The Brewster Conservation Trust Board of Trustees is composed of 17 members, including 13 year-round residents and 4 seasonal trustees. All are drawn to the Trust because of their deep commitment to protecting Brewster’s and Cape Cod’s fragile environment, natural beauty, and rural character. They bring diverse skills and perspectives to the tasks of achieving BCT’s mission. Below are brief sketches of current Trustees’ backgrounds.
Joe Biernat, Treasurer, has a deep commitment to advancing socially responsible values, especially through environmental and educational opportunities. He was actively engaged in building Permian Global, an environmental investment firm based in London with global operations. He is a Trustee Emeritus of Gettysburg College. Joe is a founding Executive committee member of the Intentional Endowment Network, a collaborative peer-learning network advancing intentionally designed endowments through strategies that integrate environmental, social and governance criteria in investment decisions. He is a past Chairman of the CFA Society of the UK which is part of the worldwide network of member societies of the CFA Institute representing the interests of more than 11,000 of the most qualified investment professionals in the UK. He has been elected a Fellow of the Society of Investment Professionals in recognition of his long service to the profession. Joe worked for 40 years in various senior investment banking positions in London and New York. He holds an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a BA in biology from Gettysburg College. Appointed 2016.
Beth Finch is a former librarian and Trust Officer and a former BCT President. She served on the Brewster Pathways Committee and is an inveterate walker. Beth served on the BCT Board from 1998 to 2013 and was reappointed in 2014.
Debra Johnson graduated from West Point in 1980 in the first class to include women. Initially an Army supply officer, she later became a Russian foreign area officer, serving overseas until her retirement from her last assignment at the American Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania. Throughout her army career, Debra knew she wanted to retire on Cape Cod where her grandparents lived. She has long volunteered at the Brewster Council on Aging as a part-time outreach worker and as a SHINE counselor, helping Medicare recipients make insurance decisions. She holds a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University. Appointed 2004.
Peter Johnson was born and raised in Western Massachusetts and was co-owner of Johnson’s Bookstore and Bookstore Buildings, a realty partnership. He also served on the South Hadley Conservation Commission, prior to his retirement to Cape Cod in 2003. Appointed 2004.
Martin (“Tino”) Kamarck’s career has been entirely in finance, first as a lawyer and partner in the firm of Morrison & Foerster and then in senior executive positions in the financial guaranty insurance industry and in asset management. From 1993-97, he served first as Vice Chair and then President & Chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. He served as an independent director of Granite Point Mortgage Trust, Inc., a commercial real estate mortgage REIT from 2018-2021, and in 2018 he retired from a partnership in Elanus Capital Management LLC, an alternative asset manager, specializing in illiquid fixed income strategies. He currently serves with the Westchester Parks Foundation and Parks, Recreation and Conservation Board. Tino’s family started summering in Brewster in 1926, and he was a full-time resident from 2007 through 2014. Appointed 2011.
Don Keeran is the assistant director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, the Cape’s leading nonprofit environmental advocacy and education organization. He has extensive background in environmental policy and advocacy, and has worked on numerous local, regional, state, and federal initiatives that advance protection, restoration and stewardship of Cape Cod’s natural resources and environment. He also serves on the town of Brewster Open Space Committee. Appointed 2005.
John Lamb moved to Brewster in 1998. Locally, he leads a regional solar cooperative, helped to found and continues to run the Brewster Community Network, and is a Medical Reserve Corps volunteer. Since 2006, he's also worked on initiatives to foster sustainable development and conservation in Uganda and Rwanda by strengthening the capacity of diverse regional leadership units and building hospital capacity. John spent 22 years as a strategic planner and operational innovation consultant helping health care providers and suppliers develop and deploy critical capabilities. Before that, he was a general manager in manufacturing and an industrial engineer improving operations. He has an MBA from Harvard and BSc from Birmingham (UK). Appointed 2014.
Michael Lindgren was raised in Granby, Conn. with woods galore, fields a plenty, streams to cross and fish, rough terrain strewn with rocks and boulders and fresh air. He graduated from Bryant University with a finance major followed by a successful career in commercial real estate and corporate lending, concluding his career as Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer at Cambridge Savings Bank. Previous positions included National Head of Originations at Deutsche Bank Berkshire Mortgage and Principal at Boston Mortgage Capital. Michael is currently the Chairperson of Find The Cause Breast Cancer Foundation and volunteers at Big Brothers, APCC, Capabilities and Cape Cod Museum of Natural History.
Steve McKenna is a Cape Cod native who grew up in Harwich. He studied environmental science and marine transportation at Massachusetts Maritime Academy and became a licensed officer in the US Merchant Marine. After working as a professional mariner for several years, Steve sought to combine his maritime experience and interest in environmental protection. In 1996 he began working for the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management and currently serves as Cape & Islands Regional Coordinator. He also served on the Brewster Conservation Commission for many years. Appointed 2016.
Hal Minis has been a trustee since 2009, serving as President from 2013 to 2021. He has served on several Brewster committees, including chairing the Vision Advisory Group which produced the Brewster Vision Plan and the Vision Planning Committee which produced the Local Comprehensive Plan. For 35 years, he worked for the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina, one of the largest not-for profit contract research organizations in the country, where he designed and led US government-funded programs to strengthen local government systems in developing countries. He has a graduate degree in environmental management. Appointed 2009.
Bonnie Newman retired after 35 years of administrative leadership in higher education and the non-profit sector, including serving as a Program Director at Dartmouth College, Associate Dean at Tufts University, executive director of the national non-profit, A Better Chance, and as an independent management consultant. An avid outdoor enthusiast, she has been volunteering for over 20 years in conservation and land management both in Lexington, MA, and Brewster. Appointed 2012.
Roger V. O’Day is a founding member of BCT and served as legal counsel pro-bono from 1983 until recently. He also assisted other Cape Cod land trusts. In Brewster, he has served on the Brewster Planning Board and on the Stony Brook Mill Site Committee. Roger now serves as one of three trustees on the board of the Eddy Foundation which provides grants annually to numerous charitable organizations in Brewster. Appointed 1983.
Peter Soule graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a BS in Management. He is a Professional Land Surveyor and a founding member of the Brewster Conservation Trust. Appointed 1983.
Charlie Sumner, President, most recently retired as the Executive Director of Pleasant Bay Community Boating, a nonprofit organization that provides affordable and accessible sailing instruction, as well as marine education. Prior to that he served as Brewster’s Town Administrator for almost 30 years, retiring in 2015. While Town Administrator in Brewster, Charlie was recognized by BCT as Conservationist of the Year. He has a graduate degree in public administration from Northeastern University. Before coming to Brewster, Charlie served as chief administrative officer in Littleton and Acton. Appointed 2016.
Dirkie Van Antwerpis an attorney with 35 years of experience in the financial services industry and until retirement in 2012 was employed as Associate General Counsel of Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P, an institutional adviser with approximately $250 billion under management. In 2006 she received Loomis’ first annual Dan Fuss Award “for extraordinary and relentless dedication to our clients.” Dirkie has received a Certificate in Landscape Design from The Landscape Institute issued by Harvard University and Boston Architectural College. Her emphasis is ecology and native plants. Appointed 2014.
Seamus Woods, Vice-President, was born and raised in Brewster and holds degrees in materials science and engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Before his return to Brewster, he was a production and design engineer in opto-electronics. Back on the Cape, he designed and built a house for his family after clearing the lot of poison ivy and bittersweet. In addition to having a practical appreciation for invasive species removal and a deep knowledge of the land and trails on Cape Cod, Seamus is an endurance athlete that competes in races around the world. He is the owner of Secure Storage, Inc. Appointed 2022.
STAFF
Amy Henderson
Executive Director
amy@brewsterconservationtrust.org
Katie Spengler
Land Stewardship Director
katie@brewsterconservationtrust.org
Lissy Perna
Administrative Assistant
elisabeth@brewsterconservationtrust.org
Jeanie Yaroch
Communications and Outreach Coordinator
jeanie@brewsterconservationtrust.org
Brewster Conservation Trust
36 Red Top Rd, Brewster, MA 02631
508-694-6720
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ADVISOR
Mark H. Robinson (since 1986), Executive Director
The Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts, Inc.
Visit The Compact's website