Board of Trustees

Todd Ambs - Madison, WI

Todd Ambs was appointed as Administrator of Water for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in January 2003. Prior to accepting that position, he served as executive director of the River Alliance of Wisconsin, a group he helped build into one of the strongest and most effective of its kind in the country. Todd serves on a number of water-related boards and commissions including the Great Lakes Commission, Council of Great Lakes Governors, Great Lakes Protection Fund and the Water Quality Board of the International Joint Commission. He is currently chair of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association. An avid paddler and angler, Todd resides in Madison, Wisconsin and has been active with River Network for many years before joining the board.

Catherine Armington - Washington, DC

Ms. Armington is an admirer and paddler of rivers who has spent a good part of her life as a consultant/manager on research projects studying the rate of formation and growth of small businesses in the US, and constructing more comprehensive data for tracking business formation and dissolution. She enjoys and has been involved in landscaping, music, residential property restoration, foreign travel, and family and grandkids' activities.

Adrienne Atwell - Cortlandt, NY

Ms. Atwell is Senior Product Line Manager in the Divisional Underwriting Office for the Property and Casualty Business Group's Americas Division, based in Armonk, New York. As the Americas Division Sustainability Manager, Adrienne is responsible for the implementation of Swiss Re's Sustainability Program in the Americas, a commitment under the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. She additionally provides environmental underwriting support to all Business Units. Adrienne holds Swiss Re's Sustainability Award for the years 2000 and 2001.

Rob Buirgy - Loveland, CO

Mr. Buirgy has taught Chemistry and Stream Ecology for 25 years and served as the Director of the Big Thompson Watershed Forum from 1996 to 2007. He is currently a consultant in organizational development, watershed-scale environmental management and water education. Rob earned his B.S. and M.Ed. from Colorado State University and continues his learning on-the-job. Rob also serves as Vice-Chair for the Colorado Watershed Assembly and chairs the Watershed Assessment Committee. Favorite activities include whitewater kayaking, backcountry skiing, and family adventures.

Kimberly N. Charles - San Francisco, CA

Kimberly Charles has been a marketing communications wine industry professional on both the client and agency sides of the business for close to 20 years. She has tackled marketing issues large and small on behalf of her clients from the artisanal cult wine producer of Williams Seylem, to the household brands of Gallo of Sonoma, BMW and Hyatt Hotels, her work has always accentuated building a synergy with the various audiences of a client, all the while imbuing their programs with meaning and resonance.

Dianne Dillon-Ridgley, Vice-Chair - Iowa City, IA

Since 1997 Ms. Dillon-Ridgley has been the U.N. Headquarters Representative of the World Y.W.C.A., Geneva, Switzerland. She is a Managing Director of the Global Water Partnership, Stockholm and member of the boards of Interface, Inc. and Green Mountain Energy in the U.S.

Don Elder - Portland, OR

Mr. Elder joined River Network in 1996. Before accepting the post of CEO in April, 2003, he served as River Network's Vice President for Programs. From 1988-1994, Don served as the first Executive Director of the Birmingham, Alabama-based Cahaba River Society, which grew during his tenure into one of the most effective groups of its kind in the country. Prior to joining River Network, he also served as director of development for The Nature Conservancy of Alabama.

Barb Horn - Durango, CO

Barb has worked for more than twenty-five years as a Habitat Biologist with the Colorado Division of Wildlife. She represents the CDOW regarding aquatic wildlife and water quality issues. This includes testifying, reviewing documents, writing, participating in negotiations, and participating in processes to obtain and assess data for watershed issues that primarily include use attainability assessment, remediation, restoration or regulatory/legislative actions such as discharge permits allocations, Superfund sites, Clean Water Action Plan Unified Watersheds, and Total Maximum Daily Loads.

Dave Katz - Atlanta, GA

Dave Katz is Vice-President for Operations Planning and Development for Coca-Cola Enterprises, the world's largest bottler and distributor of Coca-Cola products, with major operations in North America and Europe. In that capacity, he provides senior leadership for all corporation operations and planning functions, including strategic infrastructure planning, capital planning, architecture & engineering, facilities management, real estate, engineering, environmental, and performance management reporting. He also supports all supply chain activities for the Corporate, North America, and Europe Divisions and manages an annual budget of more than one billion dollars. A native of Illinois, Dave graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, InvesTech Investment Club, and the Council of Logistics Management. In recent years, his personal and professional interests have led him to a keen interest in environmental issues, especially water issues.

Paul Paryski - Santa Fe, NM

Paul Paryski has been involved with environmental issues most of his professional life. His began his career as a teacher, then as a Foreign Service Officer, and finally worked with the United Nations Development Programme on environmental policy, planning and governance. In Haiti, he helped establish two national parks and the Haitian Ministry of the Environment. Since 2000, he lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He serves on Governor Richardson' s Blue Ribbon Water Task Force, the Jemez y Sangre Water Planning Council, the NM State Engineer's Water Wise Development Committee, and is the Conservation Chair of the Northern New Mexico Group of the Sierra Club. He was an active member of the Alliance for the Rio Grande Heritage. He helped write and pass New Mexico's Graywater Act and State Water Planning Act, and has been active in building bridges with non- environmental traditional communities who depend on New Mexico's unique natural resources. Paul has a BA from Williams College and a MA from Columbia University.

Charles F. Sams III - Portland, OR

Chuck Sams is the national Director for the Tribal Lands Program of the Trust for Public Land, a position he accepted earlier this year. He is also a steering committee member of the new Indigenous Waters Network. His personal objective is to build programs that restore, protect and conserve natural resources in manners that balance ecological, cultural, and socio-economic needs. From 2004-2006 he served as Executive Director of the Columbia Slough Watershed Council, a River Network Partner that is one of the most active watershed organizations in the Pacific Northwest. Prior positions included Data Analyst for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (1992), Program Coordinator for the Community Action Program of East Central Oregon (1993), House Manager/Field Supervisor for the City Volunteer Corps of New York (1994-95), Executive Director, Vice President Programs, NW Director, Earth Conservation Corps (1994-2003) and Executive Director of the Portland, Oregon-based Community Energy Project. Chuck earned his Bachelor of Science/Business Administration, Communications and Leadership Degree from Concordia University. He also graduated from the U.S. Navy's Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center A school. Subsequently, he won the U.S. Navy's Achievement Medal in 1991 for Professional Achievement in Combat Operations in the Persian Gulf War. Other honors include American Rivers' 1997 Silver Medal for environmental achievement in services on behalf of the Columbia River; Special Recognition from the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for outstanding management of a non-profit; the 1998 National Award from the U.S. President's Council on Sustainable Development for Environmental Achievement; and the U.S. President's Points of Light Foundation's 2000 Service Medal for work in the Environmental Field.

Judith Spang - Durham, NH

Judith Spang is one of New Hamphsire's leading river conservationists and environmental legislators. She has worked for eight years in the state House of Representatives on groundwater, surface water and land conservation issues. She serves on the Board of New Hampshire's State Land and Community Heritage Investment Program and as Chair of the Lamprey River Advisory Committee. In addition, she is active with several area land conservation organizations. In 1991, Judith and her husband Carl were given American Rivers' "Outstanding River Advocate" award for their work in conducting a vigorous grassroots effort that resulted in designation of a portion of the Lamprey Rivers as a national Wild and Scenic River. Since then, over 1,810 acres and about 8 miles of river frontage have been protected by the Lamprey River Advisory Committee, two waterfront parks developed and a curriculum based on the river instituted in watershed schools. Judith was born and raised on the Warren River in R.I. and now lives on the Lamprey in N.H. After graduating from Bryn Mawr College, she spent 7 years in New York City getting a masters degree in land use planning and working as a planner before moving to New Hampshire. Currently, she is working with a coalition of interests urging reconsideration of a proposal to discharge large amounts of treated sewage to Portsmouth Harbor. The coalition urges full consideration of alternatives that would reuse much of the region's stormwater and wastewater, reducing long-term pressures on surface-water and ground-water supplies.

Marc Taylor, Board Chair - Southbury, CT

Dr. Taylor is a physician and an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. He is a founder and serves as Chairman of the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition. He is a Director and a Vice-President of the Housatonic Valley Association and a Director and Vice-President of Rivers Alliance of Connecticut. River Network designated Marc a River Hero in 2002.

Baljit Wadhwa - Bethesda, MD

With over $15 billion under management, Calvert is the leading family of socially responsible mutual funds in the United States. Bava provides Indigenous Peoples' rights and human rights analysis to business practices in Calvert's Social Research Department. In this role she reviews corporate policies, programs and performance in connection with indigenous territories, cultures, environment, and livelihoods. Bava also examines corporate performance for positive portrayals of indigenous people and their religious and cultural heritage. In addition, she lends her environmental expertise to Calvert's Environment and Climate Change team. Her recent research and advocacy efforts include launch of Calvert's new Global Alternative Energy Fund and securing significant commitments for climate change disclosure from leading U.S. insurance companies.

James Wheaton - Oakland, CA

Mr. Wheaton is President of the Environmental Law Foundation, a public interest environmental enforcement program in Oakland. He is also founder and Senior Counsel for the First Amendment Project, a public interest law firm which protect peoples' First Amendment rights to learn about and participate in public affairs. He is a Senior Advisor to the California Bar's Environment Section and its annual Yosemite Institute, the immediate past-President and current Chair of the Legal Committee for Friends of the River, and teaches Journalism Law at the graduate schools at Berkeley and Stanford.

Suzi Wilkins-Berl - Asheville, NC

Suzi Wilkins Berl is one of the nation's most experienced watershed protection leaders. From 1978-89 she headed a variety of grassroots organizations, including the Farmington River Watershed Association (CT), Connecticut Land Trust Service Bureau, and Long Island Sound Task Force. From 1989 - 1994, she was Director of Outreach and Education for American Rivers in Washington DC, where she worked with state and local conservationists across the country building coalitions, securing state river policy and undertaking statewide river assessments. From 1994 until 1998, she was Executive Director of the Mississippi River Basin Alliance, which unites over 90 environmental justice organizations and traditional conservation groups. She helped set and directed river policy. She also provided training for and improved communications among MRBA's member organizations, and oversaw the Alliance's nationally recognized annual conference. From 1999 - 2005, she worked under contract with River Network, helping a wide range of state, regional and local river and watershed organizations, especially in the Southeastern United States. During that same time, she assisted several land trusts throughout the region under contract with Land Trust Alliance and a number of local watershed groups under contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

Robert Zimmerman - Weston, MA

Founded in 1965, CRWA is a nonprofit environmental advocacy, research, and education group charged with using science and the law to protect and enhance the Charles River and its watershed. Since joining CRWA in 1991, Bob has raised public and regulatory awareness of issues on the Charles and increased membership from 600 to 6000. Over the past dozen years, CRWA has become a leading authority on the science of how water works in urban watersheds, and has developed pilot projects that address issues such as stormwater pollution, water quality, low instream flow, nutrient loading, habitat protection and restoration, community zoning, suburban sprawl and sustainable development.