Board of Directors

Richard C. Cotton is the Managing Partner of Hawk Pointe Golf Club and Asbury Farms Real Estate Development.  A fourth generation area resident, Richard has spent most of his professional life land planning, serving agricultural organizations and effectuating a balance between economic development and environmental conservation in the community.

Ray is returning to the Musconetcong since first conducting water quality monitoring in 1977 as a student. Samuel Faust, PhD, was a gentleman farmer along the river in Changewater and Ray’s advisor at Cook College. Dr. Faust secured funding to start an aquatic testing lab in the Lebanon Township building.

Oliver became an early outdoors enthusiast as a boy in England, and after emigrating to New Jersey in 1995, has persued membership active membership in environmental groups such as NJ Audubon, National Audubon Society, New Jersey Mycological Society and Western New Jersey Beekeepers' Association.

Erik Jan Henriksen is a graduate of Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH, (BA, Geography 1982).  He has worked in Insurance/Financial services since 1984 and is a licensed Insurance Agent in NJ & PA.  Erik serves on the Lebanon Township Environmental and Open Space Committee and is the township representative to the Musconetcong River Management Council. 

John Petrolino is an attorney licensed in New Jersey and has practiced as in-house counsel in the pharmaceutical and biotech sector for more than 20 years; he is currently the General Counsel at Knipper Health. John lives in New Brunswick where he has served on the planning board and acted as the Chair of the New Brunswick Environmental Commission.

Mary Paist-Goldman is a licensed Professional Engineer specializing in water resources with more than 20 years of experience working in river restoration, wetland restoration, and dam removal.  Mary has been actively involved with the Musconetcong Watershed Association for nearly 15 years through her work from Princeton Hydro, LLC.

Bill Leavens actively farmed in the Musconetcong Valley in Asbury in the 1980's.  During that time he developed a growing appreciation of the scenic beauty of the area.  He was one of the early trustees of the Musconetcong Watershed Association.  Through that experience he became ever more concerned about the environmental threats to the river and surrounding area.

John is excited to join the MWA Board. He comes to us with a Bachelor of Science in agronomy from Missouri State University and a Master of Science from the University of Missouri. He has worked in federal conservation program delivery and is now offering conservation assistance by private practice, Kluthe Environmental Solutions: to Agricultural and Natural Resource Problems

Beth Styler Barry is the Director of River Restoration at The Nature Conservancy. She has 18 years’ experience in river restoration, water quality monitoring, community outreach, and project management.

Claire Fly is a HS junior at the Environmental Sustainability and Engineering Academy. Her love of environmental policy and water conservation began at the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment where she was a delegate representing her high school and in Biscayne Bay Florida.

Tish Lascelle is retired from a career in corporate environmental health, safety and sustainability with Fortune 50 companies spanning aerospace, automotive, chemical, medical device, consumer product and pharmaceutical manufacturing. This diversity provided a perspective on environmental leadership and change. Tish is a long-time member and Board Member of the MWA as well as a Past President.

Michael Fox lives in Holland Township with his wife and two daughters just over the hill from the scenic Musconetcong River Valley. He is in his 15th year with AT&T and currently working as a Sales Planning Manager for AT&T's Corporate Solutions Group. He has experience in sales, finance and operations.

Cinny MacGonagle is a former Westfield social studies teacher, where she received a Governor's Teacher of the Year Award.  She received grants to participate in Dodge-Earthwatch rainforest expeditions and National Geographic Alliance wilderness and technology workshops

Sam was born and raised in Hackettstown, NJ and became interested in pursuing a career in environmental science when she sampled the Musconetcong River on a high school field trip. Sam began volunteering with the MWA as a River Watcher in 2019 while a student at Centenary University and fell in love with sorting and identifying macroinvertebrates!

We're pleased to be welcoming Kevin Murphy to the MWA Board, bio coming soon!