Waterspirit staff
Executive Director, Blair Nelsen
Photos courtesy Bruno Prata Arte and Yale Divinity School.
Blair A. R. Nelsen has served as Executive Director of Waterspirit since our founder retired in 2019. Blair received her Master of Arts in Religion from Yale Divinity School and her BA with honors in Environmental Studies from Brown University. She brings a multi-faith, international perspective to this work after living in Venezuela and Brazil for many years. She currently represents our sponsors, the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, at the United Nations in addition to her Waterspirit ministry duties in New Jersey. In 2022, Blair co-authored the Climate Pastoral Care Course, available on Waterspirit’s website. She is a Good Grief Network Community FLOW Facilitator who has also been trained in climate café facilitation by the Climate Psychology Alliance of North America. Additionally, she also holds a certificate in Climate Psychology from the California Institute for Integral Studies. Blair is a frequent writer and speaker about water, climate change, biodiversity, nature, climate anxiety, spirituality, religion, mindfulness, and contemplative practices. She is fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Public Policy and Justice Organizer, Rachel Dawn Davis
Photo (right) by Shadia Fayne Wood, Survival Media Project.
Rachel Dawn Davis joined Waterspirit as Public Policy & Justice Organizer in 2020. She holds a Master of Science degree in Nonprofit Management from The New School for Public Engagement and a BA in Economics from Rutgers University. Since 2005, Rachel has built interdisciplinary coalitions around preventative policies, playing a key role in advancing environmental protection in New Jersey and safeguarding water quality across the Delaware River Watershed. She received and inspired awards for her innovative student leadership from Rutgers University and The New School University and is also a Rutgers University Cooperative Extension Certified Green Infrastructure Champion. Rachel Dawn is deeply committed to energizing intergenerational action through legislative advocacy, spreading her passionate message to all who will listen. Since joining Waterspirit, she has been certified as a Good Grief Network Facilitator and serves as Chairperson of the premiere Water Advocacy Committee for the Lead Free New Jersey initiative. She has been speaking about the climate crisis since 2005, emphasizing civic engagement, community planning, and the power of preventative policies. Rachel Dawn also volunteers locally with veterans, connecting peace-building with the prevention of war and promoting cognitive health. Outside of work, she finds rejuvenation in water and enjoys spending time by lakes and waterfalls with her family.
Program Manager, Anne Price
Anne Price joined the Waterspirit team as Program Manager in 2022. Anne has a degree in Natural Resources Management and Applied Ecology from Rutgers University. She has taught environmental education in various outdoor settings since 1987 at nature centers, zoos and even the NJDA. Her teaching style has been described as DYNAMIC, ENTHUSIASTIC, and INNOVATIVE. As a steward of the Earth, Anne feels her mission is to teach people to appreciate nature, for we will only protect what we love. She has been awarded Outstanding Environmental Educator of the Year by ANJEE (Alliance for NJ Environmental Education.) Since joining Waterspirit, Anne has completed the Climate Pastoral Care Course, the Good Grief Network Facilitator Training, the Rutgers Green Infrastructure Champion program, the Foundations of Catholic Health Care Leadership program, and the Meditation Masterclass by Meditation University. In her personal time, Anne is a volunteer for several environmental groups supporting her life mission to care for creation. Anne is happiest in her native plant gardens, surrounded by the sounds of singing birds, buzzing insects and laughing children.
Development Director, Lisa Maher
Lisa Maher has served as Development Director for Waterspirit since the fall of 2023. Lisa received her Masters of Public Administration from New York University and her BA in International Affairs from George Washington University in addition to a Graduate Certificate from the Earth Institute Center for Environmental Sustainability at Columbia University. Lisa has more than 10 years’ experience in development, fundraising, and communications, most recently as a manager in Woodberry Associates’ Strategic Alliances division, supporting the management of various nonprofit clients. Prior to joining Woodberry, Lisa was the Deputy Executive Director for the Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation along with previous lead fundraising roles at the Monmouth County Historical Association, Columbia Business School, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. At Waterspirit, Lisa is responsible for developing funding programs to broaden the organization’s donor network and increase support of existing donors. She oversees the fundraising appeals, event sponsorships, and grant proposals to secure funding for all Waterspirit programs and advocacy initiatives.
WATERSPIRIT ADVISORY BOARD
We are seeking new board members! To learn more, read our call for board members here.
Karen Auld is a multifaceted environmentalist with over 30 years of experience. She is a Citizen Scientist researching how our inner world reflects the outer world, a Senior Environmental Health, Safety and Sustainability Specialist with Johnson & Johnson, and the Brand Ambassador for Global Wrap Share, a reusable, fabric gift wrap company. Pulling from her eclectic background, Karen brings pragmatic thinking to self-help teaching and environmental activism keeping heavy topics fun, light and digestible. This approach let’s her clients and students grow and evolve their way.
Hugh Carola joined the Waterspirit board in 2013 at the request of Sr. Suzanne Golas. He serves at the Program Director at Hackensack Riverkeeper, a position he has held since 2001. An asset to Riverkeeper’s environmental advocacy and education work, Hugh holds a US Coast Guard-issued Captain’s License and spends a good deal of his work time on the Hackensack River piloting the research vessel Robert H. Boyle II and introducing students of all ages to the river and the unique habitats of the Hackensack Meadowlands.
Kathryn “Kate” Chambers has been an enthusiastic supporter of Waterspirit since its founding and a member of its Advisory Board since 2008. Kate was a member of the founding board of Peace Ministries, Inc. beginning in March 2014 and continuing until her appointment as Director of Mission Integration in October 2016. She has recently retired.
Joe Lavin is a retired business executive with more than 30 years’ experience with Sandoz/Novartis. He has served as an Adjunct Professor at St. Thomas Aquinas College, Ramapo College, and St. Elizabeth University. He earned a BS in math from Manhattan University and an MBA from SHU. In retirement he received an MES (Master of Environmental Studies) from Penn. Currently he serves as co-chair of the Archdiocese of Newark Laudato Si Action Plan. He is a Laudato Si Animator and has a Certificate in Integral Ecology from an alliance of Pontifical Universities in Rome.
Sister Mindy (Melinda) McDonald, CSJP, has been a friend of Waterspirit since its beginning stages, serving on its board in earlier years. She recently completed a term on the Leadership Team of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, and prior to that worked for 30 years as a nurse in AIDS and hospice care. She holds Masters’ Degrees in Pastoral Care (Fordham) and in Earth Literacy (St. Mary of the Woods, IN).
Ann Marie Reardon joined the Waterspirit Advisory Board in 2015. Though currently retired, she has worked as a secondary school science educator and as a chemist. Previous environment-related activities have included participating in three Earthwatch expeditions and holding a natural resources portfolio for the Northern Valley League of Women voters. Ann Marie holds degrees in chemistry and in 2013 completed a doctorate in Public Health (Environmental Health Sciences).
Kathleen Scatassa, Waterspirit’s former Program Manager, joined the board in 2023. Prior to her time at Waterspirit, Kathleen spent more than a decade at Earthjustice where she worked on climate and energy communications campaigns alongside the grassroots activists who successfully took on the fracking industry in New York State and the youth of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe who changed the world with three words: ‘water is life.’ She currently works as a freelance writer and communications consultant for progressive leaders and causes.
Sue Smith put her MBA to work in the global financial services industry for 30 years. She serves on the Board of Clean Water Action (NJ) and is a former steering committee member of Presbyterians for Earth Care. She earned her BA in Economics from Cornell University, an MBA from NYU and an M. Div. from New Brunswick Theological Seminary.
EMERITUS - IN MEMORIUM
Fr. Edward J. Ciuba
If you would like to make a donation in Fr. Ed’s memory, please email us at water@waterspirit.org to learn how.