subsidiaries. Prior to CLF, Jessica worked at a number of nonprofit organizations, including The Steppingstone Foundation, WGBH, World Music, The American Red Cross, and Youth Emergency Services, in St. Louis. Jessica received her B.A. in Anthropology from Washington University, in St. Louis, and her MBA from the Heller School at Brandeis.
  
  
• Michelle LaChance is CLF’s Human Resources Manager.  Michelle brings over 13 years of experience in human resources to CLF and manages all of the needs for our five office locations.  Michelle received her B.S. in Business from UMass Boston and her M.S. in Advancing Studies from Boston College.
  
  
• Roberta Gilbert is a Senior Staff Accountant.
  
  
• Mehdi Afkari is a Staff Accountant. In addition to staff accounting and special financial project tasks, Mehdi maintains the Payroll and Benefit system for CLF offices. Mehdi was born in Iran, where he lived until 1990 when he immigrated to Sweden. He graduated from Tehran University, where he studied Cost Accounting, earned a degree in Economic Management from Stockholm University, and moved to the US in 1996. Mehdi came to the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear (IPPNW) in Cambridge in May 2000 as a Staff Accountant, and quickly used his considerable skills to bring order and professionalism to the Central Office accounting systems. His duties at IPPNW included all aspects of accounting such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, bank reconciliations, affiliate billings, periodic financial reports, and coordinating the materials for the annual audit.
  
  
• Lee Griffiths is a Bookkeeper.
  
  
• Marisa Carter is an Administrative Coordinator.
  
  
• Hilda Rios is Information Systems Manager for CLF. Hilda maintains and supports the entire information systems infrastructure for the Boston, Brunswick, Concord, Montpelier, and Providence offices. In addition, she performs the research, planning and implementation of all the new network technical upgrades for the organization.
  
  
• Jocelyn Leveille is the Massacusetts Advocacy Center's Facilities Manager. Jocelyn joined CLF in 1995. Prior to arriving at CLF, Jocelyn was owner and manager of Vision Books & Vegetarian Products in Mattapan, Mass. Jocelyn studied Mechanical Engineering at Wentworth Institute of Technology.
  
  
• Noah Chesnin is a Program Assistant. Noah received his B.A. in Humanities from Yale University.
  
  
• Yan Au is a Staff Assistant. Yan received his B.S. in Economics and Environmental Science from Tulane University.