Tracy Brown, Communications Director: Tracy Brown joined Riverkeeper as Communications Director in 2007. She started her career in art, design and community organizing in Rhode Island where she helped found the non-profit arts center AS220, and was later a founding partner at the new media design studio AVX. Since moving to New York, she has worked as a communications strategist, producer, and interactive designer for Fortune 500 clients in entertainment, technology, healthcare and finance. Specializing in brand development and new technologies, her projects have included web sites, intranets, interactive games and short films. Ms. Brown’s lifelong interest in environmental work brought her to Riverkeeper as a volunteer in 2005. She graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BA in Fine Arts.

Ramona Cearley, Assistant to Policy and Enforcement: Ramona Cearley joined Riverkeeper in November 2007. With a background in communications and the humanities, she previously served multiple roles on a book project entitled Conversations with Texas Writers (University of Texas Press, 2005), an initiative of Humanities Texas. She also coordinated a community history project, along with a touring exhibit, focusing on the long-term aftereffects of natural disasters, such as floods, on rural communities. She received her M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, with an emphasis in photojournalism.

Allison Chamberlain, Donor Services Manager: Allison Chamberlain joined the Development Department in June 2005. Previously, she worked as a Development Records Assistant with Environmental Defense in New York City. She was also a Real Estate Coordinator with Greyson Foundation in Yonkers, working with formerly homeless individuals and those living with HIV/AIDS. She received her B.A. in Literature from SUNY Purchase.

Gwendolyn Chambers, Communications Producer: Gwendolyn Chambers became Riverkeeper’s Membership Communications Officer in 2005, working closely with the development department on fundraising materials and online membership relations. She is currently our website content wrangler dealing with everyday website management as well as assisting with marketing and promotional solutions and production. Ms. Chambers received her BFA in Illustration at the School of Visual Arts where she studied painting and graphic design. She worked as both a print designer and development associate at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and later became its manager of Development Information. She has also worked for Space.com and freelanced for educational and environmental non-profits as a web designer. Ms. Chambers and her husband relocated to the Hudson Valley in 2004 after many years in the industrial area of Greenpoint Brooklyn.

Renee Cho, Communications Coordinator: Renee Cho joined Riverkeeper as a volunteer in the summer of 2006 and was hired full-time that fall. As Communications Coordinator, she deals with the press, public relations, research, and writes and edits for the Riverkeeper Magazine. Prior to joining Riverkeeper, she was editor of award-winning Westchester Parent Magazine from its inception in 2000 until 2006, and wrote articles and editorials on environmental issues, including Indian Point. Her editorials were awarded two Gold Awards from Parenting Publications of America in 2005. Previously, Ms. Cho worked in the publishing business as a literary agent, representing over 60 authors and illustrators, and in the film business as a dramatic and documentary filmmaker and story editor. She has a B.A. from Tufts University and an M.A. from the American Film Institute in directing.

Tara D’Andrea, Grants Manager: Tara D’Andrea has been with Riverkeeper since September 2004. As Grants Manager, she is responsible for all fundraising from foundations and government agencies and manages several of Riverkeeper’s grants from companies and corporations. Previously, she was Assistant Director of Development at The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture (Bard College) in Manhattan, where she managed grants for a range of activities including academic programs, scholarships and fellowships, art exhibitions and publications, and public educational programming. She has a B.A. in Journalism from SUNY New Paltz.

Katarina Duplessy, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer: Katarina Duplessy joined Riverkeeper in July 2008. Previously she was Managing Director and Vice President for Finance and Administration for the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC), formerly Transatlantic Partners Against AIDS (TPAA), where she played an instrumental role in organizational development, establishing TPAA as a global force in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Prior to joining TPAA, Ms. Duplessy served as the first Director of Finance of the youth philanthropy organization Common Cents. She also served as Deputy Director of Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) International, a global network of individuals and non-governmental organizations committed to sustainable development, established in 1991 by the Rockefeller Foundation. She has also worked as program manager and consultant for non-profit organizations in the areas of civil society development in Eastern Europe (ICNL), reproductive rights (PRCH), and workers' rights (ILGWU). Ms. Duplessy holds an M.A. in Public Administration and International Relations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Syracuse University) and a B.A. from Warsaw University and from the City University of New York.

Robert J. Goldstein, General Counsel/Director of Enforcement Programs: Dr. Robert Goldstein has long been associated with environmental causes in the Hudson Valley as director of environmental programs and a professor at Pace Law School. He was recently awarded both the EPA Environmental Quality Award in recognition of his work protecting the environment and public health in EPA Region 2, as well as the Nicholas A. Robinson Environmental Award for significant contributions to environmental law by a Pace Law School graduate. At Pace, Dr. Goldstein garnered national and international recognition for his innovative initiatives to use environmental law to protect human rights; created the Virtual Environmental Law Library; founded the Journal of the Pace Center for Environmental Legal Studies, the Pace-Brazil Program, and a joint-degree program with Yale University. He has also taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, CA. He is the author of Ecology and Environmental Ethics: Green Wood in the Bundle of Sticks which deals with legal solutions to the problems of sprawl and non-point source pollution, editor of Environmental Ethics and Law and numerous book chapters and law review articles. A veteran of 15 years of litigation practice, Dr. Goldstein holds a doctorate (S.J.D.) and a Master's degree (LL.M.) in environmental law in addition to his J.D. degree; he also holds a Master's degree (M.E.M.) from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Rose Marie Grande, Administrative Assistant: Rose Marie Grande started working at the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic in 1996 and joined the Riverkeeper staff in June 2001. She is a part time administrative assistant for the watershed team and continues to assist the Clinic with a variety of administrative duties for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Previously she worked for a non-profit organization called Christian Herald in Chappaqua for 15 years as editorial assistant of its monthly magazine.

Jennifer Kahan, Policy Analyst: Jennifer Kahan joined Riverkeeper in October 2007. Previously, she worked as a litigation associate at a large NYC law firm. Jennifer received her B.A. from Emory University with a co-major in Sociology and Human and Natural Ecology and her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. During law school, Jennifer interned for the Honorable Carol B. Amon, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York.

John Lipscomb, Boat Captain: John Lipscomb became Riverkeeper’s boat captain in 2000. Having grown up in Irvington and Tarrytown, he learned to swim and sail in the Hudson River. Most of Mr. Lipscomb’s career has revolved around boats. In the early 1970’s, he apprenticed for “old time” WWII-era boat builders to learn boat maintenance and construction at Petersen’s Boatyard in Nyack. He has worked in boat building and repair on both wood and fiberglass vessels, and as a rigger. In 1991 Mr. Lipscomb became General Manager of Petersen’s until 2000. He has sailed as Captain aboard a number of 30’ to 65’ blue water sailing vessels in the Mediterranean, North Atlantic, Caribbean, Pacific and South China Sea. His ocean voyages include three Trans Atlantic crossings and one Trans Pacific from Los Angeles to Singapore. Mr. Lipscomb has also worked as a soundman and co-producer on a number of documentary TV specials with his father, filmmaker James Lipscomb. Made for National Geographic, Audubon, Turner and ABC, the films featured subjects such as the polar bears in Hudson Bay, a Yukon River raft expedition, conservationists working to protect lions in The Kalahari Dessert, the debate over the harvest of “old growth” forests in the Pacific Northwest, and sail training in the North Atlantic aboard the 200’ square rigged ship “Danmark”. In September, 2000, Mr. Lipscomb began patrolling the Hudson for Riverkeeper aboard the “R. Ian Fletcher”, a 36-foot wooden vessel similar in design to a lobster boat. From March through December each year, he travels approximately 6000 nautical miles between New York Harbor and Troy or Fort Edward, searching out and deterring polluters, monitoring tributaries and waterfront facilities, providing support for scientific studies, and taking regional decision makers out on the river so that “the river has a chance to advocate for itself.”

Stella LiRosi, Director of Operations: Stella LiRosi came to Riverkeeper in June 2002 as Operations Manager. As Director of Operations, she is responsible for accounting, human resources, informational technology and all operational aspects of the organization. Previously, Ms. LiRosi was a revenue analyst at Human-i-tees, an organization that fundraised for schools and community organizations through tee-shirt production. She also worked as a revenue analyst at Sunburst Communications, an educational software company. Ms. LiRosi attended Long Island University.

Heartie Look, Volunteer Coordinator: Heartie Look became Riverkeeper’s Volunteer Coordinator in February 2008. She manages and organizes the many volunteers who want to donate their time to support Riverkeeper. Previously, she was a field manager for an Environmental Action street canvassing team, a researcher on sustainable development for Governor’s Island, an assistant to development for the international nonprofit Green Empowerment, and a project coordinator for green marketing company Moss Appeal. Originally from New York City, Ms. Look’s interest in environmental water issues evolved while researching the Croton River Aqueduct system for an Environmental Sociology class and studying in Costa Rica. She received her B.A. from Pitzer College in Claremont, CA in 2006 with a double concentration in Environmental Studies and Sociology.

Craig Michaels, Investigator: Craig Michaels returned to Riverkeeper in 2007 as an Investigator for the Hudson River team. Mr. Michaels previously worked at Riverkeeper for three years as the Education and Outreach Coordinator before entering law school. In January 2007, he received his J.D. and Environmental Law Certificate from Pace Law School. At Pace, Mr. Michaels interned for a year at the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic, where he represented Riverkeeper and four other environmental groups in administrative permit proceedings arising from a Clean Water Act citizen suit against the City of New York. Under the supervision of Professors Coplan and Kennedy, Mr. Michaels served as lead counsel at an Adjudicatory Hearing before a New York State Administrative Law Judge. Prior to interning for the Environmental Litigation Clinic, Mr. Michaels served as a Legal Aide in the Litigation Bureau at the Office of the New York State Attorney General. Mr. Michaels holds a B.S. in Natural Resources and Environment from the University of Michigan.

Phillip Musegaas, Staff Attorney: Phillip Musegaas joined Riverkeeper in August 2005 as Indian Point Policy Analyst, responsible for analyzing, developing, and promoting positions on legislation and policies dealing with nuclear power plant safety and security. He earned a J.D. with a Certificate in Environmental Law from Pace University School of Law. As a research assistant with the Pace Energy Project, Mr. Musegaas worked on a joint project with the United Nations Environment Program writing a handbook for drafting sustainable energy legislation for developing countries. As a legal intern at the Pace Litigation Clinic, under the supervision of co-directors Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Karl Coplan, Mr. Musegaas appeared in federal court, conducted settlement negotiations, filed motions and formulated discovery plans on violations of the federal Clean Water Act. In addition, he drafted memoranda on nuclear power plant license renewal and other topics and organized policy meetings for Riverkeeper’s Indian Point Campaign. He was a Trustees Merit Scholar at Pace University and served as Treasurer of the Environmental Law Society. He received his Bachelor of Arts (magna cum laude) in Geography from the University of Washington, where he earned First Prize at the Geography Research Symposium.

Pamela Pinto-Sessions, Executive Assistant to the President: Pamela Pinto-Sessions joined Riverkeeper in September 2007. Previously, she worked in marketing and business development for Chevron in Georgia, Texas and California. She then became Executive Assistant to the CEO, CIO and President of Fremont Investment Advisors where she also developed a high net worth business unit. Ms. Pinto-Sessions has worked as the Assistant to the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Steamboat Springs Ski Corps, sat on the boards of several non-profit organizations, helped manage a family restaurant, and run her own marketing and business development consulting firm. She received her B.S. from Georgia State University. Having grown up in South Salem, Ms. Pinto-Sessions returned to Westchester County to live this past year.

Mary Beth Postman, Assistant to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: Mary Beth Postman joined Riverkeeper and the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic in 1987 as a work study intern. She is currently the Clinic’s Administrator and assistant to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., director of the Clinic. She has a B.A. in International Management from Pace University.

Basil Seggos, Chief Investigator & Hudson River Program Director: Basil Seggos joined Riverkeeper after working as a student clinician at the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic. As a student, he represented Riverkeeper, winning a landmark decision in a federal Clean Water Act lawsuit against New York City for polluting a trout stream in the Catskills. He also represented the Waterkeeper Alliance in a series of lawsuits against the hog industry in North Carolina and helped conduct the first annual symposium on sustainable hog farming. During and prior to law school, he worked as a research associate and consultant at the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York, focusing on urban issues of solid waste, recycling and watershed protection. He also served as a law clerk in the President's Council on Environmental Quality in the White House. Mr. Seggos has a B.A. in Public Policy from Trinity College and a J.D. and Environmental Law Certificate from Pace University School of Law, where he received The Henry M. Feldschuh Environmental Law Award.

Jay Simpson, Staff Attorney: Jay Simpson joined the Watershed Team in July 2007 and focuses on West-of-Hudson watershed issues. His responsibilites include investigating and prosecuting Clean Water Act violations; figthting sprawl in the West-of-Hudson watershed, including the Catskills; and working with local community groups, all to protect public drinking water. He volunteered with Riverkeeper's Hudson River Team during the summer of 2006 and worked with boat captain John Lipscomb on dredging and pollution issues. Prior to joining Riverkeeper he practiced commercial litigation with a large New York City law firm, and was a corporate associate at a boutique firm. He was also a judicial clerk for the Vermont Trial Courts. Mr. Simpson received a B.A. from the University of Michigan ('93) and a J.D. from Vermont Law School ('99) where he was an Editor of the Vermont Law Review. Mr. Simpson received a Masters in Environmental Law (LL.M.) from Pace Law School in January 2007, where he drafted the Bench Brief for the 2007 National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition.

Jennifer Sotolongo, Administrative Assistant, Development and Operations: Jennifer Sotolongo joined Riverkeeper staff in September 2007. After graduating from college, she spent a year abroad in Santiago, Chile and Wellington, New Zealand. While in Chile, she taught English to university students and interned as a writer for an English newspaper. In New Zealand, she worked as a team administrator for a governmental organization that promoted safety. She received a B.S. in Journalism and Spanish from Boston University in 2005.

Victor Tafur, Senior Attorney: Senior Attorney Victor Tafur joined Riverkeeper in September 2004 after completing his Masters in Environmental Law at Pace Law School and serving as a staff attorney at the Pace Law School's Energy Project. At the Energy Project, Mr. Tafur represented environmental and community interests in proceedings involving the siting of energy facilities in New York State, and was responsible for research on energy policy and climate change nationally and in developing nations. Just prior to joining Pace University, Mr. Tafur served as Deputy Director of the Program for Alternative Development of the Presidency of Colombia. As a private practitioner in Colombia, he was responsible for obtaining the environmental and local permits for the construction and operation of a natural gas power plant in Colombia. Mr. Tafur received his J.D. from Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia, his doctorate in environmental law from Pace and is an adjunct professor teaching Energy Law.

Rebecca Troutman, Staff Attorney: Rebecca Troutman joined Riverkeeper in 2006 and works on a variety of legal matters including Clean Water Act permitting and regulation, NEPA and SEQRA project review, sustainable development, and internal matters. In 2006, at the Pace Environmental Law Clinic, she drafted the Article 78 Petition on the Danskammer power plant’s cooling water intake system, with Professors Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Daniel Estrin, which appealed the decision of the N.Y.S. D.E.C. and moved the litigation to the court system. Ms. Troutman received her B.A. from Harvard College (Government) where she was a John Harvard Scholar and an Elizabeth Agassiz Scholar, and her J.D from Columbia Law School where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an Editor of the Columbia Business Law Review. She also holds an LL.M. in Environmental Law from Pace Law School. Previously, she worked in investment banking in structured securities analysis and marketing, and as a litigator.

Joshua Verleun, Investigator: Joshua Verleun joined Riverkeeper in September 2007 and works with Riverkeeper’s network of citizen “Watchdogs” as well as boat captain John Lipscomb on Hudson River pollution issues north of New York City. During the spring of 2007, he was a legal intern in the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic where, under the supervision of co-directors Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Daniel Estrin, he conducted settlement negotiations, drafted permit modification petitions, prepared affidavits, and worked on Clean Water Act enforcement cases against a large stone quarry, and one of the largest independently owned food and beverage companies in the United States. He received his B.S. from James Madison University and his J.D, and Environmental Law Certificate, cum laude, from Pace University School of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Pace Environmental Law Review, a Vice-Chair of the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition, a Center for Environmental Legal Studies Merit Scholar, and organizer of a regional summit on climate change for the National Association of Environmental Law Societies.

Teresa Walsh, Events Manager: Teresa Walsh joined Riverkeeper in September, 2004. As Events Manager, she coordinates Riverkeeper’s fundraising events, member outings and annual Hudson River celebrations. She began her career in development as part of the AIDS Walk campaigns across the United States which took her to New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, Colorado and Boston. Before coming to Riverkeeper, Ms. Walsh was Events Coordinator for the Westchester County chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Earlier, she worked as a Development Associate at Brookwood Child Care of Brooklyn where she oversaw annual fund raising, grant writing, and started the organization’s first mentoring program for foster care youth. She has a B.S. in Political Science from Metropolitan State College of Denver.

Bill Wegner, Staff Scientist: Bill Wegner joined Riverkeeper in 1999 to help monitor sprawl in the 2,000-square-mile watershed that serves as New York City's drinking water supply. His primary responsibilities at Riverkeeper are to oversee the City's development of sound water quality monitoring models, develop standards for tributary health, review environmental impact statements, participate in the planning process before town and county governments on individual projects, and provide technical support to grassroots anti-sprawl groups within the New York City watershed. In addition, Mr. Wegner oversees Riverkeeper's Leaf Pack Network program, which is part of our education outreach and involves water quality monitoring by middle and high school students in watershed communities. He attended SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse and received his M.A. in Biology from SUNY at New Paltz.

Brian K. M. Wiley, Development Director: Brian K. M. Wiley joined Riverkeeper as Development Director in May, 2008. Previously, he led the Masters Group, a collaboration of professionals sought by corporate and nonprofit clients. Mr. Wiley brings a 20-year history of development expertise to New York City from Chicago where he was most recently the Director of Development and Marketing for Literacy Chicago. Mr. Wiley served as the Executive Director to AIDS Walk Chicago, the Midwest’s largest and highest profile public relations event advocating for the treatment and prevention of HIV and AIDS. While Director of Corporate Events at Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, he formed the first coalition between a dozen of the area’s largest children’s service organizations for the Walk for Children. While at Catholic Charities, Mr. Wiley held more than 15 successful annual fundraising events. He also served as President and CEO of Comtact, Inc., an innovative telecommunications entertainment firm which produced user interactive phone magazine programs. Mr. Wiley received the Boys and Girls Clubs President’s award in 1999. He has served as a professional presenter for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, addressed master level classes at Columbia University and has appeared as a spokesperson on numerous television and radio programs. He holds a degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Loyola University of Chicago.