Nancy Gertner
I was raised in London, England and lived there until 1972, when my husband did an exchange program at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia. He followed his mentor to Yale, and we emigrated to Connecticut in 1977. I completed my doctoral degree in educational psychology at UConn, and worked as a school psychologist in the Guilford Public School system until my retirement in 2009.
In Guilford I was very involved in local issues and chaired the Youth and Family Services. I was beginning to be concerned about climate change, so I joined the Green Committee of NABB to learn more and become active in working for change. I am lucky to have such amazing and knowledgeable mentors. I have five grandchildren so I want to help ensure a better future for them.
G. Lee Humphrey
I bring an investigatory disposition to my work advocating for green interests. For example, I frame the debate over the proposed natural gas pipeline in Back Bay by asking fundamental questions: why is it needed? does the data confirm the value? how exactly does the community benefit?
My business background includes leadership positions with Arthur Anderson (Systems Consultant), MacAndrews & Forbes (Treasurer), Rust Craft Greeting Cards (Director, MIS Department), and more. Along the way, I was on active duty in the US Navy (Lieutenant, junior grade), earned an MBA with Distinction from Harvard University Business School, and published an autobiography of my father, the noted BSO violist George Norwood Humphrey.
Michael McCord
I was raised in the Germantown section of Philadelphia and have been a Boston resident since 1971. I spent my entire professional career working in Boston in elementary education and I am a believer in the power of education to affect systemic change. In recent years I have been active in several organizations that educate people about climate action and that also promote clean energy policy solutions at the municipal and state level.
Peter Papesch
I grew up in Vienna, Austria, went to a French Lyçée in Vienna and Mainz, Germany, and then to college and graduate school in the US. I became an architect-developer and educator. I came late to environmental awareness, but Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth opened my mind and my heart to the plight of our planetary home. I therefore started and have remained a member of the Green Committee of NABB, initiated the Back Bay Green Initiative, and spent 20 years as chair of the Boston Society of Architects’ Sustainability Education Committee, inviting “green” speakers and practitioners to share their insights.
Janet Roche
As a member of the organization American Institute of Architects, I am always in awe of organizations like Boston Green Action that do so much for the betterment of our community. I am a wellness and inclusive designer who recognizes the benefits of a healthy built environment. At the Boston Architectural College, I teach Biophilia, which explores how humans are innately attracted to nature and how experiences in nature reduce stress levels. A neighbor for almost 30 years, I’m passionate about making our world a better place.
I invite you to listen to my Inclusive Designers podcast.
Martyn Roetter
I was born in Scotland and raised in England through university (undergraduate and postgraduate) where I majored in physics. I have also lived in France and Germany. I emigrated to the US and became a citizen in 1976. I was very fortunate to have traveled around the world during a career as a consultant to governments, regulators, business executives, and investors on public policy, markets, competition, and technology. I am blessed with eight grandchildren in Massachusetts and Colorado.
Jacqueline Royce
I have been an environmentalist since Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and have never met a watershed or wetlands or benthic macroinvertebrate or tree or fossil-free building I don’t love. My background is medical sociology with concentrations in City & Regional Planning and Health Promotion Research & Policy Analysis.
I was raised in Minnesota and in 2006 moved to Boston, where I became a passionate activist for all things Green. I co-founded the Boston Clean Energy Coalition and the Muddy Water Initiative. I enjoy my retirement by bothering elected officials; gathering and sharing ideas with my buddies in the Gas Leaks Allies, Green New Deal, Boston Climate Action Network, and Sierra Club; and pursuing environmental justice and equity. I love seeing my six grandchildren become brilliant and beautiful and avid nature enthusiasts.
David Ward, PE, LEED AP, CBCP
I am a consulting engineer focused on improving the efficiency and comfort of existing buildings. I’m also an active environmentalist who works with several citizens groups to advocate for climate change mitigation. My current activities include guiding the Community Church of Boston on Boylston Street toward improving the energy efficiency of its building. As the Owner’s Agent for the Renew Boston Trust Program, I’m leading efficiency upgrades for Boston Public Schools.
