Waterbury LEAP | Meet Our Team

Board of Directors

Jasna Janjic-Brown

Jamison Ervin - Treasurer

Duncan McDougall - Chair

Rich Rivers

Brian Woods

OTHERS

Ned Houston - Energy Projects

Nathan Winters - Social Media Guru

Jasna Janjic-Brown has a long history of community activism and working for social and environmental causes. She is currently the Enterprise Volunteer Program Manager for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and has personally logged hundreds of hours of volunteer work in local communities. In this role she coordinates employee-volunteer activity by connecting employees to aligned non-profits and good causes across the US and Canada, for nearly 2000 employees involved in GMCR’s family of brands. She has organized several environmental-focused events for GMCR, in partnership with aligned organizations across the country including 350.org, Focus the Nation, and the Carbon Shredders. As a co-founder of the Carbon Shredders, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people go on a “Low CO2 Diet” through events and online programs, Jasna has lead major initiatives including a partnership with Bonnaroo Music Festival and several socially responsible companies. She has also worked as a UNESCO-funded translator abroad, as she is fluent in several languages and has a degree in International Relations from Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland. After moving to the US from her native Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Jasna served as a Case Worker for the International Refugee Committee, helping refugees from around the world find housing, social services, jobs and training in the US. Jasna lives with her husband and 5-year old son in Fayston, Vermont, in the beautiful Mad River Valley, and enjoys snowboarding, hiking, gardening and yoga in her spare time.

Jamison Ervin currently manages a 47-country project for the United Nations that helps countries improve their ability to adapt to the impacts of climate change by developing resilient systems of parks and protected areas. Prior to her work with the UN, Jamison worked for five years with The Nature Conservancy's global protected areas team, supporting countries in improving their park systems. She also worked with the World Wide Fund for Nature International for four years, and the Forest Stewardship Council for seven years. In addition, she spent five years in Nepal working in community health and women's literacy, and has worked extensively with the Convention on Biological Diversity. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Vermont, focusing on community-based conservation planning in Vermont, and she lives in Duxbury with her husband and son

Duncan McDougall founded Waterbury LEAP in 2007 because he feels very strongly that if humans are to be successful in meeting the challenge of the climate change crisis, it will be thanks largely to leadership from thousands of local, grassroots organizations around the world and millions of volunteer activists. "If the people lead, the leaders will follow." Duncan serves as LEAP's chairman. He has been a wilderness guide, freelance writer, teacher, and public radio commentator. He has an MBA from the Tuck School of Business. After seven years as a management consultant in Boston Duncan moved to New Hampshire in 1998 to found the Children's Literacy Foundation (CLiF), a non-profit that serves 15,000 rural, low-income, and at-risk young readers and writers across Vermont and New Hampshire every year. Duncan remains CLiF's Executive Director. He is the past Chair of the Waterbury Conservation Commission, and is active in local political and environmental efforts and campaigns. He lives in Waterbury Center, VT, with his wife and son.

Rich Rivers is a self-employed photovoltaics specialist and licensed electrical contractor. Rich has been designing and installing photovoltaic power systems and helping people reduce their energy consumption through efficient electrical design and installation on construction projects for the past 5 years. Rich has a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science from Keene State College in New Hampshire and worked for several years as a chemist before entering the electrical trade in the year 2000. Rich has always been fascinated by energy and enjoys working with people to proactively reduce their carbon footprints and non-sustainable impacts on the earth. As an environmental and outdoor enthusiast, Rich enjoys running marathons, kayaking, hiking, nordic skiing and fishing. Rich grew up in Waitsfield, VT and now lives with his wife in Waterbury, VT.

Brian Woods Brian Woods is a senior level Environmental Analyst at the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, where he has worked since 1991. After earning a Master's degree in Environmental Management from Duke University, he joined the state's Hazardous Sites Management Section after a year's stint in the private sector. His primary assignment was overseeing the performance of hazardous waste site investigations and cleanups throughout the state, with a focus on several Superfund sites, working in partnership with regional EPA staff. In 2007 he was assigned to a team of staff members to examine the implications of creating a division-level organizational unit with a focus on climate change issues. That led to subsequent assignment to a multi-agency team tasked with reviewing the October 2007 Governor's Commission on Climate Change report and determining the status of the 38 recommendations contained in that report. His current assignment is coordinating the department's seven member Climate Change Team, and serving as Vermont's representative on the group developing a Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Region Low Carbon Fuel Standard program. He was recently named to the board of directors of Waterbury LEAP (Local Energy Action Partnership), a community-level volunteer organization committed to making the community of Waterbury, Vermont a model green community.

Ned Houston takes on periodic energy projects as a contractor to LEAP Ned has almost 30 years experience working as an environmental consultant. During that time he has had significant involvement in planning, design, permitting, construction, and advocacy for environmentally sound projects in Vermont. Ned is very interested in advancing green technology with particular interest in renewable energy. He was past President of Waterbury Trails and Greenways where he supported the development of local walking and biking paths. He has a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Planning from Johnson State College. Ned lives with his family in Waterbury Center, VT.

Nathan Winters has been working professionally in the emerging technology landscape for over eight years. In May of 2009, Nathan created a successful social media campaign where he would develop a social platform with a tremendous following as he biked 4,300 miles across America in an effort to learn and share information in regards to environmental issues, projects and sustainable food movements. It was on this journey where Nathan was introduced to Duncan McDougall, (Chairman) and the LEAP organization. Nathan considers himself a global citizen and enjoys spending as much time as he can in the state of Vermont. You can learn more about him through his website at www.follownathan.org

About LEAP	Resources	Get Involved	Connect With Us
Projects History Philosophy Team Town of Waterbury	Emmisions Energy Education Energy Efficiency Reduce, Reuse, Compost Transportation Vermont Energy Committee	Donate Conact Us Join Our Team