Our team combines education and deep experience in forestry, conservation, land trusts, and wilderness issues with valuable experience in other disciplines such as development, marketing, finance, and administration. We share a deep belief in the importance of NEFF’s mission and we are proud to be at the service of the forest conservation and forestry communities.
Our Team
Robert Perschel | Executive Director
978-952-6856 x104 | rperschel@newenglandforestry.org
Bob joined NEFF in April 2012. Previously Bob was the Eastern region director for the Forest Stewards Guild. In his 40 years as an environmental professional he has worked on forestry, large landscape conservation, and wilderness issues. Bob worked for the forest industry before establishing his own forestry consulting business and founding the Land Ethic Institute. He is an original co-founder of the Forest Stewards Guild. Bob has a master’s degree in forestry from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a psychology degree from Yale College.
Sophie Anthony | Conservation Project Manager
978-952-6856 x122 | santhony@newenglandforestry.org
Sophie joined NEFF in November 2017 and is now the Conservation Project Manager at NEFF. She focuses on land protection projects in southern New England and supports NEFF’s land protection efforts through communications with private landowners. Sophie also manages the implementation of the Pooled Timber Income Fund, which uses planned giving principles to draw new lands into protection. Sophie graduated from Connecticut College in 2015 with a BA in Environmental Science and she gained experience in conservation during her time at the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, where she started out as a Directors' Fellow and was then promoted to a project manager.
Sophie Argetsinger | MTWP Assistant
978-952-6856 x115 | sargetsinger@newenglandforestry.org
Sophie joined NEFF in November 2021 to provide support to NEFF Outreach Manager Lisa Hayden in her role as the Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership’s (MTWP) Administrative Agent. Sophie graduated from UMass Amherst in 2021 with a master's degree in Environmental Conservation and a concentration in Forest Resources. Sophie has a B.A. from Smith College and brings a decade of experience in book design and illustration.
David Ayers | Development Associate
978-952-6856 x102 | dayers@newenglandforestry.org
David joined NEFF in October 2022 as Development Associate. In this role, he works closely with the development team and other staff to help achieve NEFF’s overall fundraising goals. He has a B.A. in Writing, Literature & Publishing from Emerson College and an M.A. in Integrated Marketing Communication from Marist College. After an 11-year career in higher education, David is excited to bring his talents to the conservation field, a close passion of his.
Andrew Bentley | Conservation Easement Director
978-952-6856 x 120 | abentley@newenglandforestry.org
Andrew joined NEFF in July 2017 as its Conservation Easement Manager, and oversees 150 conservation easements that protect more than 1.2 million acres of mostly private forestland around New England. He became Conservation Easement Director in spring 2022. Prior to joining NEFF, Andrew worked for seven years in the Conservation Restriction Stewardship program at The Trustees of Reservations as part of a team responsible for stewarding more than 400 Massachusetts easement properties. Andrew is finishing his master’s degree in Regional Planning at UMass Amherst, with a study focus in land use and natural resources conservation.
William Brune | Chief Conservation Officer
207-751-5299 | wbrune@newenglandforestry.org
Will joined NEFF in 2017 to lead NEFF’s land conservation efforts across New England. He comes to NEFF with 24 years of conservation experience, including 20 years with The Nature Conservancy working in Maine, the Adirondacks, Zambia, and Indonesia. He holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from St. Lawrence University.
Bonnie Cody | Accounting Assistant
978-952-6856 x125 | bcody@newenglandforestry.org
Bonnie joined NEFF in January 2022. She has a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Franklin Pierce College and 30 years of accounting experience in various industries, including real estate management, food service, residential and commercial painting, and medical.
Andrea Colnes | Deputy Director and Climate Fellow
802-522-4347 | acolnes@newenglandforestry.org
Andrea (Andi) joined NEFF's staff in December 2021, and as Director of the Exemplary Forestry Center, oversees NEFF’s high-leverage, high-impact programs that drive forward climate solutions based on the management and protection of New England’s forests. Andi has led strategic campaigns focused on energy, large-scale land conservation, and sustainable forestry over a 30-year career, most recently as the Director for Global Green Bank Development at the Coalition for Green Capital, where she brought the Green Bank model to developing countries to scale up climate finance in support of national climate goals. She also previously served as a member of the NEFF Board of Directors, and as the founding Executive Director of the Northern Forest Alliance.
Thiciane Costa | Senior Accountant
978-952-6856 x108 | tcosta@newenglandforestry.org
Thiciane Costa joined NEFF in May 2019. Prior to joining NEFF, Thiciane worked 2.5 years as a nonprofit auditor for a local CPA firm. She holds a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Kim Doherty | IT/HR Administrator
978-952-6856 x110 | kdoherty@newenglandforestry.org
Kim Doherty joined NEFF in August 2017. Before joining NEFF, she was a Webmaster for a nonprofit in D.C. and a research analyst for several organizations dealing with energy conservation and climate change. Kim has a B.A. in Political Science and an M.S. in Environmental Studies/Policy and Administration.
Penny Flynn | Development Manager
978-952-6856 x101 | pflynn@newenglandforestry.org
Penny has been with NEFF since 1995 and currently is the development manager. She is involved with all aspects of NEFF’s fund-raising program, which secures the funding necessary to pursue our mission. Prior to joining NEFF, Penny worked in commercial and residential real estate for more than 10 years. Penny holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing/management from Bentley College.
Maria Garcia | Director of Finance & Administration
978-952-6856 x103 | mgarcia@newenglandforestry.org
Maria has been employed by NEFF since 2003 and is presently the director of finance and administration. Maria is responsible for all accounting operations, financial reporting, and company-wide personnel administration for NEFF. Prior to joining NEFF, Maria was the accounting supervisor for JP Morgan Investor Services in Boston, MA. Maria has more than 25 years of financial and administrative experience.
Alec Giffen | Senior Forest Science and Policy Fellow
207-215-1947 | agiffen@newenglandforestry.org
Alec joined NEFF in 2012. In addition to representing NEFF in Maine, Alec is leading up the project to document and showcase the potential of New England’s working forests – one of NEFF’s major new initiatives. Alec previously served as director of the Maine Forest Service and has more than 40 years of experience in natural resource planning and program administration. Alec has a master’s of science from the University of California, with emphasis in ecology, and a bachelor’s of science in forest science from the University of Maine.
Beth Gula | Accreditation Manager/Stewardship Associate
978-952-6856 x106 | bgula@newenglandforestry.org
Beth joined NEFF in October 2017 to support conservation easement and community forest stewardship. Beth’s introduction to land trusts was as an AmeriCorps member at Sudbury Valley Trustees in eastern Massachusetts from 2012-2013. Prior to joining NEFF, Beth managed the Appalachian Mountain Club's Bay Circuit Trail volunteer program outside Boston. She has a B.A. in Biology from Oberlin College.
Meaghan Guyader | Executive Assistant
978-952-6856 x126 | mguyader@newenglandforestry.org
Meaghan joined NEFF in February 2022 as Executive Assistant. She has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rutgers University and earned her Ph.D and M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines researching emerging contaminants. She is excited to strike a new path into the world of conservation and gain a better understanding of the relationship between land stewardship and the wellbeing of our shared environment.
Lisa Hayden | Outreach Manager
978-952-6856 x121 | lhayden@newenglandforestry.org
Lisa joined NEFF in 2014, leading the MassConn initiative with multiple partners in southern Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut to reach unengaged landowners about conserving and managing their land. Since 2021, she has been serving in a NEFF liaison role as Administrative Agent for the Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership, focused on forest conservation and nature-based economic development in the northwest corner of Massachusetts. She previously worked with The Nature Conservancy supporting climate change policy and communications. Lisa holds a B.A. in journalism from the University of Connecticut and an M.A. in urban and environmental policy and planning from Tufts University.
Tinsley Hunsdorfer | Communications Manager
978-952-6856 x118 | thunsdorfer@newenglandforestry.org
Tinsley joined NEFF in fall 2017, and manages NEFF’s public-facing communications efforts, leads organization-wide strategic communications planning, and serves as lead writer for NEFF’s major publications. On a day-to-day basis, she oversees the organization's newsletter, website, blog, social media presence, email newsletter, and various outreach materials. She has a B.A. in English from Grinnell College and specializes in nonprofit environmental communications. She previously worked for the National Audubon Society, Audubon Society of Portland and Oregon Zoo.
Jacqueline Perry O’Connor | Fundraising Consultant
joconnor@newenglandforestry.org
Jackie O’Connor has more than 35 years of experience in senior-level fund development and administrative positions with nonprofit conservation organizations throughout New England. She has worked with The Nature Conservancy, Manomet, the Appalachian Mountain Club and numerous land trusts in Maine. Jackie has an exceptional record of accomplishment in capital and annual fund-raising, volunteer board development, community and press relations, and strategic planning. She served as consulting capital campaign director for NEFF’s groundbreaking Pingree Forest Partnership land conservation campaign in Maine, which raised more than $30 million. She has a B.S. from UMass Boston and attended The Museum School in Boston.
Christine Parrish | Western Maine Project Specialist
207-203-9006 | cparrish@newenglandforestry.org
Christine is the outreach and communications specialist for the Western Maine Habitat Restoration project that provides incentives to landowners to adopt Exemplary Forestry practices to improve important fish and wildlife habitat across the Western Maine mountains. More broadly, she works with community leaders to connect Exemplary Forestry with local community and economic development efforts and as a writer for the Maine team. After earning a natural resources degree from Cornell, Christine worked in national conservation policy, as a forestry outreach educator, and in the field as a wildlife biology technician in seven states and two oceans before moving back to her home state of Maine. Prior to joining NEFF in 2019, she spent two decades as a journalist specializing in foreign policy and conservation issues, reporting from Maine, Alaska, Haiti, Asia and the Middle East. Christine has a graduate degree in writing and communication theory and has taught writing in Maine and Colorado. She is based in Farmington, Maine.
Colleen Ryan | Forest Scientist
cryan@newenglandforestry.org
Colleen is a forest ecologist with 20 years of experience synthesizing, interpreting and communicating complex scientific information. Prior to joining NEFF in fall 2022, she had a private consulting business specializing in ecological modeling and science communication. Her previous work has included building ecosystem models for the LANDFIRE program, coordinating Maine’s Beginning with Habitat program, forest restoration for The Nature Conservancy, and research on human-wildlife conflicts for the Wildlife Conservation Society. Colleen has a B.A. in biology from Harvard University and a Master of Forestry from the Yale School of the Environment.
Donna Sibley | Receptionist / Administrative Assistant
978-952-6856 x100 | dsibley@newenglandforestry.org
Donna Sibley joined NEFF in March of 2004. She is the administrative assistant for the Littleton Office. Prior to joining NEFF, Donna worked in the Groton/Dunstable school system and Oak Meadow Montessori School in Littleton, where she remains active.
Jennifer Shakun | Climate-Forest Specialist
978-952-6856 x109 | jshakun@newenglandforestry.org
Jennifer joined NEFF in fall 2019 in the role of Climate-Forest Specialist. As lead staffer for the Build It With Wood program, she promotes the use of local wood for lower-carbon building through education, outreach, and cross-sector partnerships. She also works to advance Exemplary Forestry through development of programs and policies that incentivize climate-beneficial forestry and wood products. Previously, she was an Applied Forest Scientist at Manomet working with large landowners to reduce climate-related risk in North American forests. Prior to that, she was a Project Manager at INRS, LLC, working on wood energy, resource sustainability, and landowner outreach. Jennifer has a B.S. in Biology from Saint Michael’s College and dual master’s degrees in Forestry and Environmental Management from Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment. She is also a Certified Forester.
Corey Wrinn | Stewardship Associate
978-952-6856 x117 | cwrinn@newenglandforestry.org
Corey joined NEFF in July 2022 to support both Community Forest and conservation easement monitoring and stewardship projects. He was a TerraCorps Member at Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust as the Stewardship Coordinator from 2019-2020, and then worked with The Trustees as the Conservation Restriction Stewardship Technician before joining NEFF. Corey has a B.S. in Natural Resource Conservation from UMass Amherst.