The 2022-23 NEBRA Board - May 11, 2023, Meeting
Front Row (l-r): President Deborah Mahoney, Executive Director Janine Burke-Wells, Vice-President Lise LeBlanc
Back Row: Secretary Laura Marcolini, Michael Hodge, Patrick Ellis, Immediate Past President Thomas Schwartz, Treasurer Arthur Simonian, Eryka Reid, and Charlie Alix.


The NEBRA Board of Directors is responsible for NEBRA's general policies and fiscal health.  The Board hires and oversees NEBRA's Executive Director, provides guidance on NEBRA activities and priorities, and responds to the requests and needs of NEBRA Members.

The NEBRA Board meets the 3rd Wednesday of every month at 11:30 am EST. Use this link to join the Zoom meetings.


MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING between NEBRA and the Mid-Atlantic Biosolids Association regarding Membership Pricing for Biosolids Related Training.

See heartfelt tribute to retiring NEBRA Executive Director, Ned Beecher, at the October 15, 2020, Membership Meeting: video or slide show.

(The year in parentheses, below, designates the year in which the Board member's term expires; terms end at the Annual Meeting in the fall.)


Michael Carignan (27)
President
Agresource, Inc.
Rowley, MA
office: 978-388-5110


Mike Carignan is the President of Agresource Inc, an environmental services company focused on organics diversion based in Massachusetts. Mike got his start in the Green Industry with over ten years of experience in high intensity golf course grounds management. Mike joined Agresource in 2015 focusing on end uses for organic residual products. His scope of work has broadened to include all activities at Agresource including organics diversion and conversion.

Mike earned a B.S. in Sport Management from Colby-Sawyer College and a MPS in Turfgrass Management from Pennsylvania State University.


Tracy Chouinard, PhD (26) — Secretary (non-voting)
Chair, Research Committee
Brown and Caldwell
Andover, MA
office: (978) 983-2047

Tracy Chouinard is an accomplished environmental engineer at Brown and Caldwell, with over eleven years of experience in municipal and industrial wastewater systems. Her extensive expertise includes anaerobic digestion, solids treatment, energy production, and the optimization of wastewater treatment technologies. Additionally, Tracy is an active volunteer within the New England Water Environment Association (NEWEA) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF).


Eryka Clive (26) — President Elect
Lead Dispatcher
Resource Management, Inc. (RMI)
Holderness, NH
office: (603) 536-8900


Eryka (Reid) Clive graduated from Plymouth State University with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science. While in college she spent two summers as an intern with NEIWPCC as their Youth and Environment Coordinator.  Since March 2016, Eryka has been working with Resource Management, Inc. (RMI) as a Project Assistant for their Compliance and Marketing departments and is currently the Lead Dispatcher for RMI’s fleet of tractor trailers.
 


Patrick Ellis (27)
Director of Organics
Casella Resource Solutions
Portsmouth, NH
office: 603-290-5819

Patrick Ellis has worked in world of Biosolids and Residuals since 1994. Originally hired to market Biosolids and residual derived Products, Patrick was responsible for driving value of these materials in central New England. Patrick moved on to lead Casella’s efforts to sell the services of the company to municipalities, and industrial producers of organic residuals. Patrick’s efforts expanded Casella’s foot print into New York, and allowed Casella to more than double the volume of material that they managed. Patrick now leads Casella Waste Systems biosolids business, overseeing the development of additional biosolids process capacity, and the efforts to provide service to additional customers.

Patrick thinks of himself as a true New Englander having been born in Massachusetts, raised in Connecticut, and now living in New Hampshire. He attended the University of Maine where he obtained a B.S. with a focus on Environment Sciences. He has been elected and previously served on the Portsmouth, NH School Board for 9 years, serving as Board Chair during his final two years.


Scott Firmin (26)
Director of Operations — Wastewater
Portland Water District
Portland, ME

Scott Firmin is the Director of Operations of Wastewater Services for the Portland Water District which serves the wastewater collection and treatment needs of six communities in the Greater Portland, Maine, area. With over three decades of utility experience, Scott helps to support operations, capital upgrades, workforce planning, and regulatory compliance at the District. Biosolids management continues to become more challenging and is consuming increasing levels of the utility focus in Maine.

Scott is a licensed Professional Engineer and a Grade V Wastewater Operator in the State of Maine. He has his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of New Hampshire, an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and an MBA from the University of Southern Maine. Scott is active in a number of professional associations, including the Maine Water Environment Association, the New England Water Environment Association, and the Water Environment Federation.


Aaron Fox (27) — Treasurer
Operations Manager
Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility
Lowell, MA
office: 978-674-1604

Aaron Fox is the Operations Manager of the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility, LRWWU. His career has been dedicated to public service and encompasses over 20 years of operational and management experience in the municipal wastewater field. This includes planning and supervisory work in wastewater utility collections, maintenance, operations, and engineering divisions. Aaron holds a MS in Civil Engineering from University of Massachusetts at Lowell. He is also a Licensed Grade 7-C Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator.


Chris Hubbard (25)
Process Wastewater Technologies (PWTech)
Wakefield, RI
401-601-0523

Chris Hubbard is the Vice President of Process Wastewater Technologies (PW Tech), an American manufacturer of sludge handling products. Chris previously worked as a manufacturer’s rep with Walker Wellington and has also held positions as regional sales manager for Huber Technology and VeloDyne, primarily focused on biosolids.

Hubbard holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering and sits on the Board of Directors of The Sewer Thermal Energy Network (STEN) and the Narrow River Preservation Association in Rhode Island. He is an avid offshore sailboat racer and resides in Wakefield, Rhode Island.


Michael Lannan (25) -  Past President
P. E., President
Tech Environmental
Waltham, MA
office: 781-890-2220

Mike Lannan is a chemical engineer who specializes in air quality, odor control, noise, and dust mitigation. He worked for more than 10 years on air pollution and odor analysis and control projects for Camp, Dresser & McKee (CDM). He joined Tech Environmental in 2002 and became President in July 2015. He has provided solutions for facilities all over the United States, including piloting new air quality and odor control technologies, updating United States odor sampling standards, improving vendors’ “standard” products, providing nuisance litigation support, and executing over one hundred air pollution and odor control studies, designs, permit acquisitions, installations, start-ups, and system optimization studies. He has also completed projects to mitigate noise related issues and has helped clients distinguish between dust nuisances and health concerns.


Lise LeBlanc (26) — President
B.Sc., M.Sc., B.Ed., P.Ag., CNMP
Principal
LP Consulting
Mount Uniacke, NS
office:  902-256-2636

Lise LeBlanc is a Professional Agrologist who started her career with the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture. She stayed with Agriculture for 10 years, building her agricultural background before moving on to start her own company, LP Consulting. She has gone on to diversify and expand her expertise over the past 20 years by working with the agricultural, forestry, private and industrial sectors.

Lise has assisted in developing guidelines for Land Application of Biosolids and other non-agricultural organic waste (NAOW) with the Nova Scotia Departments of Agriculture and Environment. She has been providing science and technical knowledge for N-Viro Systems Canada in Ontario and Nova Scotia, including marketing publications and public education programs. And she has developed programs that incorporate manures, wood ash, paper mill sludge, biosolids, digestate, rendering plant effluents, and off-shore drilling wastes for land applications, soil blending, and land reclamation.


Deborah Mahoney (25) — Immediate Past President
Local Office Lead, New England Ops Manager
Brown and Caldwell
Andover, MA
office: 978-983-2069
 

Deb Mahoney is Brown and Caldwell’s New England Operations Manager. She has worked as a senior project manager for Brown and Caldwell since early 2020. Prior to that, she worked as a project manager for 8 years at Hazen and Sawyer and 11 years as a Project Manager/Engineer with AECOM (and formerly Earth Tech). She holds a BS in Civil Engineering and an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) from University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Deb volunteers extensively in the New England Water Environment Association (NEWEA) in addition to her volunteer work for NEBRA.


Laura Marcolini, P.E. (25)
Vice President
Fuss & O’Neill, Inc.
Providence, RI
office: 401-533-5790

Laura Marcolini has over 30 years of experience in environmental engineering with focused expertise in wastewater process design for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities including collection systems, biological treatment, solids processing, nutrient removal, and physical-chemical separation.  She has been responsible for biological process designs of innovative or high-rate fixed film and activated sludge processes including membrane bioreactors since the early 1990’s.  Laura holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering and is very active in the New England Water Environment Association as well as other professional associations. 


Tom Schwartz (25) - Past President
P. E., Project Manager
Woodard and Curran
Portland, ME
office:  207-774-2112
 

Tom Schwartz has, for many years, been a Project Manager specializing in wastewater and biosolids management projects. He has shared his expertise through numerous volunteer positions with the New England Water Environment Association - including serving as Chair of the Residuals Management Committee and Chair of the Energy Committee - and with the Maine Water Environment Association, as well as with NEBRA.


Arthur Simonian (27)
P. E., Executive Director
The Mattabassett District
Cromwell, CT
office: 860-635-5550

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Mr. Simonian is a Registered Professional Engineer and has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He has been the Executive Director of The Mattabassett District since June 2015, where he directs and supervises the operation and maintenance the Mattabassett District trunk line sewer and right of way, outfall, the ash landfill and incidental facilities connected therewith; plans for short and long range needs of the District; recommends need for contractual services for Board approval; coordinates District projects and plans with outside consultants and public agencies; and prepares the annual budget and calculates user fees. From 2006-2015 he was Director of Public Works & Town Engineer for the Town of Berlin, CT and responsible for the Water Sewer Commission, Engineering, Highways, Facilities/Building Maintenance Departments with 39 personnel. From 2000-2006 he was Senior Project Manager for Diversified Technologies Consultants – overseeing the design and construction of two public school projects (26 million dollars and 60 million dollars) and two design/build dormitory projects (50 million dollars combined) overseeing Civil, Environmental, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing design groups. Arthur’s awards and achievements include: Editing Board of a Public Works Journal; Implemented LEED and Clean Energy Resolutions for the Town; Member of ASCE, America Public Works Association; Lincoln Arc Welding Award for Parking Garage Design; ACEC Engineering Excellence Award on behalf of the Mattabassett District for the WPCF Upgrade; and AGC Build CT 2016 Award for Construction Manager/General Contractor Large Renovation for Facility Upgrade.


Philip Tucker (26) - Vice President
Superintendent
York Sewer District
York, ME
office: 207-363-4232


Phil Tucker started his career in 1998 at the Bar Harbor Wastewater Treatment Department during which time he acquired his Grade 4 Wastewater Operators License, a Grade 4 Collections certificate, and a Grade 1 laboratory analyst certificate. In 2009, he took a position at the Waste Management Leachate Facility in Rochester, New Hampshire, where he upgraded to a Grade 2 lab analyst. In 2013, he took a position at Sanford Sewerage District as the Collections System Foreman and earned his Grade 5 Wastewater Operators License for the State of Maine. In 2017, he became Assistant Superintendent at the York Sewer District and has since been promoted to Superintendent. Phil is very active with the Maine Water Environment Association, serving as President in 2021, and also serves on the Executive Committee of the New England Water Environment Association.


NEBRA Staff — Janine Burke-Wells, Executive Director

Janine became Executive Director in May of 2019. She is responsible for achieving NEBRA’s vision and implementing its strategic plan through work with the Board of Directors and the various committees. She has twenty years’ experience in wastewater operations and also worked for the U.S. EPA for a decade. Janine has an MPA from Northeastern University and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rhode Island.