Board Of Directors
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Sukia AkibaSukia is a social activist and an environmentalist. She has a Bachelors in Sociology from UMass Boston and a Masters in Global Health Policy and Management from the Heller School at Brandeis University. She is Nigerian and currently works with several organizations to improve the quality of life in Nigeria.
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Suzanne Englot, Board Chair/PresidentSuzy is an attorney with a background in climate and energy law and policy, and works as an environmental health and safety consultant at The Isosceles Group in Boston. She is a graduate of Gettysburg College and the Haub School of Law at Pace University.
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Jan DevereuxA two-term Cambridge City Councillor, Jan served as vice mayor in 2018-19 and as a chair of the Health and Environment Committee from 2016-19. As a councillor she partnered with Quinton Zondervan and Green Cambridge to launch the Urban Forest Master Plan study and to strengthen tree protections. A committed cyclist and transit rider, Jan has lived in Cambridge since 1993 and is the mother of three grown children. She earned a BA in English at Princeton University and an MBA in marketing at Columbia University.
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Charles FranklinCharles is originally from the DC area and moved to Cambridge to attend MIT in 2010. Graduating with a degree in computer science and electrical engineering, he took his first job at Athenahealth in Watertown and is now a senior developer at Akamai in Kendall Square. From an early age, Charles has been an advocate for the environment and enjoyer of nature. He also serves on the Inman Square Neighborhood Association board and is a founding member of Upgrade Cambridge.
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Cory Firstenberg, TreasurerCory is a passionate climate and renewable energy advocate. He is a graduate of Boston University and a Cambridge resident.
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Cynthia HibbardCynthia is a semi-retired Vice President and Air & Climate Practice Leader at CDM Smith, an environmental engineering consulting firm. Cynthia has served on the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), Greenhouse Gas Technical Advisory Committee; is a contributing author to The Climate Registry, Local Government Operations Protocol (LGOP) for the Quantification and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories; and is serving on the City of Cambridge ENVISION Climate and Environment Working Group. She is a graduate of Harvard/Radcliffe College (Engineering and Applied Physics) and Harvard University (Applied Sciences and School of Public Health).
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John Pitkin, Vice PresidentJohn has been active in Cambridge civic life and the Mid-Cambridge neighborhood since 1970 and has initiated many successful grass-roots efforts, both in collaboration and on his own. Besides Green Cambridge, he serves on the board of the Mid-Cambridge Neighborhood Association and recently joined the Executive Committee of the Sierra Club's Greater Boston Group.
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Elena SaportaElena is a landscape architect who specializes in the design and greening of urban spaces. Elena has worked extensively on promoting commercial recycling in Cambridge. Her passions include beekeeping, organic gardening, bicycling, drawing, painting, photography and picking up languages.
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Minka VanBeuzekom
Minka is a real estate agent and former City Councillor. A board member since 2011, Minka has been a strong local advocate for the environment and worked on the Plastic Bag ban and Net Zero. Minka also serves on the board of the Mystic River Watershed Association.
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Quinton Zondervan, ClerkQuinton has been on the board of Green Cambridge since 2011 and a Cantabridgian since 1992 when he moved here to study at MIT, and was board chair until the beginning of 2018 when he was elected to Cambridge City Council. An environmentalist since his undergraduate days, he is passionate about protecting our natural environment and increasing our sustainability through systemic transformation. From installing rain barrels to canvassing for solar to advocating with city officials, he loves all aspects of the work. And at home he tortures his family by making sure the latest and greatest sustainability measures are implemented, as soon as they are commercially available
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Honorary Board Members
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Mike ConnollyMike is a lawyer and state representative with a deep commitment to environmental sustainability. A board member since 2013, Mike was instrumental in the Net Zero campaign, leading the charge on the Connolly Petition as it became known. He also organized several rallies and events in support of preserving the Silver Maple Forest.
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Ellen MassEllen was president of the Friends of Alewife Reservation until 2019, when it became part of Green Cambridge. In her retirement, she continues to be devoted to a protected and sustainable environment.
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Emeritus Members
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Keren SchlomyKeren is a co-founder and former president of Green Cambridge, is an attorney with a focus on clean energy and environmental law. She recently completed a graduate level professional certificate in Sustainability at Harvard University. Keren served on the board from the founding of Green Cambridge until 2016.
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Sam BerkSamuel is a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He has worked as the Advocacy Coordinator for the Westside Center for Independent Living and as an attorney and adjunct faculty member at the Western Law Center for Disability Rights at Loyola Law School. He currently maintains a private practice in Cambridge with an emphasis on disability benefits cases. He served as the Green Cambridge treasurer for four years, the finance committee, and several ongoing Green Cambridge projects. He continues to be actively engaged with our urban farming work.
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Henrietta DavisHenrietta is the former mayor of Cambridge and long-time city councilor. She is a member of the Cambridge net zero task force. In addition, she currently serves on the board of MCAN (the Mass Climate Action Network), the board of USGBC-MA (the green building council) and is a member of that organization's net zero committee. She is also on the board of the Institute for Market Transformation, a national organization promoting energy efficiency in buildings. Henrietta attended the Paris Climate Talks and became more convinced than ever that it's up to cities and states to take action. Further that they should begin with the built environment: 40% of carbon emissions in the US come from buildings. 82% of Cambridge carbon emissions come from buildings!
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Alumni Members
Susan Labandibar
Susan is the founder and owner of Tech Networks of Boston, a B-Corp specializing in information technology for nonprofits. Susan is a tireless environmental advocate and local business leader. Susan also serves as President of the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts, and is the founder of the Climate Action Business Association and Southie Trees.
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Michael SojkaMichael is a software developer for electric utilities. A graduate studies at Stanford University in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michael's passion for sustainability, renewable energy, and energy efficiency served Green Cambridge's board through a critical development period. His service on several committees including the City of Somerville’s Climate Forward Initiative on the Utility and Infrastructure Working Group as well as the City of Cambridge’s Climate Action Protection Committee provided direct connection to cross-municipal work.
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Susan RinglerSusan grew up in Chicago, holds degrees from Harvard and Stanford and wrote technical manuals for software companies in the Stanford/Silicon Valley area of California for many years before recently moving to Cambridge. She enjoys artistic and practical re-use of discarded objects, from mosaic birdbaths and tables made with broken dishes, to a colorful cloth shopping bags. She can be found making cardboard furniture on "PARK(ing) Day," mending shopping bags at the Winter Farmers market, and helping install rain barrels. If you speak French to her she will respond volubly and consider you her friend! "Observe keenly, reason soundly, imagine vividly," Charles W. Eliot, 1908.
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Sam SeidelSam is a city planner and former City Councillor. A long time board member, Sam chaired the board Finance Committee and supplied us with great photographs of Cambridge. Sam also serves on the board of the Margaret Fuller House in Cambridge.
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Erik ThoresenErik grew up in Portsmouth, NH, the son of two urban planners. Since arriving in Cambridge ten years ago, he has been involved in the Tobin Montessori school and the LivableStreets Alliance. A graduate of Syracuse and Virginia, he works as the COO of a financial planning firm in Newton. Most days you can find him commuting via his bicycle. Erik's family owns a "century farm" in Iowa where they are working to improve farming practices for better long-term biodiversity and sustainability. Erik and his wife, Traci, enjoy being outside with their two children. He was served as President and Board Chair January to June 2018.
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