staff

Donald S. Strait, Executive Director, Ext. 103

Don has been Executive Director of Connecticut Fund for the Environment since 1992, and was Legal Director from 1990 to 1992. In 2004, Don guided the organization's merger with Save the Sound.

Prior to joining CFE, Don was a staff attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York. Don was one of the co-founders of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters. He serves on the board of directors of Restore America's Estuaries and the State Environmental Leadership Program. He is a graduate of Amherst College (B.A. 1981) and Harvard Law School (J.D. 1985).

Karen Baar, Director of Grants, Ext. 106

Karen Baar joined Connecticut Fund for the Environment as Director of Grants in January 2008. A former health care activist, educator and administrator, she has a B.A. from New York University and a Masters in Public Health degree from the Yale University School of Medicine.

Before landing at CFE, Karen was a freelance writer for more than 15 years. She has written hundreds of articles about women's issues, health, science and medicine, and social policy for magazines, newspapers and Web sites; she has also written or co-authored several books. The mother of two grown daughters, Karen loves gardening, hiking and travelling.

Kierran Broatch, Volunteer and Outreach Associate, Ext. 113

Kierran has been part of the outreach team for Connecticut Fund for the Environment since 2006. Beginning in 2008, he has run Save the Sound's successful Coastal Cleanup program.

Prior to joining CFE, Kierran served as an intern for the Connecticut Audubon Society at the Coastal Center at Milford Point. He also spent four seasons working for Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection's State Parks and Inland Fisheries Divisions.
Kierran graduated Cum Laude from Eastern Connecticut State University with a degree in Communications and a minor in Environmental Earth Science.

An avid outdoorsman and conservationist, Kierran has a passion for fishing, writing and photography.

John Champion, Senior Director of Finance, Ext. 101

John Champion joined the CFE team in September of 2008. John's extensive nonprofit experience includes five years as the Executive Director of the New Haven Ecology Project and three years at a Bridgeport charter school, where he established and maintained the school's business office. John has an M.S. in Political Science from Southern Connecticut State University and is currently pursuing an M.B.A.

Chris Cryder, Outreach Associate, Ext. 127

Chris Cryder joined Save the Sound in May 2007 and is responsible for coordinating various outreach activities for CFE and habitat restoration projects for Save the Sound. Chris is currently the coordinator of the Pequonnock River Initiative, a partnership of Bridgeport, Trumbull, and Monroe to produce a watershed plan for the Pequonnock River.

Prior to joining Save the Sound, Chris was a member of a citizen activist group, the Alliance for Sound area Planning (ASaP), which partnered with CFE in the fight to protect "The Preserve," a 1000-acre forest and wetland area in Old Saybrook. He has an undergraduate degree in biology with a concentration in genetics, and a master's in health services administration.

Lois Greene, Development Associate, Ext. 102

Lois is relatively new to Connecticut, having moved here from Brooklyn in 2008. While in New York, she was on staff at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals in IT Training and Documentation. Prior to that, she was in Corporate Communications at Colgate-Palmolive. She graduated from The University of Iowa with a degree in Journalism and earned a M.A. from the State University of New York at Binghamton in Social Science. Lois looks forward to exploring the many environmental activities that Connecticut offers with her daughter!

Curt Johnson, Senior Attorney and Program Director, Ext. 111

Curt Johnson received his law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law and was awarded a master's in the Study of Law, Summa Cum Laude, focusing on environmental law, from Vermont Law School.

He was an attorney with the firm of Murtha, Cullina, Richter and Pinney for three-and-a-half years before joining Connecticut Fund for the Environment as an attorney in 1993. He is now Program Director and Senior Staff Attorney at CFE.

His undergraduate work was in field ecology and environmental education, and he was hired as the first urban park ranger helping that program mature in New Haven during the early 1980s. Curt was also the Governor's first appointee to the Connecticut Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Fund, and has served on numerous environmental task forces. He co-teaches and leads the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Rebecca Kaplan, Director of Media Communications, Ext. 128

Rebecca Kaplan joined CFE in January 2011 as its Director of Media Communications. Previously, she worked as press assistant and deputy press secretary to United States Senator Chris Dodd and as a reporter for the North Jersey Media Group. Rebecca holds a bachelor's degree in Political Communications from Binghamton University. In her free time, she enjoys writing, photography and hanging out with her husband and puppy.

Michelle LeMere, Assistant Director, Member Relations and Annual Fund, Ext. 104

Michelle came to CFE in November 1999. She attended Franklin Pierce College and Southern Connecticut State University. She is a past president of the Milford Jaycees and serves on the board of Bridges, the state-designated comprehensive agency providing mental health and addiction services to children and adults. Her interests include singing, kickboxing, crossword puzzles, gardening and spending time with her husband, Matthew LeMere, and daughters, Kaylie and Sarah.

Gwen Macdonald, Director of Habitat Restoration, Ext. 123

Gwen holds a B.S. in Ecological Engineering from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry with post-graduate studies at Rutgers and the University of Massachusetts. Before joining CFE in June 2010, she was an environmental engineering consultant on such projects as ecological impact assessments, wetland and stream mitigation and restoration designs, and gained broad environmental engineering project management experience. At CFE, Gwen oversees all habitat restoration design, implementation, and monitoring activities. These often include marsh restoration, dam removal, and fish passage projects. Gwen is one of eleven representatives to the national organization Restore America's Estuaries, of which CFE is a member.

Laura McMillan, Outreach Associate, Ext. 137

Laura has been in outreach and communications at CFE since 2007 and is currently working on the organization's website, social media, activist communications, and coalition-building. She holds a B.A. in English from Wesleyan University and previously worked at the Valley Conservation Council, a land trust, river protection, and smart development organization in Virginia, and at Cheney & Company, a design and marketing firm in New Haven. She is a photographer and a managing editor of Armchair/Shotgun literary magazine.

Anne Matist, Finance Assistant, Ext. 120

Anne joined Connecticut Fund for the Environment in August 2011. She is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in accounting at Southern Connecticut State University. Before joining CFE, Anne worked in the finance departments of small brands in the nutritional supplement industry and her own consulting business that offers outsourced accounting functions for small businesses. Anne is an active volunteer for the Girl Scouts of Connecticut and in her children's schools.

Jessica L. Morowitz, Legal Fellow, Ext. 122

Jessica joined the Connecticut Fund for the Environment in September 2010 as the Peter B. Cooper Legal Fellow. She received her J.D. from Pace Law School cum laude in 2010 where she was an Associate on the Pace Environmental Law Review. While at Pace Law School she served as president of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund and participated in the 2009 National Animal Advocacy Moot Court Competition. She graduated with a B.S. in Animal Science from the University of Vermont in 2007.

Julie Parr, Senior Director of Development, Ext. 109

Julie recently moved to Connecticut after an 18 year stint living in Center City Philadelphia. During the last ten of those years, she worked in development for the University of Pennsylvania – first at the Wharton School, then at Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. She is a graduate of Penn State and of the University of Pennsylvania, where she received her Master's Degree at the School of Social Policy and Practice in Social Work with an emphasis on social and economic development. She is eager to meet supporters of the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, explore our state and get to know our rivers, state parks and communities.

Roger Reynolds, Senior Staff Attorney, Ext. 105

Roger Reynolds is a Senior Attorney for Connecticut Fund for the Environment where he directs the legal and advocacy efforts. He is also an adjunct lecturer at University of Connecticut School of Law where he runs the Environmental Law Clinic and teaches Negotiation. Before going to CFE, Roger was an Assistant Attorney General and litigated numerous environmental, consumer protection and antitrust cases on behalf of the state of Connecticut.

Charles Rothenberger, Staff Attorney, Ext. 110

Charles J. Rothenberger joined CFE in August 2003 as a legal fellow. He was a law clerk to the Honorable Thomas G. West and the Honorable Joseph H. Pellegrino at the Connecticut Appellate Court in Hartford. He has been admitted to the Connecticut and Massachusetts Bar Associations, is a member of the ABA, and is a member of the environmental and planning & zoning sections of the Connecticut Bar Association.

Charles did his legal internship at the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. during the summer of 2000, and his judicial internship in the United States District Court in New Haven under the Honorable Peter C. Dorsey. Charles is a 2001 honors graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he edited the Connecticut Journal of International Law.

He has a master's degree from Trinity College in Hartford, where he majored in Public Policy Studies, and a bachelor's in History from the University of Connecticut.

Leah Schmalz, Director of Legislative and Legal Affairs, Save the Sound, Ext. 121

Leah joined Save the Sound as its staff attorney in 2001. She is responsible for Save the Sound's Advocacy Program, which includes legislative and legal work to address eminent threats to the health of Long Island Sound and to develop Sound-wise policies at the local, state and federal level.

She earned her J.D. and Environmental Law Certificate from Pace University School of Law in 2000, and her undergraduate study in sustainable architecture and design culminated in a bachelor's degree in Industrial Design from the University of Louisiana in 1996.

Valerie Wormely-Radford, Administrative Associate, (203) 787-0646, Ext. 100

Val joined CFE as its Administrative Associate in January 2008. She graduated from Albertus Magnus College with her Associate of Science in Business degree. She is a member of the Wintergreen Magnet School PTO. She works within the community where she lives. For fun and relaxation, she enjoys spending time with her family, friends and grandchildren.