Breakout Speakers

Ivy Babson, PWS is a Project Manager and Wetland Scientist with Princeton Hydro LLC’s Regulatory Compliance and Wildlife Surveys Department. Ivy has supported a variety of both small and large-scale restoration projects through conducting wetland delineations and habitat assessments, leading federal, state, and local environmental permitting and regulatory compliance, leading wetland and riparian zone mitigation monitoring efforts, ecological community surveys, and other flora and fauna surveys.

David Bressler has been with Stroud Water Research Center for eight years facilitating and supporting community science primarily in the Delaware River basin.  Prior to this he worked in private industry for 17 years doing bioassessment and stream monitoring work in support of federal, state, and county environmental agencies.

Bethany Ayers Fisher is a member of Angelica Creek Watershed Association and the Sustainability Manager for the City of Reading.  With ACWA, she coordinates the quarterly water chemistry monitoring. At the City of Reading, she leads the efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change and stewards the city’s built and natural infrastructure. She is a 2018 & 2022 graduate of Alvernia University.

For over two decades, Jordan Good has focused on bringing satisfaction to his civil engineering clients at C.S. Davidson, Inc., whether he was designing a bridge or developing software for municipalities.  Jordan’s career at C.S. Davidson began in 2002 when he interned while studying at Penn State University. Joining the company as a bridge engineer right out of college, his early years were dedicated to bridge inspection and engineering work in York, Lancaster, and Adams counties.  An entrepreneur at heart, Jordan began looking for ways to innovate within C.S. Davidson. In 2014, he and fellow bridge engineer John Petro developed CSDatum, a software solution that allows municipalities to map and manage their infrastructure.  Around 2019, CSDatum became Jordan’s full-time focus as he helped get the software into the hands of over 80 municipalities.  In 2024, he became the company’s new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), shifting his attention to employee satisfaction and enhancing C.S. Davidson’s historical offices in South Central Pennsylvania. He oversees the company’s facilities and internal and client-focused technologies. 

Michael joined the staff of Berks Nature in August of 2015. He has volunteered for many environmental organizations and is a board member of several more.
During the summer of 2013, while working on his Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science/Biology at Kutztown University, Michael was an intern for the stormwater initiative. While at Kutztown, he spent a lot of his time at involved in extracurricular activities. He was the vice-president of the Kutztown University Environmental Action Club, research assistant, teacher’s assistant, tutor, and did independent research.
Michael has experience in management, photography, citizen education at the Department of Agriculture, laboratory work, and concentrated on limnology (water ecology) at school.

Meghan Kelly is Principal of Green Motivate, where she assists environmental organizations in designing and implementing outreach programs with a goal of encouraging behavior change. Meghan specializes in research design and strategy, social marketing, and environmental communication. She has worked with such organizations as the City and County of San Francisco, the Alameda Countywide Clean Water Program, and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. Meghan completed her graduate work at the University of Michigan, where her research involved working with the Chesapeake Bay Trust to research the challenges and needs of watershed professionals implementing behavior change outreach programs. Meghan is based in San Francisco, California, was born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania, and works with organizations throughout the country.   

M. Jill Kemp (M.S. Biology) has been an environmental educator at Nolde Forest EE Center for over ten years now. During the summer months she works with her husband doing in-stream minnow research. She is currently focused on freshwater fish acoustical behavior.

Stan Kemp is Program Director of Environmental Sustainability at University of Baltimore.  Research interests include native fish communities and how they are affected by urbanization.

Larry joined Berks Nature Center in June 2002. He had been a Berks Nature volunteer for over ten years and also spends time volunteering for DCNR State Parks and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. He has over 28 years of experience managing land near his residence in Cumru Township. Larry is responsible for managing all of Berks Nature’s protected land and conservation easements in Berks County, and facilitates many of their stream and trail projects.

PSU bachelors in environmental systems engineering. Currently working for PennDOT as a project manager. Volunteer for the Neshaminy Watershed Association as Treasurer.  Society of freshwater science genus level taxonomy certified.  Passionate birder and a proud cat dad.

Steve Mohapp is an Advanced Environmental Educator at Stroud Water Research Center in Avondale, Pa. At the Stroud Center, he helps design and deliver environmental education programs for youth groups and professional development opportunities for adult groups. Steve also assists with various projects to create learning resources, engage expanding audiences, and more.

Michelle Niedermeier joined Pennsylvania Sea Grant in July 2021 as education lead. She is responsible for funding, planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating youth and adult educational programs with a focus on ocean, river, and Great Lakes literacy; civic action and stewardship; coastal resilience and resources; and watershed and environmental sustainability topics across Pennsylvania. Additionally, she builds partnerships and nurtures relationships with educators, state and local agency staff, workforce development specialists, industry, researchers, and the other experts to provide lifelong formal and informal educational opportunities for the Commonwealth’s diverse coastal communities from the Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic regions.
 
Prior to joining Pennsylvania Sea Grant, Michelle was the Program Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Integrated Pest Management Program in the Department of Entomology at Penn State University where she worked with schools and childcares, community groups, agencies, and organizations to build partnerships and provide education and engagement for safer pest management practices resulting in healthier homes, families, and communities.

Dr. Osgood is the Watershed Coordinator at the Berks County Conservation District. He has worked most of his career in higher education and recently switched to work with the public sector at the County and State levels. Dr. Osgood’s research has focused on natural marsh development on barrier islands with an emphasis on subsurface hydrology, nutrient dynamics, and their influence on the developing plant community. He also studies Phragmites and other invasive plant species and their impact on marshes. His practical-based research and work activity has allowed him to collaborate with numerous non-profit groups, landscape designers, and environmental engineers, as well as regulatory agencies at the municipal, state, and federal levels of government.

Robert Pace has been a volunteer Master Watershed Steward (MWS) in Montgomery County for the past 7 years working to help educate the public on the importance and value of our watersheds. As a MWS, he had worked on numerous watershed projects including riparian buffer plantings, bank erosion studies along Perkiomen Creek, stormwater assessments for numerous properties, and makes public presentations on a variety of water-related topics.
Robert is retired with over 43 years of public and private sector experience in water resources planning and management. As a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civilian for the Baltimore and Philadelphia Districts, its Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and for the U.S. Africa Command, he has worked on projects addressing critical regional, national, and international water issues, including flood and drought risk management and aquatic ecosystem restoration. Since 2016, he has been responsible for managing his HOA’s extensive stormwater basin system in Montgomery County,PA. He also serves on the Conservation Committee for Wissahickon Trails, the Steering and Citizen’s Advisory Committees for the Perkiomen Creek Comprehensive Flood and Mapping Study, and is a member of the Philadelphia Mineralogical Society.

Mary Rooney is a professional engineer who founded EnviroAce LLC in 1999 to bring excellent environmental services to manufacturing and engineering firms. She has 30 years’ experience managing permitting and regulatory issues for environmental projects.  Her broad technical experience includes federal, state, and local permitting, regulatory negotiation, emergency plan preparation, compliance auditing, and remedial design. Mary is also a Pennsylvania Master Watershed Steward and President of the Little Lehigh Watershed Stewards volunteer conservation organization.

Pat Rose is a Project Manager and Limnologist in the Aquatics division at Princeton Hydro, LLC. In this role, he oversees projects focused on lake and watershed management at all stages from planning to implementation. Pat also has extensive field and lab experience where he regularly conducts water quality monitoring and biological sampling and analysis. He enjoys the diversity of projects and professionals he has the opportunity to work with.

Faran oversees PennEnvironment’s Zero Waste program, working to reduce plastic waste in Pennsylvania and to protect our parks and open spaces. Faran’s work has included helping to write and pass bans on single-use plastic across Pennsylvania, including in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and over two dozen other municipalities. His work has also included promoting the Zero Waste PA package of legislation in Harrisburg, and original research including the report “Microplastics in Pristine Waterways,” a first of its kind study on microplastic pollution in Pennsylvania’s cleanest, most ecologically important streams.

David Schogel is a retired social worker who in an active member of the Center in the Park/Senior Environment Corps (SEC). Through the Environmental Alliance for Senior Involvement, David has become a certified chemical trainer for water quality testing; with this certification, he recruits other senior citizens to help teach water monitoring and stream assessment to school children. David is also a SEC tour guide for Saylor Grove Wetland and has helped his SEC group to write a proposal to do stream restoration at the historic Rittenhouse Town. Through Philadelphia Green’s Garden Tenders and Tree Tenders Programs, David is a founding member of the Hansberry Garden & Nature Center (HGNC) in Germantown where he is currently working with teachers and school children on water quality issues. He is also a volunteer at the Academy of Natural Sciences Philadelphia, in their Patrick Center. He is also an instructor in AARP’s Driver Safety Program and is a Democratic Committeeperson.

Stine, who came to the Delaware Riverkeeper Network as a volunteer water quality monitor in 1990, has been working for the organization since 1993. With a natural talent for involving people in work to be done, Stine is a skilled citizen organizer, possessing a great capacity for inspiring citizen participation, translating difficult technical information, and strategizing new and innovative outreach strategies. His greatest strength lies in his ability to encourage citizens to take on leadership roles in working to protect local environments. His background includes: assisting with public participation in health care planning as consultant to Rutgers University, interning at the Philadelphia Recycling Office, working as a paralegal for a New Jersey law firm, and four years in the U.S. Coast Guard. Stine graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and Community Development.

Jake Summers is the Growing Manager at Martha’s Community Farm. He is passionate about food security and environmental sustainability and believes everyone deserves access to healthy food. Jake manages the crops and volunteers at the farm, educating the community about growing techniques and the importance of regenerative agriculture. Jake’s interest in environmentally conscious food production goes back to 2012 when he achieved a Permaculture Design Certification from Aprovecho in Oregon. Jake continued to pursue his plants background by working as a certified arborist for two years in Savannah, GA, before completing the two year Horticultural Apprenticeship at Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens in Devon, PA. Jake graduated with a BA degree from Connecticut College in Botany in 2016.

Jennifer Stinson has been a biology teacher at Governor Mifflin High School for 32 years. She is the Vice-President of the Angelica Creek Watershed Association, a board member of the Hay Creek Watershed Association and an ambassador for Berks Nature. As a founding member of the Friends of Nolde Forest, she is also the current president.

Dr. Alicia Sprow is an Assistant Professor of Leadership and an Associate Director of Sustainability at Alvernia University. Student leadership development and real-world learning opportunities are the focus of her teaching, service, and scholarship. Alicia enjoys working in the Office of Institutional Sustainability with the student leadership team, along with working alongside the Student Sustainability Club executive officers as a faculty advisor. Through these opportunities, she has facilitated experiential learning opportunities regionally and internationally. Before joining higher education, Alicia was an environmental education director providing experiential learning opportunities for people of all ages.

For 27 years Brian was the New Jersey Reporter for NBC NY and among the issues he covered was the environmental degradation and recovery efforts of a state with the most Superfund sites in the nation. Brian was recognized by the NY/NJ Baykeeper with its first Environmental Reporting award for an expose on a developer building next to a watershed. 7 times the AP recognized Brian for Best Reporting by a NJ-based correspondent, and he is a member of the team that won national Murrow, Polk and other awards.

Brian Vadino is a Watershed Specialist with the Montgomery County Conservation District, and has worked in partnership with watershed organizations, municipalities, and other entities on a variety of planning, design, permitting, funding, implementation, monitoring, and maintenance activities associated with regional and local watershed conservation efforts. Prior to his current position, Brian worked as a Watershed Specialist with the Delaware County Conservation District, as Director of Rivers Program with Wildlands Conservancy, and as Eastern Area Habitat Management Assistant with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. In 2015, Brian received the “Environmental Leadership Award” from the Chester-Ridley-Crum Watersheds Association for “his work with nonprofits, municipalities, landowners and others to promote watershed health and conservation practices.” Brian earned a BS degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from Penn State University (College of Agricultural Sciences, School of Forest Resources) in 1997.

Kevin’s passion for plants has taken him from farms on the Tasmanian shore to Longwood Gardens. He currently works as the Head Propagator at Octoraro Native Plant Nursery where he now focuses on producing the highest quality native trees and shrubs.