BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Gautam Sundaram, Chair
Associate Principal, Perkins & Will – resident of Newton
Gautam Sundaram is an architect and landscape architect with over 20 years of national and international experience in planning and design of a diverse range of project types. He is an Associate Principal at Perkins and Will and serves as the Urban Design and Landscape Architecture practice leader in the Boston Studio. He brings forth a strong emphasis on the role of landscapes to address climate change and social equity issues with a thoughtful, resilient and place making approach.
Craig Bida
CEO/Founder, Think Design Disrupt – resident of Boston
Craig Bida is a branding, marketing, and communications expert with over 20 years of experience working with brands and organizations across sectors. He is the Founder and CEO of Think Design Disrupt, a purpose-driven brand building consultancy that designs, re-imagines, and activates brands to create world-changing social and environmental impact. Craig has extensive experience working with organizations focused on the environment and natural resource conservation, including the National Park Service, Keep America Beautiful, the Sierra Club, and the Nature Conservancy. Craig fell in love with the Charles while learning to sail at Community Boating as a boy and has been dreaming about the river ever since.
Rob Dickey
Executive Vice President / Partner, Leggat McCall Properties – resident of Newton
Rob Dickey is a senior partner at Leggat McCall Properties in Boston, MA. With over 40 years of real estate experience, Rob has special expertise in acquisition, development, project management, and financing. His projects—many in Cambridge with direct or indirect connections to the Charles River—have spanned life science and office developments, university projects, corporate relocations, residential, and complex planning and advisory assignments. Rob holds a B.A. from the University of Vermont, is a member of the Harvard Corporation Facilities Committee, and has served on multiple non-profit boards and has been active in many local community organizations and not-for-profit building committees. Rob and his wife Deb live in Newton where they raised their four children.
Nathan Gauthier
Director of Energy & Sustainability, Facilities Center of Excellence at Takeda Pharmaceuticals – resident of Dedham
Nathan Gauthier is a sustainable real estate professional committed to sustainable design, construction and operations. He has lead sustainability programs for large corporate and academic organizations, consulted on green building projects across the globe, and teaches graduate courses on sustainability at multiple universities. Nathan enjoys canoeing and kayaking on the Charles with his two daughters and is also a member of the Dedham Conservation Commission.
Rohan Kundargi
K-12 Community Outreach Administrator, MIT Office of Government and Community Relations – resident of Malden
Dr. Rohan Kundargi is a strategic leader and science educator, dedicated to fostering meaningful connections between academic institutions and local communities. As the K-12 Community Outreach Administrator within MIT’s Office of Government and Community Relations he co-designs and co-develop high-impact programs that foster curiosity and champion accessible educational pathways for thousands of students across the Cambridge-metro region. An Earth Scientist by training, Dr. Kundargi’s educational passion is deeply rooted in environmental stewardship and climate education. He has been a supporter of the CRC’s Floating Wetlands educational efforts, serves as a board member for City Sprouts, contributed to the MIT Climate Action Through Education effort, and co-developed a middle school curriculum unit about the impact of climate change on Belize’s unique ecosystems.
Bonnie L McLellan
Manager, Strategic Accounts, Alteryx – resident of Needham
Bonnie McLellan has a passion for public outdoor spaces that started with childhood summers learning to sail on the Charles River and countless hours since then biking, running and playing along the Charles River Parks more recently with her family and rescue dog by her side. She has her MBA from Boston University Questrom School of Business (more time on the Charles!) and received a degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Cornell University which further sparked her interest in nurturing public places for all to enjoy. While at Cornell she was on the planning board and she has held leadership roles with the Department of Environmental Protection and Beacon Management creating inclusive, vibrant active spaces. Today she partners with clients to drive experiences for customers through technology while continuing to advocate the importance of outdoor experiences as essential to our community.
Simeen Ali Mohsen
Managing Director, Harvard Business School Online – resident of Newton
Simeen Ali Mohsen draws upon extensive marketing and managing experience to extend the reach of Harvard Business School Online as Managing Director of Marketing and Product Management. With responsibility for the product portfolio and consumer marketing, Simeen brings a strategic planning lens to the CRC board. A recipient of the Greenhill Award for outstanding contributions to the school, Simeen previously worked as Vice President of Marketing, Strategy, Business Development at Harlequin Enterprises and prior to that held general management positions for several online brands at Time, Inc., including People, InStyle and Essence. Earlier in her career, she was a consultant at A.T. Kearney. On some mornings, you might find Simeen enjoying a stroll through Herter Park.
Jake O’Neill
Manager of Media Relations and Public Affairs, Keolis Commuter Services – resident of Boston
Jake O’Neill is a public relations and communications expert with nearly 15 years of experience working in the nonprofit, education, and transportation sectors. He currently manages media relations for Keolis Commuter Services, the operator of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. Previously, Jake held a similar role for five years at Conservation Law Foundation, a nonprofit focused on protecting New England’s environment from polluters. He continues to be an avid supporter of environmental causes in his personal life. In the warmer months, you can find Jake running or biking along the Charles or enjoying one of the beer gardens along the river.
Alison Poor
Director of the Rector’s Office, Trinity Church – resident of Waltham
Alison Poor is the Director of the Rector’s Office at Trinity Church in the City of Boston, and she brings deep experience (including operations, project management, communications, and administration) working in nonprofits and a complex cultural institution in the heart of the city. She graduated magna cum laude from Suffolk University with a B.S. in Environmental Studies. The Charles River has always been a part of her life—from singing “I love that dirty water” at Bruins games to walking along the Waltham stretch of river with her husband Kyle—and she is committed to protecting and celebrating it.
Carolyn Thayer Ross
Garden Club of America, Common Ground Committee, Immediate Past Chair National Affairs and Legislation Committee – resident of Brookline
Carolyn Thayer Ross is an attorney who, since retiring, has served on and chaired several nonprofit boards in the greater Boston Area, as well as in New York and Philadelphia. She recently completed an eight year term as Senior Warden of the Church of the Redeemer Chestnut Hill. Nationally, she spent eight years on and chaired the Garden Club of America’s National Affairs and Legislation Committee, educating and keeping current the GCA’s 18,000 members on environmental issues, advocating for legislation and policy initiatives, and planning and executing the NAL conferences in Washington in 2024 and 2025. She is currently on the GCA’s Common Ground Committee, awarding grants across the country to support diverse community groups developing and maintaining non-profit programs and public lands.
Laurel Schwab, Clerk
Sustainability Manager, City of Watertown – resident of Medford
Laurel Schwab is an urban planner with a decade of experience in environmental policy, climate change planning, and community development in both the public and private sectors. As a planner with policy and design experience, she understands the value of creating community-supported programs that can be realistically implemented and clearly communicated to the public. She is passionate about preserving the unique environmental and cultural significance of the Charles River and making it a resilient oasis for all to enjoy.
A. Krista Sykes
Assistant Editorial Director, Harvard Graduate School of Design – resident of Cambridge
A. Krista Sykes is writer and an architectural historian with a focus on contemporary architecture and urbanism, concentrating on resiliency, sustainability, and nature-based design approaches. As an assistant editorial director in the Office of Communications at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), Krista’s day-to-day work involves writing about the broad impact of the GSD and its alumni on the world at large. Prior to this position, Krista spent more than two decades supporting design firms, professional organizations, and academic institutions with content development, tailoring their messages to specific audiences, professional and general. A Cambridge resident for twenty-five years, Krista has spent countless hours enjoying the Charles River while running along its paths, visiting the geese with her daughters, and paddleboarding with her dog.
David Valecillos
Senior Development Manager, The Community Builders – resident of Cambridge
David Valecillos works at the intersection of real estate development, public space curation, and community development. David co-led the neighborhood revitalization of El Punto Neighborhood in Salem and co-founded the Punto Urban Art Museum. He currently sits on the advisory board of the City Planning Program at Boston University where he taught for over 5 years and is a member of the NEXT Council of the Urban Land Institute. David deeply believes riverfront access and programming shape how the surrounding neighborhoods are experienced, and as an East Cambridge resident, one of his favorite places is the Lynch Family Skatepark.
ADVISORY BOARD
Renata von Tscharner
Founder and retired President, Charles River Conservancy — resident of Cambridge
von Tscharner founded the Conservancy in 2000 and led it until her retirement in 2018. She trained as an architect and urban designer in Switzerland, and all her professional life has focused on planning and improving public spaces. She co-authored several books, taught at various colleges and hosted a TV program. Renata enjoys bicycling along the river.
To contact Renata, please email renatavontscharner@gmail.com.
Ron Axelrod*
Former Head, TAM Engineering; valuable advisor to the Lynch Family Skatepark project- resident of Cambridge
Jeffrey Bilezikian
Principal, Mill Lane Management/philanthropist – resident of Watertown
Dennis Carlone
Architect & Planner – resident of Cambridge
Philip Crutchfield
Retired business executive, Harvard Business School lecturer – resident of Cambridge
John DeVillars
Managing Partner, BlueWave Strategies – resident of Boston
Catherine Donaher*
Principal of CD+A, founding Charles River Conservancy Board Member – resident of Brookline
Honorable Michael Dukakis
Professor at Northeastern University, former Governor of Massachusetts – resident of Brookline
Michael Epstein*
Retired physician, former COO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center – resident of Cambridge
Paul Fremont-Smith, Jr.
Retired business executive/philanthropist – resident of Boston
Jennifer Gilbert*
Principal at VIVA Consulting – resident of Cambridge
John Isaacson
Executive, Isaacson, Miller – resident of Cambridge
Mark Kraczkiewicz*
Retired economist/international development – resident of Watertown
Daniel Langenthal
Independent Consultant – resident of Cambridge
Edward LeFlore*
Principal, CSL Consulting, LLC – resident of Hopkinton
Linda Lerner*
Consultant & Executive Coach – resident of Boston
Ania Masinter*
Managing Editor, Harvard Business Review Press – resident of Brighton
Harry Mattison*
Software Developer – resident of Allston
Geraldine Pangaro
Retired VP, John Hancock Life Insurance Company – resident of Boston
Randy Peeler
Managing Director at Berkshire Partners – resident of Cambridge
Matthew Petrie*
Architect – resident of Watertown
Amy Segal*
Counsel, Wilmer-Hale – resident of Newton
John R. Shields
Principal of Shields Design, Project Director, Esplanade 2020, a Vision for the Future – resident of Boston
Ann Tikkanen
Chief Financial & Administrative Officer at The Trustees of Reservations – resident of Cambridge
Paul Walker*
Program Director, Global Green USA, founding CRC board member – resident of Cambridge
Honorable Michelle Wu
Mayor of Boston – resident of Boston
*Denotes former Board Member