2021 Conference on Environmental Justice
Kaytee Canfield, Ph.D. (she/her) is an interdisciplinary researcher-practitioner with training and expertise in environmental and coastal social science, environmental and social justice, and science communication. She earned a Ph.D. in marine affairs from the University of Rhode Island, and a B.S. and M.A. in environmental studies from the University of Southern California. Her doctoral research used critical qualitative social science to investigate the justice of tourism development on Catalina Island, California. She is most excited about work that integrates social justice and equity with STEMM and science communication, as exhibited in her past research with the Metcalf Institute on inclusive science communication. She currently works as a postdoctoral translational scientist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and teaches courses at the Rhode Island School of Design, both on the lands of the Narragansett people. Kaytee is the moderator for Session 1, What is Environmental Justice?
Livia Davis, M.S.W. is Chief Learning Officer at C4 Innovations. She is responsible for development and ongoing management of learning strategies and organizational capabilities needed to ensure alignment with strategic direction. Livia is an experienced facilitator, supporting state agencies, communities and networks in their goals of achieving racial equity and growing and improving services. She has presented at numerous conferences on meaningful conversations and managing conflict, interdisciplinary collaboration, and constructive conflict as foundations for innovation. Livia's first-hand experience with a large recovery community in Denmark, founded by her great-grandfather in 1912, is the foundation for her commitment to advancing recovery and equity, and building community. She is also co-founder of the Duffy Health Center (Health Care for the Homeless) in Massachusetts. Livia is the leader for Session 3, Promoting Environmental Justice: the First Steps.
Melissa Ferretti 
is proudly serving her second term as the elected Chairwoman of the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe (HPWT) in Plymouth, MA. Raised in Cedarville (South Plymouth), Melissa has lived on the ancestral homelands of the HPWT all her life. She volunteers much of her time to better her community, while also working as a realtor. As chairwoman she has worked tirelessly on the many challenges that indigenous communities face every day, as well as on new initiatives, including the protection of sacred sites and ancestral burial grounds, tribal archival research, documentation and digitization, advocacy for tribal rights and self-determination, mental health, substance use, addiction and prevention. Melissa is passionate about educating the non-native public about the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe and its rich, well documented history. In the spring of 2020 she co-taught an undergraduate course, Indigenous Women’s Leadership and Tribal Nation Self Determination, with Dr. Amy Den Ouden at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Melissa is a panelist for Session 2, Supporting Public Access to Recreational Waters.
Sara P. Gra
dy, Ph.D. is the South Shore Regional Coordinator for the Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Partnership and Watershed Ecologist at the North and South Rivers Watershed Association in Norwell, MA. She received a Sc.B. in Aquatic Biology from Brown University in 2001 and a Ph.D. in Biology from the Boston University Marine Program in Woods Hole in 2006. Her specialties include coastal and estuarine ecology, invertebrate zoology, and ecological restoration, and she has been bringing together local, state, and federal partners for research, management, and restoration for 15 years through MassBays. Sara is the moderator for Session 2, Supporting Public Access to Recreational Waters.
Amelia Moore, Ph.D. is a sociocultural anthropologist with a background in environmental biology, feminist science studies, and island studies. Her research involves projects and collaborations in The Bahamas, Indonesia, and the state of Rhode Island. Most recently, she has begun to explore connections between history, ecology, race, gender, and justice within the field of marine science and policy. Amelia is a panelist for Session 1, What is Environmental Justice?
Kate Mulvaney, Ph.D. is an environmental sociologist in EPA’s Office of Research and Development in Rhode Island. She focuses on the social value of coastal water quality as well as public engagement with science and decision making. She received her Ph.D. from Purdue University in natural resources social science, and has a Master’s degree in marine affairs from the University of Rhode Island and a B.S. in marine biology from Roger Williams University. Previously, she worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines, for Save The Bay doing habitat restoration, and for the U.S. State Department working on fisheries governance. Kate is a panelist for Session 2, Supporting Public Access to Recreational Waters.
Vivian Ortiz 
is originally from El Paso, Texas where the Rio Grande separates the United States and Mexico. For the last seven years she has been a member of the Neponset River Greenway Council, a group of neighbors from Milton and the Boston neighborhoods of Dorchester, Hyde Park, and Mattapan. These neighbors have been meeting for over 20 years to promote, advocate, and enjoy the 7.5-mile rail-trail along the Neponset River. She also serves on the Advisory Council of the Neponset River Watershed Association. Vivian is a panelist for Session 2, Supporting Public Access to Recreational Waters.
Kerry Malloy Snyder, J.D. is Advocacy Director for the Neponset River Watershed Association (NepRWA), a member-supported organization working to protect and provide meaningful access to the water, land, and wildlife of the Neponset River and its watershed. Kerry assists communities in developing and implementing watershed protection policies and advances the NepRWA's policy agenda. Priority policies include those that reduce stormwater pollution, increase water conservation, create community resilience to climate change and improve environmental inequities throughout the watershed. She has extensive experience in public policy; prior to joining NepRWA, Kerry served as Assistant Director of the Public Health and Tobacco Policy Center at Northeastern University Law School. She has also worked as Associate Counsel to the New Jersey Legislature on environmental, natural resource and agricultural policy issues, and Chief of Staff to a Massachusetts state senator. Kerry earned her J.D. through Suffolk University Law School and her B.A. from Boston University. Kerry is a panelist for Session 1, What is Environmental Justice?
Reverend Betsy Sowers, M.S.W., M.Div. is Minister for Earth Justice at Old Cambridge Baptist Church (OCBC) and on the board of Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station. She came to her lifelong call to peace and justice ministry via her first post-college job as a flight attendant for Pan American World Airways, which gave her the gift of global awareness and brought her to Cambridge, where she found OCBC, a congregation that confirmed and encouraged her call. After earning a master’s degree in social work from Boston College and a master’s of divinity from Harvard Divinity School, she was called to the Department of Church and Society of the American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts first as a staff person, later serving as director. Betsy was an educator and advocate on peace and justice matters to Baptist churches in the Commonwealth. She also served the Massachusetts Council of Churches as Adjunct Associate Director. A clear call out of retirement to climate justice service has both surprised and energized her for another chapter of activist ministry. Reverend Sowers is a panelist for Session 1, What is Environmental Justice?
Dorie Stolley, M.Sc., M.A., is Coordinator and Outreach Manager for Watershed Action Alliance of Southeastern Massachusetts (WAA). This is the fourth biennial conference she has managed for WAA. Dorie is the owner of Three Birds Consulting, a business specializing in communication and outreach about the environment. She is the chat monitor for Session 1, What is Environmental Justice? Contact Dorie with questions about the conference - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..