Joe Bains

Joseph J. Bains is currently Director of Regulatory Affairs for Titleist and Footjoy Worldwide, (A Division of Acushnet Company) the leading manufacturer of world class, quality golf equipment. In this role he administers environmental and other regulatory compliance programs for all Company operations worldwide and serves as the Company liaison to State, National and local regulatory agencies such as the U.S. EPA and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Mr. Bains has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from the University of Rhode Island, and is the author of numerous technical papers on analytical chemistry. He previously has held management positions with Nashua Corporation, a leading coated products Company, where he served as Senior Scientist; New England Testing Laboratory, a widely recognized independent testing laboratory, as Laboratory Manager; and with Hoechst AG, one of the world's largest chemical companies, as Senior Chemist. Mr. Bains is a member of the American Chemical Society, the National Association for Environmental Management, and is active in the Massachusetts Environmental Managers Association. In addition, he is a decorated United States Army veteran of the Vietnam era.

Mr. Bains has had a lifetime association with Prudence Island, and attended the Island's one room schoolhouse as a child while his family was year-round residents. At this time he is a weekend and occasional visitor to Prudence Island. He is Vice-President of the Prudence Island Historical & Preservation Society and has recently authored a book about the Island's history. In addition, he is an active member of the Homestead Plat Improvement Association and Friends of the Prudence Island School. He was added to the Prudence Conservancy Board of Directors in 1996.

Mr. Bains brings to the Conservancy Board his technical expertise in chemistry and environmental management accumulated during a career in business that has spanned thirty years. This expertise is combined with an understanding of Prudence Island including its history and natural attributes, and a commitment to serve Prudence Island through the work of Prudence Conservancy.

Allan Beck

Allan DeWitt Beck is a registered professional engineer and environmental scientist with expertise in aquatic toxicology, mariculture, ecological risk assessment, marine monitoring and natural area management. Since retiring from the Environmental Protection Agency, he currently serves as manager of the Narragansett Bay National Protection Agency, a joint program of the Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. He is also the owner and President of the Environmental Advantage Group, a consulting firm providing expertise in environmental sciences.

Mr. Beck received his BS in Civil Engineering and an MS in Biology from the University of Rhode Island. His professional career spans over 40 years. He was formerly a Marine Research Laboratory Division Director and a Senior Science Advisor for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He also was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Rhode Island. He has authored 33 papers on various scientific subjects and several chapters of a book on power plant entrainment, having been considered a national expert on this subject. During his 30 years with EPA he was a member of the World Mariculture Society and Principal Investigator in the International Study On Artemia. For eight years he served on the Board of Directors of Save The Bay and also on the Management Committee of the Narragansett Bay Project for five years. While a resident of the Town of Hopkinton, Rhode Island, Mr. Beck was a member of the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission.

Mr. Beck is a permanent resident of Prudence Island where he serves as a Deacon of the Union Church of Prudence Island, member of the Board of Directors of the Prudence Utility Corporation and active member of the Prudence Island Volunteer Fire Department. Mr. Beck is a founding father of the Prudence Conservancy and has served as Chairperson of the Board since inception in 1987 through 1999.

Marcia Blount

Marcia Blount has recently joined the Prudence Conservancy Board of Directors. A biography detailing her expertise and history on the island is forthcoming....check back soon!

Beth Correira

Beth A. Correira is currently a Senior Environmental Scientist for Lincoln Environmental, Inc., an environmental science and engineering consulting firm. Ms. Correira has over 15 years experience in the areas of environmental site assessments, hazardous waste and petroleum investigations, soil and groundwater remediation, and environmental compliance.

Ms. Correira has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Resource Development from the University of Rhode Island with specialties in soil and water resources. Early in her professional career, Ms. Correira served as an analytical chemist for a Massachusetts based environmental laboratory and consulting firm. As an environmental scientist, she has been responsible for the performance and management of real estate transfer assessments, comprehensive hydrogeological site assessments involving petroleum and chlorinated hydrocarbons, underground storage tank removals, soil excavation and disposal, implementation of soil and groundwater remediation system, regulatory compliance, project planning and budgeting. Ms. Correira was the recipient of Lincoln Environmental, Inc. Owners Award for excellence in 2000.

Ms. Correira has been a weekend visitor to Prudence Island since 1992. In 1998, she purchased an island cottage overlooking the east passage of Narragansett Bay. Since that time, she has been a three-season weekend resident of Prudence Island and is currently an active member of the Prudence Conservancy Trail Gang and the Prudence Improvement Association.

Ms. Correira was added to the Prudence Conservancy Board of Directors in 2002. She brings to the Conservancy Board her technical expertise in environmental science and resource management. She is passionate about the outdoors and the natural beauty of Prudence Island and is committed to serve with the Prudence Conservancy to preserve and protect this natural wonder.

Don Friswell

Donald Friswell, a graduate of Bentley College, is currently employed with Eastern Mountain Sports, a New Hampshire based outdoor retailer. Previously he has served as a corporate consolidations accountant for an international manufacturer, as a customer support analyst and senior software engineer working with financial systems, as a software engineer for a large retail pharmacy chain and as business analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Mr. Friswell has had an almost life long association with Prudence Island, first vacationing with his parents and sister on the island in 1951. In 1955, his family bought property here and today he enjoys watching his two daughters explore and enjoy the island and develop friendships with island peers much as he did growing up on the island.

In addition to kayaking, enjoying the close proximity to the ocean and the island's quiet atmosphere, Mr. Friswell is extremely interested in island history and he is a member of the Prudence Island Historical and Preservation Society. He is also an active member of the Homestead Plat Improvement Association. A year-round visitor, he can often be found walking in the woods exploring the physical remains of early Prudence, from numerous foundations dating back to the mid 1700's to sheep pens, stone walls and other historic sites. Mr. Friswell is committed to working with the Conservancy and other island and off-island groups to help preserve and maintain open space on the island for the enjoyment of others.

Mark Kimball

Mark E. Kimball is currently President of Control Engineering, Inc. in West Springfield, Massachusetts, which company he founded in 1971. Control Engineering is a successful industrial electronic control wholesaling company. In addition to management and financial duties, Mr. Kimball is the designer and developer of custom electronic control products. He has had two of his product developments patented by his clients. Mr. Kimball received his Bachelors and Master of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts. He served two years in the U.S. Army as an electrical engineer writing surveillance and reliability test programs for guided missiles.

Mr. Kimball has been very active in the Prudence Island community. He serves as an active volunteer fireman and works with several volunteer community organizations. He has been a director on the Board of the Prudence Island Utilities Corporation since 1983, and served as its president for the eight past years. This is a stockholder owned state regulated Water Company serving approximately 350 customers. Responsibilities include all phases of management, to include: conservation of a limited resource on an island, overseeing water quality, meeting various state regulations, and system upgrade to accommodate demand into the twenty-first century.

Additionally, he is one of the five founding members of the Prudence Conservancy and has served as Secretary since its inception in 1987. In additional to secretarial duties, Mr. Kimball has been involved in all the major decisions and various acquisitions made by the Conservancy. Mr. Kimball's lifelong association with Prudence Island provides him with exceptional background and insight into Prudence Island issues. Mr. Kimball's combination of financial and management background qualify him to serve the Conservancy in its ongoing and future operations.

Mary Lawrence

Mary Brown Lawrence is a retired research scientist. Her professional training is in the area of radiation biology. Mrs. Lawrence received her BA in Zoology, from Mount Holyoke College. She held professional positions at Cold Spring Harbor, L. I., Yale University Medical School, National Institutes of Health, and Stanford University Medical School in San Francisco and Palo Alto Calif. This latter position was held for 20 years. After her career in the Research Laboratory she became active in the Stanford and Palo Alto, California Communities where her winter home is located. She obtained funding from individuals and corporate sources and made successful grant applications to United Fund for Bayshore Employment Inc. and organized a computer database for the Committee for Art at Stanford University. She served as Photo Specialist for the Stanford University Library Archives and helped organize the Stanford University Archives Photograph Collection and to photograph and catalog the extensive collection of ephemera and museum objects in the Archives collection. In addition she has been involved administratively in directing an alumni fund drive at from Mount Holyoke College and with creating a database for Community Impact programs in Palo Alto.

Mrs. Lawrence is a full time summer resident of Prudence Island and has summered on the Island for over 37 years. Her family has a long-term association with the Island. Her Grandfather, Hiram Aylsworth and her Father, Aylsworth Brown, were owners of a neighboring island, Hope Island, until the Navy took it over in 1941. She has been a Board Member of the Conservancy since 1988 and has played a pivotal role in helping the Conservancy to raise financial support for key projects and in communicating with donors contemplating land donations. She has used her photographic skills to build a collection of historic pictures of Prudence Island and is a founding member of the Prudence Island Historical and Preservation Society.

Her long time association with the Island, and her knowledge of much of the historical background gives her an important perspective on Prudence Island. Her technical training and scientific background as well as long time volunteer experience on a variety of organizations combine to make a forceful and effective Board member.

Evie Malm

Evelyn "Evie" Malm, a retired schoolteacher, is a graduate of Marietta College where she received a BA in English and holds an MS in Journalism from Boston University. Her background includes many workshops in writing and classroom/team management. In l988 she completed Northeastern University's certificate program in technical writing. In addition, she attended a Synectics, Inc., Cambridge, MA workshop designed to explore and expand a person's level of creativity in a team setting. While teaching, she was appointed by a committee of teachers, students and parents to serve as the first team leader for the ninth grade. As leader she, along with 14 members on the team, developed techniques and strategies for ninth grade students, teachers and parents to work to build a sense of community.

As a resident of Foxboro, MA, she puts her writing skills to work for the Foxboro Reporter, an award winning weekly, where she is responsible for covering a wide range of assignments from writing feature stories and producing columns to taking on a variety of photo assignements. She formerly served as vice-chairman on the Board of Trustees for Boyden Library and currently serves on the local Elementary School Council as the community member at lage.

As a summer resident of Prudence Island for nearly 20 years, she has always been committed to conserving the beauty of the island. At one time, she published an island newspaper which kept islanders informed of day to day events on the island as well as current issues. She and her husband have been involved in the PIA, an organization that works for the improvement of the island and they have been members of the Prudence Conservancy since its inception.

Brendan Mara

Brendan S. Mara is a registerd professional engineer currently working as a structural engineer with Odeh Engineers, Inc. of North Providence, Rhode Island. In his position he works with architects and developers to design and build world-class buildings in accordance with applicable state and local building codes as well as site-specific needs. He has designed a wide variety of structures including dormitories, concert halls, academic buildings, and municipal facilities. In addition to new construction, he has also participated in numerous renovation and remediation projects throughout the Northeast. Prior to designing buildings, Mr. Mara designed bridges and retaining walls throughout the state of Rhode Island as part of the freight rail improvement project, 'FRIP', in an effort to expand the capacity of the existing railroad infrastructure through the state.

Mr. Mara received his BS in Civil Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his Masters of Engineering from Cornell University. He is a registered PE-Structural (Professional Engineer) in the state of Rhode Island.

Mr. Mara began vacationing on Prudence Island with his family in the early 1980's. For many years he was a full time summer resident but now settles for spending as much time as possible at his family home. He has spent many years exploring the forests and shores of the island. These experiences fostered an appreciation for all the opportunities that the island has to offer and led Brendan to pursue a more active role in the Prudence Conservancy. He brings to the Conservancy Board his extensive knowledge of state and federal building codes as well as his experience in the building and construction industries.

Bob Marshall

Robert Marshall is a partner in Marshall & Associates, a company that provides a full range of marketing and development services targeted to nonprofit agencies. Prior to forming Marshall & Associates in 1994, Mr. Marshall was the Director of Development Services at Human Services Management Corporation from 1992 to 1994, where he provided marketing, program development and property development services for a variety of human service agencies. From 1988 to 1991, Mr. Marshall was the National Executive Director of Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly, an international, volunteer-based organization offering friendship and emergency services to isolated elderly. Mr. Marshall had previously served as Executive Director of the Little Brothers affiliate in Boston, Massachusetts from 1984 to 1998.

In addition to the marketing, public relations and advertising services provided by Marshall & Associates, Mr. Marshall has specialized in the acquisition and development of small (2-4 bed), fully barrier free homes/apartments as program sites for human service agencies through retrofitting of existing housing.

Mr. Marshall and his family have resided on Prudence Island since 1991, where Mr. Marshall spent summers since the mid-sixties. Mr. Marshall has been an active member of the Prudence Island Volunteer Fire Department since 1995, serving as Captain of the Emergency Medical Service, as well as a licensed Emergency Medical Technician, and a Lieutenant in the Fire Service. In addition, he is an active supporter of activities sponsored by the Prudence Island Association and Friends of the Prudence Island School. Mr. Marshall also serves as a reserve police officer for the island.

Rob Porter

Robert S. Porter is currently the owner and President of First Fidelity Mortgage Company located in Framingham, Massachusetts, a company he started in 1990. Prior to founding his own company, Mr. Porter was Vice President at Commonwealth Mortgage Company. He graduated from Babson College in 1985 with a Bachelors degree in Economics, Finance and Investments. He is also an active investor in real estate and brings his experience in this field to the Conservancy. Since 3 months old, Mr. Porter has been going to Prudence Island where he developed his love for nature. He follows his father and brother in giving back to the Island they enjoyed so much. His father was very active in the Prudence Island Utility Company for many years and his brother Craig was one of the original members of the Conservancy. For the past several years Mr. Porter has been maintaining a bluebird trail on the south end of Prudence, which has successfully fledged several broods. Rob initially started his association with the Conservancy as a member of the "trail gang" and still maintains the fields around Farhnam Farm which is a conservancy owned property.

Mr. Porter's goal as a member of the Prudence Conservancy board of directors is to continue the Conservancy's mandate of land acquisition and preservation. His love for the island and business acumen are attributes that will allow the Conservancy to continue.

Harry Sterling

Harry Sterling has lived year around on the Island since 1999. He retired from managing research and analytic teams for several divisions within UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare in 2003.

Mr. Sterling earned a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University, a B.D. from Lexington Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. He is ordained in the United Church of Christ (Congregational) and served churches in New Hampshire and New York. He has worked in the Gerontology Program at the University of Rhode Island, and consulted for or worked for most of the state’s human service agencies, including the R.I. Developmental Disabilities Council, the R.I. Department of Human Services, and the R.I. Department of Elderly Affairs.

Currently he is a member of the PI Volunteer Fire Department, Chair of the Prudence Island Planning Commission and a Farnham Farm Trustee. He conducts worship in the Union Church once a month during the winter and once during the summer, with an occasional wedding, baptism, or funeral. He also is a legal guardian for a Navy veteran in the Rhode Island Veterans Home as a part of Rhode Island’s Volunteer Guardian program that arranges for legal guardians for elderly persons who are not competent in making decisions.

Mr. Sterling is committed to developing strategies for conserving open space and managing development, and this has been his major focus within the Planning Commission and the Conservancy Board. He has written proposals for the Conservancy (Open Space Grants) and for Farnham Farm (building renovations). He wrote major sections of the Land Use section of the proposed Prudence Island Comprehensive Plan.

Douglas Wicher

Douglas Wicher has recently joined the Prudence Conservancy Board of Directors. A biography detailing his expertise and history on the island is forthcoming....check back soon!

Shawen Williams

Shawen Williams is a Private Financial Manager in Bristol, Rhode Island. Her work is in the areas of asset management, including investments and real estate; and estate settlement, including recovery of unclaimed funds and sale of tangibles. She received her BA in mathematics with a minor in art/architecture from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, and a MBA degree from City University Business School in London, England. Prior to her present position, Ms. Williams has worked as a Computer Consultant and Tutor in London and as an International Marketing Manager/Seafood Broker in New Bedford, Massachusetts. She currently serves as a Trustee of Preserve Rhode Island. This latter organization owns undeveloped property on Prudence Island as well as several properties of cultural and historical significance elsewhere in Rhode Island. She has been a member of the Prudence Conservancy Board of Directors since 1991.

Ms. Williams's great grandfather co-founded a substantial summer community (approximately 300 acres/platted in 1400 lots) on the west side of Prudence Island. His descendants, including Shawen's family continue to live there. Recently, her family donated the balance of the undeveloped property from that original community land to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island and the Prudence Island Conservancy.

Ms. Williams is very familiar with Prudence Island, its issues and its geography through family and personal experience. In addition to her expertise in finance and marketing, she brings to the Board of Directors a working knowledge of Rhode Island real estate law pertaining to land and conservation easements. During the last 3-4 years she has played a major role in directing and coordinating her family's donation of 260 acres on the Island. This project included negotiating with the donee organizations and with family members, acquiring land appraisals, reviewing legal documents and titles, describing property, searching property and personal tax issues and obtaining partial funding for the project.

Prudence Conservancy
PO Box 115
Prudence Island, RI 02872
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