Bill Copeland, President is a forest landowner and retired pediatrician with background in science education and wetland ecology. He has degrees in Zoology, Ecology, Public Health and Medicine from Duke University, University of New Orleans, Emory University and Augusta Medical University.  After moving to Greenfield to start his medical practice in 1994, he continued to teach science in schools and other settings in the valley.  In 2019 he took on the role of GNWA President and has refocused the mission of the organization toward education, offering his 185 acre property (Masson Ridge) in west Northfield as a laboratory for the study of local ecosystems.  

Christine Copeland, Treasurer, recently retired after a long career in communications, mostly in educational settings, punctuated by occasional stints teaching elementary aged children and running a knitting store. Her most recent job was as internship coordinator for Greenfield Community College during which, among other things, she placed students studying vernal pools at Masson Ridge, fish runs at the Silvio O’Conte Lab and permaculture throughout the Pioneer Valley. Christine’s first love was painting and is now writing and illustrating books for young readers about the seasons in the forest.

Sarah Loomis is a graduate of Skidmore College, where she earned her BA in Environmental Studies. She has spent the last decade working for nonprofit organizations to create learner-centered educational programs that promote environmental and social justice. In her current role as Manager of Education at the Botanic Garden of Smith College, Sarah educates students about plants through a liberal arts curriculum. She uses participatory approaches to teaching, programming, and interpretive design to explore everything from colonial legacies of botanical exploration to the ecological function of a species. Sarah grew up in Northfield and has many happy memories exploring its trails and tributaries. 

David Reeder, Clerk,  is a science teacher and outdoor enthusiast, with a continuing interest in watersheds and landscape evolution and management. He teaches physics and geology at the Northfield Mount Hermon School, and coaches the boys rowing program. The forests and rivers of the Northfield area have provided David and his students with remarkable opportunities for teaching and learning, connections he is eager to deepen through his work with GNWA. He earned a BS in physics from Washington State University, and an MS and PhD in earth sciences from Dartmouth College, where his research centered on the then-emerging field of GIS and satellite mapping capabilities. He was also a long-time backcountry ranger in the Olympic Mountains of Washington State, which first introduced him to the challenges of managing and preserving natural ecosystems for future generations to enjoy.

​Dr. Justin Richardson is an assistant professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  Justin holds a B.S. degree in soil science from the University of California Riverside, a PhD in Earth Sciences at Dartmouth College, and was a postdoctoral researcher for the Critical Zone Observatory Network at Cornell University. Justin's research focuses on trace metal biogeochemistry in the environment, with emphases on nutrient cycling of forests, toxic metal movement through soils, and rock-watershed processes. Although a native of southern California, he considers New England his forever home and is excited to bring his expertise to protect and communicate about the importance of forests ecosystems and watersheds served by the GNWA.

Jenny Tufts grew up visiting her grandparents in Northfield, earned a B.A. degree from Smith College, and spent the next 27 years working in Latin America and Washington, D.C., always hoping to return to the Connecticut Valley. In 2003, she retired from a career in public policy including positions on the staff of a U.S. Congressional Subcommittee and the Embassy of the European Union in Washington, D.C. with a focus on international economic development, sustainable environmental policies, and human rights. Since then she has been an active member of the town's Open Space Committee and the GNWA Board of Directors. 

​Andrew Vernon grew up fishing and hiking in southeastern Pennsylvania, developing a lifelong love of creeks, lakes, and their accompanying environments. A resident of Northfield since 1995, he teaches middle school social studies in Keene, NH. A member of the GNWA Board of Directors since 2010, Andrew is a concerned citizen who likes to get his feet wet, literally. He still enjoys following the various streams up onto the ridges in the area.  In addition to his work for GNWA, Andrew is a member of Northfield’s Energy Committee and Chair of the Land Stewardship committee, which oversees town-owned properties for the Conservation Commission.