2021 Annual Meeting | Director Bios | Meeting Archive
About the Board of Directors
Melissa Ferretti was raised in Cedarville (South Plymouth) attended Plymouth Carver School system most of her life and graduated from Pembroke Academy, in N.H. Melissa is currently a Commonwealth of Massachusetts licensed Real Estate Sales Associate and Notary Public and is currently affiliated with Jack Conway & Company. Melissa is a member of and proudly on her second term as the elected Chairwoman of the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe located in Plymouth MA. Melissa sits on several Boards and Committees and she volunteers much of her time to better her community. In her dedicated role as chairwoman, she has worked tirelessly on the many initiatives and challenges that indigenous communities face on an everyday basis.
William S. Napolitano is the Environmental Program Director at the Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development District. Bill has built his decades long environmental planning career around effective, strong, and positive partnerships with communities and organizations across the SRPEDD region. These partnerships form the backbone of his diverse efforts to steward our natural and cultural resources into the twenty-first century and beyond. Some of Bill’s signature projects include: the work that directly led to the federal designation of the Taunton River as Wild and Scenic; the Mill River Dam Removal/River Restoration Project; The Resilient Taunton Watershed Network; the Taunton River Trail project; helping to organize agricultural commissions in southeastern Massachusetts and statewide, and; creating the SRPEDD Geographic Roadway Runoff Inventory (GRRIP) and Flood Inundation Hazard Programs.
Jason J. Potrykus has a B.S. Biology and MEd. He is a retired High School Science Teacher (40+ years), having been the Computer Center Director, Science Dept. Chairman, a Faculty Advisor for the Student G.R.E.A.N (Globally Responsible Environmental Action Network) program, Community College instructor (Chemistry, Computer Science and Environmental Science). Jason continues to keep current on science and environmental issues through participating in programs and workshops at the New England Aquarium and National Estuarine Research Reserve at Waquoit Bay. He is 50+ year resident of Kingston and a member of Sierra Club.
David O’Connell attended The Boston Conservatory of Music, majoring in Musical Theatre, and worked for several years as a professional stage manager/technical director, ending his theatre career after two and half years as a faculty member at Boston University Theatre Dept. Several years ago, after retiring as owner of the Winsor House Inn for 37 years David got involved with the JWRA, first as a member and eventually joined of the Board of Directors. David shares the belief that the work being done at the JWRA is crucial to the health of our watershed and local environment. As a mostly volunteer dependent organization, membership is crucial to our success.
Stephen Fulmer has been a resident of Duxbury for the past 16 years. Steve has formed a strong connection to the local waters through fly fishing for stripers, countless beach days with his family and kayaking the tidal rivers. He spent most of his professional career as a fundraiser for environmental nonprofits and currently is the Director of Development at The Home for Little Wanderers in Boston. Steve joined the JRWA board in 2018.
