BOARD of DIRECTORS
(July 2020 – June 2021)
President – Timothy Randhir (SNEC member since 1994)
Dr. Timothy O. Randhir is a Professor of Watershed Management and Water Quality with the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts. He received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1995 and did postdoctoral work there before joining UMass as a faculty in 1997. Timothy specializes in watershed management, climate change, water resources, ecological economics, dynamic systems modeling and optimization, GIS and spatial analysis, land use policy, common-pool resource management, nonpoint source pollution, and natural resources policy. He serves as Editor of three international journals and is a consultant to AAAS, NASEM, NSF, EPA, and USDA. Timothy is the author of a book on Watershed Management and has published more than 88 referred articles in leading journals including Water Resources Research, Ecological Modeling, Climatic Change, Journal of Hydrology, Forest Ecology and Management, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, and Journal of American Water Resources Association.
Vice President – Carol Grasis (SNEC member since 1995)
Carol Grasis graduated from the University of Connecticut, College of Natural Resources Management and Engineering in 1994 with a BS in Renewable Natural Resources. Carol has been employed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service since 1994. She was originally hired as a cartographic technician for the Statewide Soil Survey program and then became a soil conservationist in 1996 and worked in the Windsor Service Center until moving to the CT NRCS State Office in 2010. She is currently a Resource Conservationist, working on the Program Staff for CT NRCS. Outside of the office, her interests include hiking, gardening, reading and spending time with her family. She is a trail manager and volunteer with the Vernon Greenways Volunteers, and has coached baseball at the Little League and Babe Ruth level. Carol has served on the board of SNEC-SWCS in the past, including terms as CT Director (1999), President (2001, 2002), President (2013) and Secretary (2015-present).
Secretary – Doug McCluskey (SNEC member since 2020)
Doug McCluskey is currently employed by Everett J Prescott as the Western Erosion Control & Geoproduct Specialist. Doug has over 12 years’ experience in the promotion & education of various product lines related to Geosynthetics, Erosion Control, Sediment Control, & Ground Stabilization. In this role Doug is in contact with local, state, and federal regulatory agencies and he also works closely with engineers, landscape architects, municipalities, and contractors in both the public and private sector to promote the awareness of erosion control, sediment control, and geo-products applications and practices. Doug is active in several professional organizations, frequently conducts presentations to educate decision makers, is involved in training EJ Prescott employees, and manages product sales and promotions in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Indiana, & Ohio. Doug has also worked closely with the Southern New England Soil & Water Conservation Society to provide field day events, and hands on demonstrations. Doug has been involved in developing specifications for products used on construction projects, and provides on-site supervision and instruction during installations. Doug holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the State University of New York at Potsdam.
Treasurer – Christine Odiaga (SNEC member since 2013)
Christine Odiaga is living her dream, “washed ashore” on Cape Cod and working on the Herring River Restoration Project in Wellfleet & Truro MA – a multi-agency effort to restore over 1000 degraded acres of historic estuary through incremental reintroduction of tidal exchange. Prior experience includes ten years of outreach and education as a MassDEP Wetlands Circuit Rider, three years as a municipal Conservation Agent/Stormwater Coordinator and six years of construction site sampling and monitoring on the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (fascinating!!). Christine took advantage of the Cooperative Education Program at Northeastern University, an experience she considered to be as important as any class. Challenges on the CA/T led her to join the International Erosion Control Association; twelve years on the Northeast Chapter Board included four years as President. She joined SWCS in 2013 and served as RI Director, then worked for two years as Executive Director before assuming her current role as Treasurer. In these strange times, safely-distant fun includes virtual visits with family in Perú & elsewhere, virtual dance sessions and walking breezy beaches.
Rhode Island Representative – Jeffrey Peterson (SNEC member since 2008)
Jeff Peterson is a Senior Wetland and Soil Scientist at VHB with 40 years combined international and national experience, 27 of them at VHB. His skills include wetland delineation, soil description and classification, erosion and sediment control planning, plant identification, breeding bird surveys, wetland functional assessments and NEPA compliance. Jeff holds CPSS, PWS, CPESC, RI Class IV Soil Evaluator, and ENV SP professional credentials. He has served on the New England Hydric Soils Technical Committee, responsible for establishing criteria for identifying wetland soils, since 1999. He has also authored several successful local, state, and federal wetland permit applications for public transportation, utility and private sector developments in southern New England states.
Massachusetts Representative – John Dudula (SNEC member since 2013)
John Dudula has been a Natural Resource Specialist with the North Central Conservation District (NCCD) in Vernon, CT from December 2015 to the present. The NCCD is a non-profit organization that serves municipalities and residents by providing environmental technical services and education. John has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Environmental Science from Curry College in Milton, MA and a Masters of Science Degree in Environmental Conservation from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. His concentration is in water, watersheds and wetland science and is he is a Certified Professional Wetland Scientist. John published an article in the Journal of Hydrology in 2016 titled, “Modeling the influence of climate change on watershed systems: Adaptation through target practices.” He also published an article in the Journal of Water Research in 2018 titled, “Declining ambient water phosphorus concentrations in Massachusetts’ rivers from 1999 to 2013: Environmental protection works.” His professional skills include Spatial Analysis, GIS, Watershed modeling, Regulation/Compliance, and Data Analysis/Reports. John’s interests include environmental conservation, reading, biking and hiking.
Connecticut Representative – Devleena Ghosh-Brower (SNEC member since 2013)
Devleena is currently a Senior Specialist with Eversource Energy’s Licensing and Permitting department overseeing all of Western Massachusetts Transmission & Distribution project. She also is a registered Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS), and a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC). In her past life, she was in the environmental consulting world with Tighe & Bond and VHB for 11 years. She was also an adjunct lecturer with Eastern Connecticut State University teaching a freshman Ecology course. She is a board member with the Manchester Conservation Commission and has a master’s degree in Environmental Management from Harvard University. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, traveling and spending time with family. She lives in Manchester, CT with her husband Josh, twins Hudson and Maya, and Willow the golden Labrador.
Student Director – Moussa A. Siri (SNEC member since 2018)
Moussa A. Siri is doctoral student with Dr. Timothy Randhir in environmental conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research focuses on studying the effects of climate changes on Niger River Watershed and their correlative impacts on populations, to develop strategies to minimize these impacts. He also researches water quality data in Charles River Watershed using data mining methods as a part of Data Science for Common Good project at UMass. Moussa earned his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in law, at the University of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and at the University of Limoges in France, respectively. He also earned a Bachelor of Science in environmental science at the University of New Hampshire and a Master of Science in environmental conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He also served as a teacher assistant for Introduction to Environmental Biology and Forest and People courses taught at UMass.
