Board

About The Board

The Brewster Ponds Coalition Board is a dedicated group of individuals who are passionate about its pond preservation mission. The Board plans and manages the organization as well as executes all BPC programs. Currently eleven individuals serve on the Board, though BPC bylaws permit a maximum of fifteen members. Interested in an enjoyable and rewarding experience as a BPC board member? Email info@brewsterponds.org with the subject title “Board Member” and a current board member will reach out to you.

Susan Bridges, President has been coming to the Cape since the early 70s and retired to Brewster in 2016 after a 30+ year career with MetLife. Susan graduated from American University in Washington DC with a degree in fine arts. She joined The Brewster Ponds Coalition in 2018 and has been actively involved in many aspects of the organization. She is currently a member of the Creative Arts Center of Chatham, the Guild of Chatham Painters, and the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. Past volunteer activities in New Jersey include PTO President, Board of Education member, Family Promise Homeless shelter, and Literacy for America. Susan was also on the Advisory Council for the Great Swamp Watershed Association where she was involved in water quality testing and fundraising.
Email: susan.bridges@brewsterponds.org

John Keith, Vice President is a founding member of the BPC and a semi-retired environmental engineer. He currently works on assessing and designing clean-up of toxic contamination sites in developing countries in Asia, Africa and South America. His long career included positions leading the air and water pollution programs of the New Jersey DEP and the environment, health and safety programs for a major pharmaceutical company. John has a strong interest in helping Brewster develop a plan that addresses long-term water quality concerns, particularly controlling nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen that promote toxic algae blooms and growth of invasive species in our ponds. John has been leading a plant harvesting demonstration project to improve water quality in Elbow Pond.
Email: john.keith@brewsterponds.org

Rob Condon, Treasurer is president of Longley Associates, Inc., an advisory consultancy firm for businesses in the New England region. Mr. Condon works with business owners to improve operations and profitability, create Lean manufacturing processes and efficiently designed organizations. Prior to starting Longley Associates, Inc. in 2003, he held several Senior Executive positions in the manufacturing arena of the Aerospace and Automotive industries. Rob has held numerous positions in non-profit organizations, collaboration networks, and Economic Development committees. He is the past chairman and president of Hampshire Community Action Commission, Zoning Appeals Chairman for the town of Belchertown, and past executive board member and treasurer for the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce. Rob now resides in Brewster (along Lower Mill Pond) and New Orleans with his wife Nancy and has three daughters that live in Nantucket, New Orleans, and Washington, D.C. Rob and Nancy are hikers, kayakers, bikers, and dreamers of a clean and happy future. Email: rob.condon@brewsterponds.org

Nancy Ortiz, Clerk fell in love with Cape Cod and its ponds in the late '80s, while visiting a camp on Upper Mill Pond. In 2011, she moved to Brewster full-time. She has been an active member of the BPC since its inception. In the past she volunteered at the Museum of Natural History, and at different times in her life, has been a volunteer with the PTO and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Reading, MA. Nancy loves all the outdoor activities the Cape has to offer and cares deeply about environmental issues. Nancy says she was delighted to find a group of residents interested in protecting Brewster’s ponds. Nancy is concerned about the increase in cyanobacteria in Brewster ponds and is pleased that her involvement in testing the water will provide data for a baseline cyanobacteria level that will be important in analyzing the results of any future treatments. She recently worked on the Lower Mill Pond Erosion project. Nancy holds a BS in business administration and an MBA.
Email: nancy.ortiz@brewsterponds.org

Marty Burke, Membership Team Leader, Citizen Science has been a part-time resident in Brewster since 1997, and moved here full-time in 2014. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Connecticut and is now retired from a 36+ year career as an executive in the insurance industry. Over the course of his career, Marty led underwriting and sales teams in the employee benefits divisions of The Hartford, Prudential, and Highmark, in Boston and New York City. In addition to his work with the BPC, Marty has been active with the Massachusetts Audubon Society since 2014 in their piping plover, diamondback terrapin, and horseshoe crab citizen scientist programs. He is particularly interested in organizations centered on preserving our natural surroundings. Marty first became interested in nature as a Boy Scout camping and swimming in the local ponds in his native Connecticut. Over the years his concern about our natural surroundings grew, as the effect of population growth and resulting pollution became evident worldwide. His desire to find a way to help led him to the Brewster Ponds Coalition, first as a member, then a volunteer, and now as a Board member. Marty says, “Helping in any big or small way to understand and improve the water quality issue in Brewster and Cape Cod is the least I can do.” Email: marty.burke@brewsterponds.org

Ron Essig, Citizen Science Team Leader, Ron Essig retired in 2018 as a Fish Biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Hadley, MA after 27 years where he administered marine fisheries research and survey grants to Northeast state fisheries agencies. During the previous 11 years, he worked for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Washington, DC and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources in Brunswick, GA. Ron is a Past President of the American Fisheries Society and several of its subunits. He has a Masters in Fisheries Biology from the University of Massachusetts and is a Certified Fisheries Professional. Ron grew up in New Jersey spending two week vacations each summer in a tent trailer at Nickerson State Park and bought a second home on Long Pond in 2012. Ron started with the Long Pond cyanobacteria sampling team in 2021 and looks forward to his role on the Board. Email: ron.essig@brewsterponds.org

Cameron Ferguson, Volunteer Coordinator and his family have been coming to the Cape since the mid-1980s. He and his wife purchased their future retirement home in Brewster in 2012. After a 35-year career at Caterpillar Inc, Cameron retired in 2016 and he and his wife moved from Peoria, IL, to become full-time Cape residents in 2017. Cameron has joined the BPC in an effort to give back to the community that is now his home, where he enjoys kayaking, paddleboarding, sailing, golf, and biking. Cameron also serves on the Massachusetts SkillsUSA board of directors and was recently elected as vice president of the Cape Cod British Car Club. Cameron holds a BS Civil Engineering from Bradley University, Peoria, IL, and a MS Civil Engineering from University of New Hampshire. Email: cameron.ferguson@brewsterponds.org

Kevin Kearns, Outreach has been coming to the Cape for 25 years. He recently retired as Professor Emeritus from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh where, for more than 35 years, he taught courses in nonprofit management and leadership. Kevin joined the board of the Brewster Ponds Coalition in the summer of 2022 and he will be extensively involved in BPC’s efforts to work with the many pond and neighborhood associations in Brewster. Kevin is deeply involved in other volunteer activities and has lectured on nonprofit management in the Czech Republic, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, Macedonia, Slovakia, and Brazil and has delivered more than 100 seminars to executives and leaders in government, industry, and the nonprofit sector. Kevin is married with two adult children. He enjoys cycling, sailing, and enjoying Brewster’s beautiful ponds. Email: kevin.kearns@brewsterponds.org

Marcia Kielb, Pond Education Team Leader was born in the small town of Athol, MA but has spent most of her adult life in Westfield MA area. She has always been connected to water in many ways including summering and kayaking on lakes and ponds. Cape Cod has been an integral part of her life. She and her husband, John, have been property owners in Brewster for over 7 years and have spent many beautiful days at Nickerson and on the Brewster beaches! She enjoys biking when her knees permit, loves to swim in beautiful Seymour Pond, other ponds and the ocean. Marcia has been involved in many non-profit organizations over the years, most recently her church, First Parish Brewster. She is looking forward to helping BPC continue our mission…. protecting our kettle ponds in Brewster. She is the incoming Chairperson of the BPC Education Committee and will be participating as our mascot, Turtle, when available!!!
Email: marcia.kielb@brewsterponds.org

Mary Mauterstock, Events Team Leader retired to Brewster in 2007. Her early career was focused on business systems planning and management at large insurance companies in Hartford. Mary has the distinction of being named the first female minority officer at Connecticut Mutual Life. She has also had experience with a start-up software company and as an international consultant. Mary’s last job before retiring was as manager of her husband Bob’s investment firm. A committed volunteer on the Cape, Mary has worked with the Alzheimer’s Family Support Center and the Brewster Ladies’ Public Library. She is also a founding member of the Friends of Elbow Pond, who focus on improving water quality. In addition, Mary is a member of the Cape Cod French Club. Mary and Bob live on Elbow Pond and in her spare time, Mary likes golf, duplicate bridge, gardening, and reading. Mary holds a BA in sociology and an MA in social research.
Email: mary.mauterstock@brewsterponds.org