Directors
Ron Walters is President of the Mill River Watershed Association. He is also involved with the Land Trust of West Haven and the West River Watershed Coalition. Recently retired from the Regional Water Authority, he spends his free time working on pollinator gardens and helping to maintain the Mill River Trail and the West River Greenway.
Gaboury Benoit is an emeritus professor of environmental chemistry who worked for Yale's School of the Environment. His current research is on plastics/microplastics, deicing salts, and green infrastructure. He is MRWA's vice president and webmaster.
Happy alligator in the sewer day! (9 March).
Joy VanderLek is Administrative and Community Outreach Director for Southbury Land Trust. An environmental activist, her enthusiasm connects her to many organizations. Joy is founder and president of the Cheshire Pollinator Pathway and is seated on the boards of the Coalition for a Sustainable Cheshire, and the Southington Land Conservation Trust.
Directors
Christine O’Neill, AICP, is a senior environmental planner with the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments. She earned her Master’s in Energy and Environmental Management from UConn and has 8 years’ experience in the environmental field. She serves on the Executive Board and Government Relations Committee for the Connecticut Chapter of the American Planners Association. She is a vegetarian
Evan Moore is an Environmental Analyst II with the Regional Water Authority (RWA), where he leads programs that protect source waters, safeguard raw water quality, and ensure environmental compliance. Prior to this role, Evan conducted watershed inspections throughout the RWA’s public water supply watersheds and aquifers. Previously, Evan worked in lake and pond management focusing on invas
Kimberly DiGiovanni, PhD, PE, is an Engineering Project Manager for the City of New Haven with experience in academia, municipal service, and consulting. She also founded Auroran Environmental, LLC, focusing on stormwater and flood risk management, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, and nature-based resilience solutions. Since 2017, she has held leadership roles with the Mill River Watershe
Directors
Chris Sullivan is the Executive Director of the Southwest Conservation District. He has worked there for 6 years controlling invasives, water quality monitoring, and supporting sustainable agriculture. He previously worked at CT DEEP. He holds a Bachelors of Environmental Science from Allegheny College and a Masters in Public Administration from University of New Haven. When not working
Cordalie Benoit , an attorney, is the vice president of the American Community Gardening Association. She was the first President of the Connecticut Community Gardening Association and President of the Garden Club of New Haven during its centennial year. She is a board member of the Historic Wooster Square, the Wooster Square Conservancy, and the Friends of Grove Street Cemetery, an arboretum.
People
Mill River Watershed Coordinator
Nicole Davis - Save the Sound
Image at left: Volunteers have carried out stream assessments over most of the length of the river
President
Ron Walters
Vice President (and webmaster)
Gaboury Benoit
Treasurer
Cordalie Benoit
Secretary
Kim DiGiovanni
Directors
Gaboury Benoit gabouryb@gmail.com
Cordalie Benoit cordalie_benoit@snet.net
Nicole Davis ndavis@savethesound.org
Kim DiGiovanni-White kdigiovanni@newhavenct.gov
Evan Moore emoore@rwater.com
Chistine O'Neill coneill@nvcogct.gov
Chris Sullivan csullivan@conservect.org
Joy Vanderlek joyvlek@gmail.com
Ron Walters rjwalters3144@gmail.com
New President
Ron Walters elected president
· A 30+ years at the RWA focused on water quality monitoring and source protection
· As an Environmental Analyst my current responsibilities include site plan reviews, environmental compliance, and sustainability efforts
· A BS in Environmental Resource Management from Penn State and a MS in Environmental Science from University of New Haven
· I represent the RWA on the West River Watershed Coalition and the Farm River Water Quality Initiative
· In my spare time I’m either trying to take seconds off my 5K time or in the garden fighting a losing battle against mugwort and stiltgrass.
New President, Ron Walters
New Secretary
Kim DiGiovanni
Kim DiGiovanni is Engineering Project Manager, City of New Haven
A gauge installed by us under the footbridge at the Eli Whitney Museum
Supporters
List of Supporters
The following individuals have shown interest in the Mill River and its watershed, and have generously donated their time
Carl Amento, South Central Region Council of Governments
Rebecca Andreucci, South Central Region Council of Governments
Mark Austin, former Hamden Town Engineer
Kendall Barberry, Emeritus
Gabe Benoit, Yale School of the Environment Professor, (retired)
Rebecca Bombero, former Director of New Haven Parks, Recreation, and Trees
Bill Brown, former head of Eli Whitney Museum
Aaron Budris, Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments
Lee Cruz, Community Foundation of Greater New Haven
Kevin Dahms, former Green Infrastructure Project Manager
Matthew Davis, Town of Hamden Assistant Town Planner
Kim Digiovanni, Quinnipiac University
Sean Duffy, Quinnipiac University/Albert Schweitzer Institute
Kathy Fay, Neighborhood Housing Services
Alex Felson, former Director, Yale Urban Ecology & Design
Mark Foran, Whitneyville Civic Association
Joe Gerhard, Author, Photographer: Mill River (2011)
Aaron Goode, New Haven Green Fund
Dawn Henning, City of New Haven Engineering
Susan Hollahan (founding wife)
Daniel W. Kops, Hamden Town Planner
Elsa Loehmann, Cheshire Land Trust
JR Logan, Mill River Trail Advocates
Gwen Macdonald, Director of Green Projects
Chris Malik, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Anna Marshall, Green Projects Associate
Connie Matheson, Whitneyville Civic Association
Florence S. McBride, Filmmaker: The Mill River—Water and Wildlife
Kevin McCarthy, Friends of East Rock Park/Mill River Trail Advocates
Nick Motmans, Cheshire Land Trust
Mary Mushinsky, River Advocates of South Central Connecticut
Annalisa Paltauf, Green Project Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator
Pamela Roach, Cheshire Land Trust
Nancy Rosembaum, Hamden Land Trust
Suzanne Simone, Town of Cheshire Environmental Planner
Eliza Valk, Reed Hilderbrand
Joy Vanderlek, Cheshire Land Trust
Jon Vander Werff, Seasonal Fisheries Biologist
Ron Walters, South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority (retired)
Aicha Woods, Director New Haven City Planning
Anthony Zemba, Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc.
Giovanni Zinn, City Engineer, City of New Haven
Gary Zrelak, Greater New Haven Water Pollution Control Authority
Kevin Dahms, former Green Infrastructure Project Manager with Save the Sound, makes a flow measureme