Board of Directors

Elysse Magnotto-Cleary, President

Elysse Magnotto-Cleary joined the APCC board in May 2018. Elysse’s career spans fast-paced environments in both the public and private sectors. She is currently a senior communications strategist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, working on the Bank’s Corporate Communications team. Elysse previously worked for six years as Cape Air’s director of community engagement, focused on corporate philanthropy and communications. From 2010-2016, Elysse held various roles working with the Cape & Islands Legislative Delegation. As chief of staff for Senator Dan Wolf from 2012 through 2016, she served as the primary liaison for the senator and staff with executive agencies, legislative offices, district leaders, and town officials to advance policy and regulatory matters.

Originally from western Pennsylvania, Elysse received her bachelor’s in international relations from Boston University and a master’s in conflict resolution with a concentration in organizational conflict from the McCormack School of Public Policy at UMass Boston. Elysse is a recipient of the “Donald Paulson Award for Service to the Field” from the McCormack School in recognition of her ability to incorporate the principles and skills of conflict resolution in her work in state government. Elysse lives in Cambridge, MA with her husband, two sons, and was appointed to the Cambridge Conservation Commission in early 2018.

Meredith Harris, Vice President

Meredith is a lifelong resident of Mashpee. She received a Fulbright Award with Northeastern University and Nelson Mandela University and a Mellon Award with University of Cape Town. Her extensive travel, particularly in South Africa, opened her eyes to water quality, health, and environmental issues on a global scale.

A retired physical therapist, Meredith now enjoys working on environmental preservation issues. She is an avid swimmer, and water quality is of particular concern. Currently she is a member of the Mashpee Sewer Commission and is a founding member of Save Mashpee Wakeby Pond Alliance.

Meredith has admired the work of APCC for the breadth of environmental challenges it has undertaken. Through APCC, she is learning to be a responsible land steward by planting native species and joined the Cape Cod Ponds Network to expand the voices on pond water quality, testing, and storm water mitigation.

Taryn Wilson, Treasurer

Raised on the Cape, Taryn graduated from Franklin & Marshall College in PA. She is an accomplished banking professional, focused on regulatory risk management; she has achieved her Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM) designation, and also her FINRA Series 7 and 63. She started her career with Goldman Sachs in New York City, and has worked in financial services in Boston and now on the Cape.

When not working or enjoying the beach, she is involved with a number of Cape-based organizations; a former Board member of the Cape Cod Young Professionals, she currently volunteers with the Cape Cod Foundation and various animal rescue groups. She lives in Dennis.

Jack Looney, Clerk

Jack is an environmental attorney with more than thirty years of litigation experience. As an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Connecticut, Jack enforced state and federal environmental protection laws on behalf of the citizens of Connecticut. As an attorney at Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound in New Haven, Jack continued litigating environmental enforcement actions using the citizen suit provisions of the federal Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act. Jack is a graduate of Boston College and Western New England University School of Law. Jack and his family vacationed on Cape Cod for years and finally relocated to the Cape Cod in 2018. Jack and his wife Kathy live in Mashpee.

Robert Ciolek

Born in Newburyport, Robert J. Ciolek, now retired, had a long career in the military, law, government, and with non-profit organizations.

Bob earned his undergraduate degree from Rutgers University and his law degree from Boston University. He served in the U. S. Army with a tour in Vietnam. After leaving the service and graduating from law school he practiced law in Boston. Subsequently, Bob was Deputy State Auditor for the Commonwealth, Assistant to the Mayor of Cleveland, Budget Director for the City of Boston, Executive Director the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, Chief Operating Officer for the City of Boston, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority (HEFA). Finally, he was Executive Director for two non-profit organizations and a consultant to the Cape Cod Water Protection Collaborative.

In addition, for ten years he served on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and chaired its Finance Committee. While at HEFA he founded and was President of PowerOptions, Inc., the largest energy buying consortium in New England. Locally, he is a member of the Finance Committee for the Town of Barnstable.

Bob and his wife, Mary Kearney, are residents of West Hyannisport, MA.

Thomas A Cohn

Tom joined the APCC board in 2022. A graduate of Pace University Lubin school of business, then started and ran an adventure company for 15 years, while also continuing to work in his family manufacturing business, located in New York since 1901. Tom has been in charge since 1995.

He was instrumental in the restoration of the Cross River Mountain fire tower in the county reservation park and helped establish a 10K trail run (now in its fifth year) to raise awareness and support for the fire tower. Tom was on a county appointed board for a functional and interpretive county run farm, and he was appointed to his town’s committee to explore land preservation opportunities. He was also on the board of a local not for profit museum, resulting in substantial reorganization and a better connection to the art community. As past president of the friend’s group for Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, a 4000+ acre park, he led the board in several programs for the public and strengthened the boards relationship with the county.

He grew up in White Plains New York and discovered the Cape in high school. For almost 30 years he has spent summers on the Cape with his wife Lisa and their 3 children. Tom and Lisa continue to be involved in various non-profits that support children and the environment. He sails, skis, loves to cook, fly fishes, and travels as much as possible. Tom owns, and is involved in, a small vineyard in Argentina.

John Cumbler

Elected to the Board of Directors in 2019. John has been involved with conservation and environmental issues for most of his adult life. He taught environmental history and studies at the University of Louisville before his retirement. Presently he is teaching environmental studies at Suffolk University. He and his family have owned a home on Cape Cod for almost 40 years and have been an active supporter of APCC. Currently he is a volunteer for the Park Service, giving lectures and leading nature walks. John has also been a member of the Wellfleet Board of Health and is presently a member of the Wellfleet Conservation Commission.

Jamie Demas

Jamie is passionate about conservation and improving the quality of the Cape’s waters, advocating for sewering and eco-friendly landscaping free of pesticides and fertilizers.

She serves as treasurer for the Orleans Pond Coalition and leads OPC’s committee to sample Orleans ponds for cyanobacteria in partnership with APCC. Jamie was formerly a trustee for the Orleans Conservation Trust, serving as chair of both the finance and fundraising committees.

Jamie is currently chief operating officer of the podcast studio, Double Elvis Productions. Double Elvis’ award-winning podcast, Disgraceland, is the most listened to music-themed podcast of all time. Prior to podcasting, Jamie was the SVP of finance & administration for Macmillan Learning. Jamie has extensive experience in business development, financial planning, HR, contracts, and facilities management.

Jamie majored in English at Boston University, where she played varsity lacrosse and field hockey. She has had a home in the Bakers Pond area of Orleans since 2006 and has lived in Orleans full time since 2019. An avid environmentalist and proponent of native plants, Jamie enjoys gardening, bird watching, and hiking in Nickerson State Park with her dogs Lucy and Koko.

Betsy Gladfelter

Betsy joined the board in 2025. Betsy arrived on Cape Cod in 1997, after having spent the previous 30 years either in California and/or St. Croix USVI. She has been in some form of academia her entire life, as an administrator (Marine Lab Director and Prep School Dean in St. Croix), a researcher (coral biology and coastal science) and a teacher (at various points in her career from first graders through graduate students). She received an AB in biological sciences from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in biology from UCLA.

In Falmouth, she has been on the conservation commission for 20 years, two years on the community preservation committee and was the town’s representative to the Steamship Authority for four years. For the past 20 years she has been project coordinator for the Coonamessett River Restoration projects. She contributes to the technical committees of many other wetland restoration projects throughout the region.

Pat Hughes

Elected to the APCC Board in 2016, Pat recently retired as the Director of the Marine Policy Program at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, where she collaborated with the Center’s scientists and others to bring unbiased science to public policy discussions, including coastal water quality, state and regional ocean planning initiatives and coastal change. Pat previously worked for the Cape Cod Commission, focusing on coastal water quality issues. Her work the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Program included fisheries management and guiding the state’s efforts to protect the offshore fishery from oil and gas exploration on Georges Bank.

Pat and her husband, Hal Minis, live in Brewster where she served two terms as a Brewster selectperson; a term on the Planning Board and the Land Acquisition Committee. Pat previously served on the APCC board from 1982 to 1984.

Steve Hurley

Steve joined APCC’s board in February 2025. Steve retired from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in October 2024, after serving 34 years as the Southeast District Fisheries Manager for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Steve managed the freshwater fisheries of Cape Cod and Southeastern Massachusetts and was involved in most of the major issues affecting the ponds and streams of Cape Cod. Of particular focus was water quality and river restoration and Steve became known as one of the recognized experts on sea run brook trout restoration, including the restoration of brook trout to the Coonamessett and Childs Rivers. Steve was a member of numerous committees and planning teams over the years, including the Joint Base Cape Cod Plume Containment Team, the Santuit Pond Preserve Management Committee, and the Buzzards Bay Coalition Restoration Advisory Committee. He received a bachelor of science degree in fisheries biology from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and a master of science degree in fisheries biology from Iowa State University, and then worked for the Ohio Division of Wildlife for six years before coming back home to Massachusetts in 1990. Steve lives with his wife Terry in Hingham and enjoys travel with his family, boating, fishing, and gardening.

Molly Karlson

Molly joined the board in 2022. For the past 20 years, Molly has worked as a portfolio manager at Fiduciary Trust Company where she enjoys counseling individuals, families, and charitable organizations on a variety of complex wealth management issues. Molly spearheaded, and continues to shepherd, Fiduciary’s efforts related to integrating environmental, social, and governance factors into the portfolio management process. This important initiative enables clients to invest their wealth in a way that aligns with their priorities. Prior to joining Fiduciary Trust, Molly spent 16 years working at Standish Mellon Asset Management. As a portfolio manager and strategist, she worked extensively with Standish’s University, Pension, Endowment, and Insurance clients. She also played an integral role in establishing Standish’s Insurance Asset Management Division. Molly is a CFA Institute charter holder, has an MBA, and a BA in Economics. Molly is on the Board of Cape Abilities and volunteers at a variety of other charitable organizations both on and off Cape. She enjoys spending her free time with her family, honing her beekeeping skills, gardening, and simply enjoying the momentous ordinary that life on Cape Cod offers. She and her husband, Peter, live in Sandwich.

Steven Koppel

Steve was elected to the board of directors in 2020 and became president in 2023. While raising his family in the Boston area, Steve spent 20 years as a senior partner and business consultant with Accenture, leaving in 2002 to volunteer with non-profit organizations to help maximize their social impact. Steve is a trustee at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and has served in numerous volunteer strategy roles at other Boston healthcare organizations including Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston Medical Center, and the Joslin Diabetes Center.

A graduate of Brown University, Steve is the founder of the EDI Institute, a non-profit that promotes healing and resilience for patients and caregivers through imagery created on mobile devices. Steve is an avid photographer, and is the owner of EXPRESSIONS Gallery in Chatham, showcasing his expressive imagery of Cape Cod’s waters and tidal flats. Steve donates 20 percent of the profits from the sale of his photographs and books to APCC. His photography is on the walls of several Boston area hospitals and businesses, including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and The Flatley Company.

Steve and his wife Paula reside in Brewster. Their two grown children, David, and Katie, live and work in the Boston area.

Rick O’Connor

Rick O’Connor joined the board in 2023. He is the founder of CACOMA, LLC, whose purpose is spotlighting the unique wonders of, and educating the public about, the environmental issues on Cape Cod and the Islands (CAI). It launched in spring of 2023 and initially offers retail products, services, and donations to high-impact CAI organizations.

Rick leverages his strategic marketing experiences as the chief marketing officer of Point32Health, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and the Caremark PBM division at CVS Health. In addition to his interest in environmental issues, Rick serves as Chair of the board of trustees of Odyssey House, a New York therapeutic community organization specializing in drug and alcohol addiction recovery and housing for the unhoused and those living with HIV/AIDS, and is also on the board of Cape Abilities, which serves people with disabilities to be empowered to live meaningful lives of inclusion.

Rick and his wife Anne live in Avon, CT and Eastham, MA. They have three adult children who all live in New England and are on the Cape whenever they can be.

Patrick Otton

Patrick joined the board in 2025. He has worked in the corporate world and has degrees in electrical and computer engineering, as well as a reference librarian with a library science degree, and a side-kick job working on U.S.S. Constitution. With an early influence from the shores of the Great Lakes, he says he has ended up on Cape Cod, drawn to its shores of both freshwater ponds and the sea. According to Patrick, there is no other place in the world like Cape Cod, and he is passionate about helping to see that it is preserved, protected, and appreciated. Patrick resides in Harwich with his dog Sky.

Kris Ramsay

Kris Ramsay and his wife Anna moved to Cape Cod in 2008, where he served as the Administrator of the Dennis and Orleans Conservation Trust’s through 2011. He became the first full time Director of the Orleans Conservation Trust (OCT) in 2011, and oversaw all aspects of the organization, including land acquisitions, land management planning, fundraising, and educational programs. Kris now serves as the General Manager of Pretty Picky Properties and a Project Manager with Monomoy Real Estate and Construction.

Kris Ramsay grew up in Maine, spending much of his childhood in the northern portion of the state camping, fishing, and hiking. He attended Colby-Sawyer College, earning his undergraduate degree in environmental studies. At Colby-Sawyer he was the recipient of a Sawyer Fellowship Award and the Environmental Studies Baccalaureate Award for demonstrating the highest degree of dedication and excellence in his field of study.

Kris lives in Brewster with his wife Anna and daughter Ruby.

Dottie Smith

Born and raised in northern New Jersey, Dorothy (Dottie) Smith received her bachelor’s in political science from St. John’s University. She retired from a 34-year management career with AT&T shortly before moving to the Cape. Her expertise and leadership spanned methods and procedures development, programming, organization design and implementation, development and running a new stock transfer business, development of special programs for high level executives, and coordination of an interdisciplinary team for mergers and acquisitions. Her volunteer work in New Jersey included 10 years with Morris Habitat for Humanity, serving on the board of directors for six years. Dottie expanded the board and spurred significant expansion in the location and development of affordable housing in Morris County.

Dottie moved to the town of Orleans in 2002 and shortly thereafter became an engaged member of the lower Cape community. Among other involvements, she served on the board of trustees for Cape Cod Repertory Theatre, at-large member of the AAA board, and the board of directors for the Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands. She serves as food pantry coordinator for Saint Joan of Arc Parish.

Her foray into public policy began in 2004 as a volunteer for the then state representative candidate Sarah K. Peake. Dottie ultimately served as legislative aide and then chief of staff for Rep. Peake. She was primary liaison for the representative and her staff with executive offices, coordinating with executive agencies, legislative offices and district leaders, with a focus on local issues, statewide policy, and constituent matters for the Fourth Barnstable District. Dottie was named in the 2018 class of Commonwealth Heroines. She retired from the Commonwealth after more than 14 years of service.

Dottie continues to reside in East Orleans and remains an active member of her community.

Becca Solomont

Becca joined the APCC board in June of 2025. She brings 15 years of leadership in product strategy, go-to-market and business transformation across Cloud, Enterprise SaaS, healthcare technology and non-profit sectors.

Becca holds an MBA in Strategy & Business Analysis and Non-profit Management from Boston University and a BA in Child Development & Theatre from Tufts University. Throughout her career, she has consulted for and worked with local non-profits, shaping systems and programs to maximize impact and achieve organizational goals. A resident of Arlington, Becca has lifelong roots in Truro and is passionate about leveraging her experience and organizational leadership to protect Cape Cod’s natural resources. She is committed to promoting sustainable community development and safeguarding the beauty of the Cape’s water, land, and wildlife for future generations.

Marcie M. Truesdale

After living and working in New York for most of her adult life, Marcie and her husband moved to Orleans, MA. She has worked with the Orleans Conservation Trust (volunteer land steward), the Putnam Farm wetland restoration project in Orleans, and recently a pond group in her neighborhood whose goal is to bring awareness of water quality management to local homeowners.

Marcie loves gardening, and since moving to the Cape, has educated herself on the importance of native plantings, water conservation and habitat preservation. Her home property is registered with the Pollinator Pathway of Cape Cod and is a certified National Wildlife Foundation wildlife habitat.

She currently serves on the board of Nauset Neighbors as the membership director, an all- volunteer nonprofit whose mission is to help seniors remain independent in their homes by providing helpful services such as transportation, helping hands, and social support.