Melissa Paly is CLF’s Great Bay–Piscataqua Waterkeeper, working to advocate, inform, and inspire people to protect and restore the rivers, bays, and coast that make the Seacoast such a spectacular place to live, work, and play.
Before joining CLF, Melissa was a principal of CrossCurrent Communications where she provided communications strategy, public relations, and media production services to many state agencies, businesses, and nonprofits focused on environmental and social issues throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Prior to founding her own firm, she worked for US Environmental Protection Agency Region 1, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and World Resources Council. Melissa holds a B.A. in geology from Yale College and a Master of Forest Science from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. An avid telemark skier, sailor, sea kayaker, and gardener, Melissa was past President of the Kittery (ME) Land Trust. She currently serves as a trustee of the Maine Island Trail Association, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, and Yale Forestry School Alumni Board.