Board of Directors
President
Susan Crane
Susan has practiced environmental law for the past thirty years and has extensive land protection and stewardship experience. She spent fifteen years working with our regional land trust, Sudbury Valley Trustees, as a board member, chair of SVT’s stewardship committee, and later as land protection staff. Susan also served as a ten-year member and two-year co-chair of the Sudbury, Assabet & Concord Wild & Scenic River Stewardship Council, where she focused on legal issues involving river and habitat protection.
Vice President
Janet Kresl Moffat
Janet has taught high school science for over 30 years, including AP Biology, Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science. She is the faculty advisor for Students for Environmental Action. She had served as event coordinator for the Trust for many years and manages a large group of active volunteers, deploying them in the Trust’s annual fundraising events, which over her tenure have raised a combined $150,000+ for land protection. She currently focusses on stewardship, outreach and communication for the Trust.
Clerk
Jeff Ritterson
Jeff is a wildlife biologist and conservationist by vocation, and this passion has taken him across the country and to parts of Central and South America. He holds a MSc in Conservation Biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and currently works for Mass Audubon as a Field Ornithologist, where he focuses on the conservation of forest birds – particularly in working landscapes – and on adapting our forests, and the wildlife they support, to climate change. Jeff joined the Trust’s board in 2019, and lends his expertise to various management and stewardship projects.
Treasurer
Eve Donahue
Eve spent a career in management at large corporations including Polaroid, Pitney Bowes, and Monster.com. She has an MBA in Finance and handles the Trust’s finances, including taxes and insurance, as well as maintaining the membership database. She served for many years on the Stewardship Committee, overseeing the Trust’s conservation restriction monitoring program and helping to found the Stew Crew, an active group of volunteers doing trail maintenance and upkeep. She has served on the Town of Stow’s Open Space Committee and participated in the most recent update of Stow’s Open Space and Recreation Plan.
Assistant Treasurer
Bill Werner
Bill is a relative newcomer to Stow, arriving in 2006. Professionally, he was a Clinical Lab Technologist and Lab Manager at the Bedford, MA Veterans Administration Hospital for 30 years. Bill is a Stow director with the Assabet River Rail Trail, Inc., and has done volunteer trail work in the Assabet River Wildlife Refuge. Interests include SCUBA diving, kayaking, and photography above and below the water’s surface, among others. He also enjoys the many conservation trails available in Stow and in recent years has been very active on the Trust’s trail crews. He currently serves as the Land Steward for the Trust’s Leggett property.
Allan Fierce
Allan is a retired environmental attorney with significant experience in the areas of nonprofit law and governance. He is the past president of the board of OARS, a regional nonprofit that protects the natural and recreational features of the Assabet, Sudbury, and Concord Rivers. He contributes legal expertise to the Trust as well as expertise in board governance and policies, while also helping to monitor and enforce conservation restrictions.
Bob Wilber
Bob is the Director of Conservation Services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. For the previous 30+ years he directed statewide land conservation programs in both the public and private sectors in Massachusetts, with State Forests & Parks, The Nature Conservancy, and most recently with Mass Audubon. Bob was the first president of the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition and served as a trustee for that organization for many years. He and wife Karen have lived in Stow for more than 25 years. Bob was instrumental in the successful adoption of the Community Preservation Act in Stow more than 20 years ago, and chaired Stow’s Community Preservation Committee during the first 12 years of its existence. He has been a member of the Town’s Open Space Committee for nearly 30 years.
Richard Perkins
Dick is a co-founder of the Stow Conservation Trust and has been active since its beginning 40+ years ago, specializing in land protection. He has held senior positions at several other land conservation organizations including the New England Forestry Foundation, Trustees of Reservations, Sudbury Valley Trustees, the Glynwood Center, and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. He co-founded and was president of LandVest, which specializes in land related real estate, including forest management, land conservation, and consulting to landowners concerning their options for present and future ownership. Locally, he served on the Town of Stow Planning Board for 10 years and on the Stow Conservation Commission for 8 years.
Tom Porcher
Tom is a retired software engineer with a deep love for the outdoors, whether bicycle camping, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or walking on local conservation lands. He enjoys discovering the marvels of nature in woods and vistas near and far and has lived next to Red Acre Woodlands in Stow for more than 35 years. Land stewardship is his passion, allowing everyone to enjoy the wonders of the woods. Since retiring, Tom has worked with renewed dedication and vigilance on controlling and eradicating invasive plants in Stow and elsewhere.
John Sangermano
John is a 36-year Stow resident and has served 4 years with SCT as a Director. In Stow he had volunteer roles on the town's Conservation Commission, Recreation Commission, Master Plan Committee and the Open Space Update Committee. Current focus in SCT is Stewardship including working with the Stew Crew and leading on invasives/forestry initiatives.
Laurie Burnett
Laurie works at the intersection of education, social service, and governmental organizations, participating in the design and development of programs, resources, and systems that dismantle inequities and support the thriving of all residents. Laurie is currently a member of the Stow Open Space Committee, the Open Space and Recreation Plan Working Group, and the Nashoba Area Social Justice Alliance and brings a background in land stewardship, social justice, and experiential learning.