We are actively growing our board.
Interested in learning more or joining? Read below and feel free to reach out.
Our Board
Dr. S. Atyia Martin, CEM
Board Chair
Dr. Martin is CEO & Founder of All Aces, Inc. and former Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Boston.
Andrew Droste, Member &
Chair of Nominating and Governance Committee
Andrew is an Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance (ESG) expert at Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA).
Amanda Rich
Co-Founder & Board Member
Amanda is an independent sustainability consultant with a Master’s in Sustainability and Environmental Management from Harvard University.
Melinda Vega
Board Member
Melinda is the Community Engagement Coordinator at the Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH) and City Councilor in Chelsea, MA.
Joseph Stein, Treasurer
& Chair of Finance and Audit Committee
Joseph is an investment professional and currently serves as the Director of Quantitative Research at Natixis Advisors.
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Taurean Green,
Board Member
Taurean is an attorney and serves as the Lead Compliance Specialist at Payfactors.
Our Advisory Board
Howard Birnbaum, PhD, Senior Advisor, Analysis Group, Inc.
Bob Chabot, Chief Operating Officer, Zoo New England
Sonja Duempelmann, Associate Professor at University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design
Stephanie Kruel, ENV SP, Senior Environmental Planner, VHB
Tariana Little, DrPH, CEO, co-founder, EmVision Productions
Charlie Lord, Principal, Renew Energy Partners, founder and former Executive Director of Urban Ecology Institute
Deanna Moran, AICP, Director of Environmental Planning, Conservation Law Foundation
Hannah Saltman, Graduate Student, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth
Jeff Speck, Speck & Associates, AICP CNU-A LEED-AP Hon. ASLA
Renata von Tscharner, founder and former president of the Charles River Conservancy
Katherine Walsh, Sustainability and Environmental Resources Manager, Boston Public Schools
Our Staff
David Meshoulam, PhD
Co-Founder & Executive Director
David (pronounced Dah-veed) founded Speak for the Trees in 2018 with Amanda Rich. Formally trained as a science educator, his work has focused on ways to increase youth and adults' understanding of the connections between science, culture, and history and to empower them to be change agents. In 2016 he developed and led Trees for Watertown's Teens for Trees program, at Newton North he co-developed Science in Society, and at Boston University he taught a course on Science, History, and Philosophy. He holds a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a Senior Fellow at the Environmental Leadership Program. When he's not tending to trees, his 3 backyard chickens, his 2 children, or his 1 miniature Australian Shepherd, you can reach him at david@sfttbos.org.
Olivia Gomez
Program Associate
Olivia grew up outside of Boston, in Newton, Massachusetts, and has been venturing into the city, walking its streets, for 22 years. She graduated Bates College in 2019 where she majored in English and Spanish but maintained a strong interest in the natural world and spent much of her free time adventuring through the school’s Outing Club. She gained additional consciousness and appreciation for plants through her summer work on a vegetable farm in Weston, MA and a ranch in Montana. Most recently, she became acquainted with the flora of Southern France and Northern Spain through World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOFing) on two organic farms. Olivia is researching and writing grants and reports, organizing new projects, and managing volunteer initiatives. She’s looking forward to helping the organization raise awareness about the importance of urban trees.
Elizabeth Lohr
Community Engagement Coordinator, TerraCorps Member
Elizabeth is originally from the Philadelphia area but has called Worcester, Massachusetts home for the last 6 years while studying at Clark University. She was introduced to the idea of urban forestry through the HERO (Human-Environment Regional Observatory) fellowship, where she researched the Greening the Gateway Cities program and the effect juvenile urban trees have on their environment and the residents who steward them. After graduating from Clark in December 2019 with a degree in biology and geography, she decided to join TerraCorps as a chance to pursue a conservation career in the Boston area. She is very excited to continue her work in urban forestry as a Community Engagement Coordinator. She hopes to help expand the organization through her passion for all things tree-related during her service year!
Natalie Merline
Community Engagement / Youth Educator Coordinator, TerraCorps Member
Natalie grew up in Eureka, Missouri outside of St. Louis, where she often explored the parks and natural areas around her. She is a recent graduate from the University of Dayton where she majored in Environmental Biology. In her undergraduate years, Natalie realized her interest in environmental justice and the importance of strong community involvement in environmental issues through her involvement in the River Stewards program, where she co-created a children’s book about the Great Miami River Watershed. Her enthusiasm for urban trees and forests grew through her work on a project looking into how various socioeconomic factors play a role in tree canopy cover in urban Montgomery County, Ohio. Natalie is excited to help the organization’s efforts in growing their youth education programming and curriculum.
Megan Blagden
MassCEC Intern
Megan is a recent graduate of Boston University, where she studied Earth and Environmental Science, and aided research efforts to study the impacts of climate change on northeastern forests. As a lifelong New England resident, Megan grew up with an appreciation for the maples in her backyard and the oaks at her favorite beaches, and is a passionate supporter of conservation and restoration in ever-changing urban ecosystems. She is excited to be joining the Speak for the Trees team as a fundraising intern, and to be working towards the mission of tree equity and environmental justice in Boston.
Emika Brown
MassCEC Intern
Emika is from Boulder, Colorado where she grew up exploring the mountains and climbing the trees around her home. She is a sophomore at Tufts University where she is involved with the Student Garden and the Society for Women Engineers. She is majoring in Environmental Engineering with a minor in computer science. Her love of trees was inspired by a research project on Ponderosa Pine forests, and her interest in urban environments was sparked by her involvement in a land stewardship program with the Mountain Parks department in the City of Boulder. Emika is excited to learn more about environmental justice in her new home and about the importance of urban tree canopy.