Meet Our Board
Meet the board! The Norwalk River Watershed Board is an all-volunteer group dedicated to protecting and enhancing the Norwalk River. NRWA’s board is comprised of educators, engineers, writers, and just all-around awesome people. Get to know the board below and how they are helping protect our watershed through education and action. Have skills or ideas you’d like to contribute to our organization? Email: info@norwalkriver.org
Louise Washer
President
Louise has lived in the Silvermine area, both in Wilton and Norwalk, for over 25 years and has been a member of the NRWA board since 2010, served as president since 2016, and has helped create, and serves on the steering committee of, the Pollinator Pathway which now connects over 235 towns across the region. Louise also serves on the Norwalk Mayor's Water Quality Committee and the steering committee for the Hudson to Housatonic Conservation Partnership (H2H). Louise got involved in NRWA after volunteering for the river study program at Cider Mill School in Wilton when her children were students there. She graduated from Smith College and has worked in magazine editing in New York.
Dave Havens
Vice President
Dave has been a lifelong resident of Connecticut, splitting his time between Norwalk, Stamford and New Canaan. After growing up along the Norwalk River, Dave spent six years conducting full-time environmental fieldwork from 1971 to 1977, while also working for the Stamford Museum and Nature Center. Since 1977 Dave has worked as a science teacher for Pre-K students to Graduate Studies. He has been an active voice for environmental issues locally and nationally, working with several organizations such as Greenpeace, Earth First!, Audubon and Green Schools Alliance. Along the way Dave earned two BS degrees and three graduate degrees in science as he continued to conduct research on a number of issues: Invasive Species, Open Space, Habitat Destruction, Breeding Bird Census and much more. Over the last few years, he designed and built a raised outdoor classroom and boardwalk through his school's wetlands, developed a plan to eliminate 14 species of invasive plants that gained a strong foot hold on the property and took
his passion of teaching and environmental work to an international level with the Green Schools Alliance. In 2012, David and his students were selected as state finalist in Siemens' "We Can Change the World High School Challenge", sponsored by Siemens Foundation, Discovery Education, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and the College Board, for their efforts to selectively and safely exterminate invasive plants along the Norwalk River.
Donna Merrill
Treasurer
Donna is also president of the Pollinator Pathway Northeast, former Executive Director and current Trustee of the Wilton Land Conservation Trust, and a Trustee of the Aspetuck Land Trust. Donna coordinated the Fairfield County Regional Conservation Partnership at the time of its expansion into the Hudson to Housatonic Regional Conservation Partnership (H2H). She is a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance, holds a Certificate of Landscape Design from the NY Botanical Gardens, and has had formal conservation training from Columbia Business School in Sustainability Practices.
Sarah Breznen
Secretary
Sarah grew up in New Canaan and now lives in Norwalk. She joined NRWA after volunteering and getting involved in the restoration of Oyster Shell Park. She is the Director of Education at the Woodcock Nature Center in Wilton, CT, where she oversees and teaches field trips, summer camp, after-school, and family programs. Before joining the Nature Center 11 years ago, Sarah was active in many research and volunteer programs. She studied the invasive Asian shore crab along LIS, volunteered in Croatia helping to reintroduce the endangered Eurasion Griffon vulture along the Adriatic Sea, and volunteered on the northern coast of Scotland researching bottlenose dolphins. She graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BA in Environmental Science.
Betsy Barosky
Betsy is a lifelong Connecticut resident and has educated students K-12 in environmental issues, outdoor gardens, recycling, composting, and the significance of Long Island Sound to nearby communities. She has written science curriculum for integration of inquiry-based learning in Space Science, Ecology, and Physical Science. As a volunteer at Oyster Shell Park and Pollinator Pathway, Betsy became involved in native plant restoration and invasive removal to retain, restore, and reconnect the landscapes. A passion for conservation and education, Betsy holds a BS Degree from UCONN and dual Masters Degrees/STEM from Sacred Heart University. She is also a certified Master Gardener. In her spare time, she loves traveling, photography, bicycling, relaxing at the family farm in NH and hugging trees!!
Ryan Bossis
Ryan grew up in Ridgefield, moving back after a decade-long stint in New York City. His memories of the Norwalk River Walk as a young student were the catalyst prompting him to reconnect with the NRWA upon his return. Currently he is the Director of Electric Vehicle Programs at DNV, working to support utilities and their customers through the energy transition, and also volunteers on the Tree Committee and Energy Task Force in Ridgefield. He holds a BS in Biological and Environmental Engineering from Cornell and a Master’s in Environmental Engineering from MIT. An avid gardener from an early age, Ryan is also fascinated by our agricultural system and enjoys exploring (and tasting!) how we as eaters can use small choices in our diet to create a food system that sustains not only ourselves, but also our local farmers, economy, and lands.
Richard 'Rick' Dineen
Rick grew up in Stamford and now lives in Wilton. Even though he has an engineering degree and works in IT security, he loves gardening, a trait he inherited from his mother. He works on several projects on the NRVT, including Oyster Shell Park, Pollinator Pathway and Woodward Ave Park. He is also part of Wilton's Our Lady of Fatima garden Growing for Good, which grows and distributes vegetables for people in need.
Adam Fasciolo
Adam moved to Norwalk as a child and went through the Norwalk school system. After spending some time building a career in Finance, he moved back to Norwalk and has been a resident there for over 30 years. Always a “naturalist,” from an early age, Adam became an avid birder, with his wife Jo, in the early 2000’s. He now tours Fairfield county and the state of Connecticut looking for and documenting the many birds that can be seen in Connecticut. Adam became aware of the NRWA when he volunteered for a sponsored Norwalk River Clean-up event, something he had been doing on his own for quite some time. The prospect of joining an organization that was committed to not only cleaning garbage from the river, but helping to guard against pesticides, microplastics, invasive species and other harmful matters that affect the Norwalk River was a very enticing prospect. Planting trees and helping keep the Norwalk River (and its estuaries) clean, are very motivating factors for Adam, who spends many days bird watching there. Recently Adam helped form “The Friends of Woods Pond” to help keep that park clean, monitor its invasive species and plant native shrubs there. Adam has also led bird walks at locations in Norwalk and is looking to do more of those.
Laurie Mirra
Laurie teaches yoga and works to restore wildlife habitat and protect water quality in South Norwalk. Laurie moved to the Village Creek neighborhood ten years ago and has been advocating since then for environmental protections in that community, encouraging homeowners to stop using pesticides on lawns, to use nontoxic mosquito/tick treatments, to plant for pollinators, to help her start a tree planting program, and to protect healthy trees. As neighborhood liaison to the city of Norwalk’s Tree Advisory Committee, she has long advocated for restoring the tree canopy in South Norwalk, and much of her energy has focused on restoring Woodward Avenue Park in South Norwalk. She helped organize a collaborative effort by NRWA, Village Creek, Recreation and Parks, and the Department of Public Works to remove invasives and plant native shrubs and trees, transforming Woodward Park. In addition, the park's new garden is now part of the pollinator pathway. Plans to connect Woodward and Oyster Shell Parks through a corridor of
pollinators-friendly trees is one of the NRWA projects she is helping spearhead. As a yogi, Laurie says she lives by the practice of ahimsa or non-harming, which is an important part of an ancient philosophy that includes the practice of compassion for all living things. Ahimsa means not harming the complex web of nature that connects us all, including plants and trees, water and air, and our pollinators. She also is inspired by Doug Tallamy's ideas around enriching biodiversity and protecting our environment, starting in our very own backyard.
Jes Parker
Jes has lived in Norwalk for 10 years. She joined NRWA after volunteering with the Pollinator Pathway and working with several local environmental organizations, including the Westchester Land Trust in New York, where she currently serves as communications manager. Jes was previously on staff at Highstead Foundation in Redding and participated in the creation of the Hudson to Housatonic (H2H) Regional Conservation Partnership. She has a BS in environmental studies and an MA in strategic communications.
Kix Ryen
Kix grew up in Norway and did a fair bit of moving around before eventually settling down in Norwalk, where she has lived for 25 years. She joined the NRWA Board after volunteering at many NRWA clean-up and plant restoration efforts over the last six years. She currently works as a Chief of Staff at a clean energy firm in Danbury, CT, and brings expertise in governance, organizational effectiveness, communications, and project and program management. Kix holds a BS in Communication Studies from UCLA and a MS in Organizational Development from Manhattanville University, and has worked in multiple industries in Europe and the US, including manufacturing, real estate, investment banking, and entertainment. Kix loves to kayak on and around the Norwalk River, and she and her family are avid hikers, big animal lovers, and passionate about protecting our environment.
Susan Vogel
Susan is a Connecticut Master Gardener, amateur landscape and wildlife photographer, and retired communications professional. She joined the NRWA Board in 2023. Susan has lived in Connecticut since moving with her husband Roger to Darien from NYC almost 30 years ago, and they now call Norwalk home. Susan served on the Board of the Darien Public Library, Darien Foundation, and held numerous leadership positions on Darien Public School PTOs, including as a co-chair of the Council of Darien School Parents. She earned a BS in Economics from Siena College and an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business. She and her husband Roger have two adult children.
Elise Allum
Community Outreach Coordinator
Elise is a Norwalk native, born and raised. She completed her BA in Environmental Studies, Film, and Sociology at Fairfield University. She has worked as a production manager on a feature-length documentary, as an Editor in Chief for the Undergraduate Journal Global Citizenship, and as an award-winning film editor.
“I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity to put my mind and heart into the work I believe in and the people around me,” she says, and describes herself as a chicken mama of three who loves to hike, hug trees (yes, actually), say ‘hi friend’ to various critters she meets, edit, cook, bake, read, and hear the stories of others. You can look forward to meeting Elise at our various volunteer planting events, clean-ups, walks, and talks!